Eddie Bernice Johnson's Immutable Legacy on American Science
Published by The Hill
Opinion piece by Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and Chairman Frank Lucas (R-OK), for The Hill.
We’ve lost a giant in the passing of Eddie Bernice Johnson. A trailblazer, an advocate, a force, a friend — words we and so many others know the true meaning of after having the privilege to work alongside Eddie Bernice. As ranking member and chairman of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, we have carefully taken the reins of a committee Eddie Bernice so impressively stewarded for years.
Ours is the Committee of the Future, as she liked to call it, not only because what we work on seems futuristic at times but because she was always so focused on building a better future for everyone — a future where all can pursue STEM, regardless of race, gender, background or ZIP code.
In Eddie Bernice’s future, our nation’s research and innovation enterprise can lead and show the world what America is capable of when we offer strong support for all great minds and ideas.
Eddie Bernice’s legacy is a future where our STEM workforce represents the same rich diversity as our great nation.
Her fingerprints will forever remain on generations of American science. As young girls walk into their first STEM class, or an HBCU student enters their first chemistry lab, they walk through doors opened by Eddie Bernice.
As an African American woman, she had her own experiences with racism and sexism in the sciences and in her day-to-day life. She knew what she faced was wrong and that it had to change. So, Eddie Bernice became that change. The long list of achievements she made in her life shows what one person can accomplish. She was unstoppable and powerful.
She not only fought for the future, she also fought to recognize those who came before her. Eddie Bernice spearheaded the Hidden Figures Congressional Gold Medal Act to recognize the achievements of all the female computers, mathematicians, and engineers who were integral to the United States Space Program.
EBJ, as she was widely known, had a broad view of science for the world. To her, science should never be partisan. She worked hard to bring the Science Committee to a place known for its bipartisanship. We both had the pleasure of working with her as she cultivated an environment on the committee that allowed us to build one of our generation’s most transformative pieces of legislation, the CHIPS and Science Act.
Unsurprisingly, with Eddie Bernice at the helm, the portion of the CHIPS and Science Act that members of the Science Committee wrote was wholly bipartisan, and every single provision was about building a better future for a different facet of federal science and innovation. EBJ knew that if we fell behind in expanding human knowledge and ensuring the workforce behind it was diverse, our nation’s future would suffer. She beamed with pride as President Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act into law. We now take the responsibility of ensuring the goals we set out to achieve with this law are realized.
Eddie Bernice worked hard to stand up for what was right for the nation, her constituents, and her colleagues. She wasn’t afraid of bullies, and she was always one to put politics aside to deliver for the American people. She was relentless in everything that was important to her.
At the unveiling of her portrait last year — an honor earned by those who chair the Committee — Eddie Bernice lauded the example the Science Committee sets for both Congress and the nation in showing what we can achieve when we come together.
On the walls of the Science Committee hearing room, across from where that portrait now hangs, lies the proverb: “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”
We miss Eddie Bernice dearly. May we go forward with her vision to build a future of American science of which she would be proud.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) is ranking member and Rep. Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) is chairman of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.
By: Chairman Frank Lucas and Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren
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