Ex-surgeon general: Bush muzzled me

12:33 AM CDT on Wednesday, July 11, 2007
From Wire Reports

WASHINGTON – Former Surgeon General Richard Carmona on Tuesday accused the Bush administration of muzzling him on sensitive public health issues, becoming the most prominent voice among several current and former federal science officials who have complained of political interference.

Dr. Carmona, a Bush nominee who served from 2002 to 2006, told the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform that political appointees in the administration routinely scrubbed his speeches for politically sensitive content and blocked him from speaking out on public health matters such as stem cell research, abstinence-only sex education and the emergency contraceptive Plan B.

"Anything that doesn't fit into the political appointees' ideological, theological or political agenda is often ignored, marginalized or simply buried," he said. "The problem with this approach is that in public health, as in a democracy, there is nothing worse than ignoring science, or marginalizing the voice of science for reasons driven by changing political winds."

In one such case, Dr. Carmona, a former professor of surgery and public health at the University of Arizona, said he was told not to speak out during the national debate over whether the federal government should fund embryonic stem cell research, which President Bush opposes.

"Much of the discussion was being driven by theology, ideology, [and] preconceived beliefs that were scientifically incorrect," Dr. Carmona said.

White House spokesman Tony Fratto rejected claims of political interference, saying Dr. Carmona had all the support he needed to carry out his mission.

"As surgeon general, Dr. Carmona was given the authority and had the obligation to be the leading voice for the health of all Americans," Mr. Fratto said. "It's disappointing to us if he failed to use his position to the fullest extent in advocating for policies he thought were in the best interests of the nation."

Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., the House panel's chairman, called for Congress to take steps to insulate the office from political influence. "We shouldn't allow the surgeon general to be politicized," he said.

Dr. Carmona is the latest in a string of government employees to complain that ideology is trumping science in the Bush administration:

• In January, the National Institute of Health's stem cell task force leader, Story Landis, said that because of the Bush policy – which aims to protect three-day-old embryos – the nation is "missing out on possible breakthroughs."

• Last year, NASA scientist James Hansen and other federal climate researchers said the Bush administration had made it hard for them to speak in a forthright manner about global warming.

• In 2005, Susan Wood, an assistant FDA commissioner and director of that agency's Office of Women's Health, resigned, citing her frustration with political interference that was delaying approval of the over-the-counter emergency contraceptive known as Plan B.

Two other former surgeon generals, Dr. David Satcher and Dr. C. Everett Koop, said at the hearing that political interference appears to have grown worse under Mr. Bush, although they noted that this administration has not been the only one to take a political approach toward the office.

Dr. Satcher, Dr. Carmona's predecessor, who served from 1998 to 2002, said that under President Bill Clinton he could not release a report on sexuality and public health, in part because of sensitivities triggered by the Monica Lewinsky scandal.

Mr. Clinton also forced out Joycelyn Elders as surgeon general in 1994 after her controversial remarks that public schools should consider teaching about masturbation.

Dr. Koop, who served as surgeon general from 1981 to 1989 and spoke out on AIDS despite political pressure not to do so, said President Ronald Reagan was pressured to fire him every day – but he did not.

"If he had not been the kind of person he was, I would not be here today," Dr. Koop said.

The House hearing comes two days before a Senate panel is to meet to consider the nomination of Kentucky cardiologist Dr. James Holsinger Jr. to succeed Dr. Carmona. Dr. Holsinger already has drawn political fire from leading Democrats and major gay and lesbian organizations. As a prominent lay member of the United Methodist Church, Dr. Holsinger has strongly opposed liberalizing church policies toward gays.

The Washington Post and Los Angeles Times contributed to this report

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