At a July 10 hearing of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, former Bush administration Surgeon General Richard Carmona joined a growing list of officials to disclose the executive branch's political manipulation of science. Carmona's claims that agency science is being distorted for political purposes echoes charges leveled by recent whistleblowers from the Department of the Interior, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Carmona provided examples of repression and manipulation such as "stem cell research, emergency contraception, and sex education." He noted that several reports were prohibited from publication, and he said he was instructed to mention President Bush at least three times in every page of a speech. Carmona asserted that the administration even went so far as to discourage his attendance at a Special Olympics event because of its relationship with a "prominent family" unfriendly toward the current administration, the Kennedys.

Some political pressure is inevitable on a prominent appointee. However, Carmona and former surgeons general C. Everett Koop and David Satcher concurred that the current administration interfered with the surgeon general's office more than previous ones. Koop described the growing pressure in the years since he was surgeon general under President Reagan and questioned why Carmona hadn't been allowed to have more of a role in Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts, given his experience in emergency services.

The Office of the Surgeon General's mission is to educate the American public with "the best scientific information available." As Satcher emphasized in his testimony, "The role of trust and credibility is critical…if that is compromised, then the vital mission of the office is compromised." Adequate resources and independence are vital to fulfill that mission, particularly in the face of conflicting agendas held by other agencies.

Considering the recommendations presented at the hearing, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) announced plans to introduce the Surgeon General Independence Act to bolster the surgeon general's ability to be "the doctor of the nation, not the doctor of a political party."

The Senate is currently considering the nomination of Dr. James Holsinger to be the new surgeon general. Controversial because of his views on homosexuality, Holsinger may be more to the ideological leanings of the president but may have trouble getting confirmed.