NEW YORK - If elected president, Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton says she would sign an executive order rescinding President Bush's restrictions on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.
She says she also would bar political appointees from altering or removing scientific conclusions from government research without a legitimate reason for doing so.
The New York senator was to announce these and other proposals of her science agenda in a speech in Washington on Thursday.
The address to the Carnegie Institution for Science was timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the launch of the Sputnik satellite by the Soviet Union. The launch, which caught U.S. scientists by surprise, helped start the U.S.-Soviet space race and led to the creation of National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
"For six and half years under this president, it's been open season on open inquiry," Clinton said in remarks prepared for delivery. "By ignoring or manipulating science, the Bush administration is letting our economic competitors get an edge in the global economy. I believe we have to change course, and I know America is ready."
On the campaign trail, Clinton has repeatedly slammed what she calls Bush's "war on science" and accused the administration of allowing conservative political ideology to interfere with research and scientific evidence. She cites administration officials who have questioned the scientific evidence of global warming and who have suggested a link existed between abortion and breast cancer.
Clinton's goal was to spell out specific priorities for scientific innovation that would also enhance U.S. economic interests, advisers said.
As president, Clinton said she would:
- Expand human and robotic space exploration and speed development of vehicles to would replace the space shuttle.
- Launch a space-based climate change initiative to combat global warming.
- Create a $50-billion strategic energy fund to research ways to boost energy efficiency and reduce reliance on fossil fuels.
- Comply with a legal requirement that the executive branch issue a national assessment on climate change every four years. She would also expand the assessment to reflect how U.S. regions and economic sectors are responding to the challenges posed by climate change.
- Name an assistant to the president for science and technology, a position that was eliminated in the Bush White House.
- Re-establish the Office of Technology Assessment.
