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Letter to OMB Director Russell Vought Demanding Withdrawal of OMB's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
Letter to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought Demanding Withdrawal of OMB's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking… Continue Reading
July 07, 2026Letters to Cantor Fitzgerald and USA Rare Earth Following $1.6 Billion Trump Administration Deal
Letter to Cantor Fitzgerald Chief Executive Officer Brandon Lutnick Letter to USA Rare Earth Chief Executive Officer Barbara Humpton … Continue Reading
June 15, 2026Letter to NSF Acting Director Brian Stone Demanding Administration Cease Dismantling of the Ocean Observatories Initiative
Letter to NSF Acting Director Brian Stone Demanding Administration Cease Dismantling of the Ocean Observatories Initiative… Continue Reading
Lofgren, Whitesides Demand Transparency on OSTP Initiative Funded with NSF Money
Yesterday, Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and Representative George Whitesides (D-CA) sent a letter to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Director Michael Kratsios demanding transparency on OSTP’s “Grand Research Challenges” initiative, reported in Nature. During a Science Committee hearing on July 22nd, 2026, Director Kratsios deliberately avoided answering questions about OSTP diverting resources from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to fund OSTP pet priorit… Continue Reading
August 05, 2026Lofgren, Amo Refer DOE Secretary Chris Wright to DOJ for Lying to Congress
“Referring a Cabinet Secretary for potential prosecution is not a step we take lightly. It is a weighty thing to assert that a Cabinet Secretary lied to Congress.” (Washington, DC) - Yesterday, Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and Environment Subcommittee Ranking Member Gabe Amo (D-RI) sent a letter to formally refer Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Chris Wright to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for lying to the Committee during a hearing on June 10th, 2026. Secretary Wright repeatedly de… Continue Reading
July 22, 2026Kaptur, Lofgren Demand Answers from DOE After Political Appointee Remained on Payroll Nearly Nine Months after Agency Removal
Yesterday, Ranking Member Marcy Kaptur (OH-09) of the Committee on Appropriations’ Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development and Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (CA-18) of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology sent a letter to Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Chris Wright demanding answers regarding a political appointee remaining on paid administrative leave nine months after they were removed from their position. The appointee in question, Ms. Cathy Tripodi, served as the Director … 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 Lofgren's Opening Statement at Hearing on OSTP's FY2027 Research Priorities
Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren's (D-CA) opening statement as prepared for the record is below: Thank you Mr. Chairman, and good morning Mr. Kratsios. This topic of this hearing is “Unleashing the Golden Age of Science.” That title is stunningly ironic, as this Administration is systematically destroying U.S. science, while our allies and adversaries alike look on astonished. So let me propose an alternative title: “Unleashing the Golden Age of Science in the People’s Republic of China” - because th… Continue Reading
July 21, 2026Ranking Member Lofgren's Opening Statement at Markup of H.R. 3168, H.R. 8437, H.R. 9326, and H.R. 8981
Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren's (D-CA) opening statement as prepared for the record is below: Thank you, Chairman Babin for holding this markup today. It’s a busy day on the Hill so I hope we can move through the bills and amendments quickly. The first bill on the roster is the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program Reauthorization Act of 2025. Earthquakes are an unfortunate fact of life in California. Earlier this year, researchers at the University of Hawaii reported that the San Jacinto… Continue Reading
July 15, 2026Ranking Member Lofgren Opening Statement at Hearing on Space Commerce's Mission Authorization Proposal
Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) opening statement as prepared for the record is below: Thank you, Chairman Haridopolos, for holding this hearing, and thank you to Mr. Jordan for appearing before us today. The United States has an international obligation under the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 to authorize and supervise non-governmental activities in space conducted by U.S. individuals or entities. Currently, the U.S. policy framework for authorizing and supervising space activities pertains on… Continue Reading