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Article snippet: Democrats in the House and Senate are demanding answers from the Trump administration after a report that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was banned from using some words and phrases in official documents. On Friday, The Washington Post reported that senior CDC officials in charge of the budget told the agency’s policy analysts of a list of words they shouldn’t use in documents they are preparing for next year’s budget. The banned terms included “fetus,” “transgender” and “science-based.” The two lawmakers outlined numerous instances of what they said is the administration’s questionable record on promoting science. For example, the Trump administration abruptly cut short grant programs aimed at ending teen pregnancy with little explanation. And in September, HHS issued a draft strategic plan for fiscal years 2018–2022 that defined life as beginning at conception, a major departure from Obama-era policies. CDC officials said there are no bans and what transpired was a misunderstanding of a routine discussion on budgeting. “I understand that confusion arose from a staff-level discussion at a routine meeting about how to present CDC’s budget,” CDC Director Brenda Fitzgerald said in a statement Monday. “It was never intended as overall guidance for how we describe and conduct CDC’s work.” Fitzgerald told CDC staff over the weekend that the agency is committed to its science- and evidence-based mission. HHS also pushed back on suggestions that i... Link to the full article to read more