News
Letters to Science Agency Leaders Demanding Information on Forthcoming DOGE RIFs
Letter to DOE Secretary Chris Wright Letter to NASA Acting Administrator Janet Petro Letter to NIST Acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology Craig Burkhardt Letter to NSF Director Panchanathan Letter to NOAA Acting Administrator Vice Admiral Nancy Hann… Continue Reading
February 10, 2025Letters to Science Agencies Demanding Answers Regarding Elon Musk Conflicts of Interest and Critical Data Accessed by DOGE
Letter to DOE Secretary Chris Wright Letter to NASA Acting Administrator Janet Petro Letter to NIST Acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology Craig Burkhardt Letter to NSF Director Panchanathan Letter to NOAA Acting Administrator Vice Admiral Nancy Hann … Continue Reading
February 03, 2025Letters to Science Agency Leaders Regarding President Trump's Reckless Executive Orders
Letter to NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan Letter to NASA Acting Administrator Janet Petro Letter to NIST Acting Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology Craig Burkhardt Letter to DOE Acting Secretary Ingrid Kolb Letter to NOAA Acting Administrator Vice Admiral Nancy Hann… Continue Reading
Ranking Member Lofgren Urges NSF to Ignore Inflammatory Cruz Report, Releases Democratic Staff Report in Rebuttal
Today, Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (CA-18) sent a letter to National Science Foundation Director Sethuraman Panchanathan urging the Director to disregard Senator Ted Cruz’s inflammatory report in any NSF grantmaking decisions. In addition to the letter, the Ranking Member also transmitted a Minority Staff Report that details how Senator Cruz’s report is deeply flawed, and his demand for grant cancellations is therefore misinformed. “I write to you to convey my assessment of an inflammatory and … Continue Reading
April 16, 2025Ranking Member Lofgren's Statement on Degraded Services at Weather Forecasting Offices as a Result of Trump Firings
Today, the New York Times reported that the National Weather Service (NWS) is planning for “degraded operations” due to cuts to the workforce made by the Trump administration. The reporting references an agency document, which has been reviewed by Science Committee Democratic Staff, that details contingency plans for the strained workforce at the nation’s 122 Weather Forecasting Offices (WFO). “This confirms what Democrats have pointed out since Trump took office,” said Ranking Member Zoe Lofgr… Continue Reading
April 11, 2025Ranking Member Lofgren Condemns Trump Administration's Plan to Slash Support for NASA
Today, various reporting has detailed the Trump Administration’s plan to slash funding and eliminate crucial functions of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). According to reporting, the cuts significantly impact NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD), nearly halving SMD’s budget. "President Trump and OMB Director Vought are proposing a slash and burn of NASA’s world-leading science programs," said Ranking Member Lofgren (CA-18). "Effectuating these absurd cuts would des… Continue Reading
Federal investments in science are needed to reduce wildfire
It used to be that October marked the end of wildfire season, and the most destructive fires occurred in or around forested areas. But increasingly, more Americans experience the impacts of wildfires year-round. In 2021, nearly 50,000 wildfires were reported, which burned over seven million acres of land. And as we saw with the Marshall fire in Boulder County, sometimes the most devastating fires can happen in suburban areas in the dead of winter. As members of Congress representin… Continue Reading
February 22, 2022A federal coal ash strategy: putting health and safety first
Last month, the Environmental Protection Agency announced that it would crack down to protect public health and the environment from coal ash contamination. EPA will ramp up enforcement of its rules to prohibit companies from dumping coal ash into unlined storage pits, and to require those companies to speed up their efforts to close down the existing pits that have been shown to leak. As the Chairwoman of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, I want to see our federal age… Continue Reading
January 14, 2022Mapping a Strong Future for Ocean Science and Technology
Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) Statement for the Record on Amendment #30 to H.R. 4394, the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024
Thank you, Chairman Cole and Ranking Member McGovern, for considering testimony related to H.R. 4394, the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. The amendment that I have submitted, along with my colleague from Virgina, Mr. Beyer, is fairly straightforward. It adds additional funds to the Office of Science account to increase support for Fusion Energy Science, and it correspondingly reduces funds for the Office of Nuclear Energy. Fusion energy development is at a… Continue Reading
December 14, 2022Chairwoman Johnson's Statement on the WHOSTP's Report on Sustained Arctic Observation
Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson's (D-TX) statement on the White House Office of Science and Technology report, On the Need to Establish and Maintain a Sustained Arctic Obersving Network.I was pleased to receive the Office of Science and Technology Policy's report, On the Need to Establish and Maintain a Sustained Arctic Observing Network. This report is extremely timely as NOAA released their Arctic Report Card today, which details how shifting seasons and extreme weather in the rapidly wa… Continue Reading
April 25, 2022Chairwoman Johnson's Keynote Remarks at the American Meteorological Society Washington Forum
Keynote Remarks as Prepared Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology American Meteorological Society Washington Forum Good afternoon and thank you for inviting me to speak with you today. I appreciate the opportunity to speak with members of the American Meteorological Society. Founded over 100 years ago, the AMS is the nation’s foremost professional society for atmospheric sciences. The work done by AMS and its members is vital to th… Continue Reading