The administration, Carmona said Tuesday, would not allow him to speak or issue reports on the subjects of stem cells, emergency contraception, sex education or prison, mental or global health issues. Top officials tried to "water down" a landmark report on secondhand smoke and delayed it for years, he said. Released last year, the report concluded that even brief exposure to cigarette smoke can cause immediate harm.

Carmona said he was ordered to mention President George W. Bush three times on every page of his speeches. He also said he was asked to make speeches to support Republican political candidates and to attend political briefings.

Administration officials even discouraged him from attending the Special Olympics because, he said, of that charitable organization's longtime ties to a "prominent family" that he declined to name. "I was specifically told by a senior person, 'Why would you want to help those people?' " Carmona said.

The Special Olympics is one of the nation's premier charitable organizations to benefit disabled people, and the Kennedy family has long been deeply involved in it. When asked after the hearing whether that "prominent family" was the Kennedys, Carmona responded, "You said it. I didn't."

Polls consistently show that a majority of Americans want federal funding for stem cell research and they want it now, not later. But President Bush appears determined to make sure that America falls behind the rest of the world in scientific advances. Japan, for one, is already way ahead of us on this issue which could potentially provide a cure for diabetes, some cancers, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.

The arrogance of these lawmakers is simply breathtaking. Women have fought for years for these protections, such as not being forced to change doctors mid-pregnancy just because her doctor is dropped from her insurance plan. If insurance doesn't cover screenings for routine cervical cancer exams, many women won't have them. Most women use their OB/GYN as their primary doctor, relying her to get the correct care and screenings for everything from cancer to osteoporosis: women will have to go to another gateway doctor first before they can get to their OB/GYN under most insurance plans. And the law is so broadly written that many more procedures won't be required to be covered.

"At the moment, the government of Uganda appears to be under the influence of the American policy through the presidential initiative of emphasising abstinence far and away over condoms," he said.

He suggested US President George Bush, who launched his multi-billion dollar campaign to tackle Aids in Africa two years ago, was acting under the influence of the religious right in US.

A senior US official rejected Mr Lewis's criticism, saying the current administration supported condom use as part of a balanced programme that included prevention.

"The statements that I have heard are completely untrue and completely mischaracterise effective prevention programmes," Mark Dybul, deputy US global Aids co-ordinator told Reuters news agency.

The NIH review suggested the agency's ethics issues are widespread, the lawmakers said in a statement. A Congressional inquiry last year uncovered potential conflicts of interest among senior NIH scientists, as many supplemented their incomes with thousands of dollars from consulting contracts with companies including Pfizer Inc., the world's largest drugmaker.

``These findings indicate that the ethical problems are more systemic and severe than previously known,'' Barton said in the news release. ``They also demonstrate the need for NIH to issue the final ethics rule as soon as possible.''

Most surprising, he said, was the widespread belief that the medical industry is hiding a cure. "It's just the reverse," DuBois said, noting that companies are trying to fast-track new drugs and treatments to get them to people as soon as possible.

The survey results, said DuBois, probably mean that cancer centers should "beef up their public education efforts." He noted, "There are more misconceptions out there than some people realize."