The appointment of geneticist Francis Collins to direct the National Institutes of Health could soon be a done deal. NIH-watchers in Washington, D.C., say that the Senate committee that handles this nomination will not hold a confirmation hearing, the forum where any controversies are usually aired. Instead, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) may send Collin's nomination—apparently unopposed—to the full Senate for an all-or-nothing "unanimous consent" vote sometime next week—the last chance before the Senate goes on August recess. A HELP committee spokesperson said that no hearing has been scheduled but declined to comment further.
—Jocelyn Kaiser
I am not sure about the public’s apathy towards science. Are the senators the qualified body to examine the scientific credentials of a nominee?. Sure, they could call a Scientific Committee to examine in situ Dr Collins’s theoretical and practical knowledge of science.
Perhaps the senators have already heard the voices of the scientific community on Dr Collins’s credentials and have realized that, like in their own body, there is diversity in thinking and expectations.
Perhaps the Senators have come to the view that, at this particular moment of science in the USA, the best thing to do is to test Dr Collins by putting him to lead the NIH and see how he does.
Do you think this is related to general public apathy with respect to science? A desire on the part of the senators to not reveal their own lack of science knowledge? Or is it because Collins is a "True Believer"? Probably, sadly, all three.