Fans of honesty and transparency don’t have to wait much longer. In March 2009, Barack Obama pledged his commitment to scientific integrity in government through a memorandum, and he called on the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to issue a set of guidelines within 120 days to achieve that goal.

Some 644 days later, the end may be in sight.

In a speech today at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco, John Holdren, director of OSTP, said “I had actually hoped to be able to announce those guidelines at or before this meeting. We didn’t quite make it but we are very close.”

Later, at a press conference, Jane Lubchenco, administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, hinted that the report might come out later this week. NOAA has been criticized for not reversing a policy issued during the Bush administration that requires agency scientists to request prior approval to speak on scientific topics of official interest. The Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility in Washington, DC, called the rule “a gag order on scientists”.

Lubchenco said NOAA has been waiting for the guidance from OSTP. “It’s been my intention all along to enable our scientists to speak freely about their science.” She said that the policies within the Department of Commerce—the department in which NOAA sits—are “somewhat contradictory and need to be clarified.”

Image: The White House