Chairwoman Johnson Opening Statement for Full Committee Markup
(Washington, DC) – Today, the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology is marking up the Committee Print to comply with the reconciliation directive included in section 2002 of the Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2022, S. Con. Res. 14.
Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson’s (D-TX) opening statement for the record is below.
Good morning, and welcome to today’s markup of our Committee Print pursuant to the instructions we received from the Budget Committee.
Before I get into my opening statement, I do want to recognize the newest Member of our Committee, Mr. Jake Ellzey.
I always give an extra welcome for any Member from my home state of Texas. I’m sure Ranking Member Lucas will have a more complete introduction in his opening statement, and I don’t want to steal his thunder. But I sincerely hope you enjoy your time on our committee.
And now I’ll turn back to the matter at hand with my opening statement.
I think all of you know that I feel strongly that the work we do here on the Science, Space, and Technology Committee is vital to ensuring our country has a bright future. Investments in research and development now will pay untold dividends for the future health and prosperity of our country. That’s why I was very pleased that our Committee received instructions from the Budget Committee to invest 45.51 billion dollars in the programs we oversee.
If you serve on this Committee, you know that US research investment has been declining relative to our competitors like China. We have tried to address that issue in the Print before us today by funding billions of dollars of new research across nearly the entire portfolio of our Committee.
If you serve on this Committee, you have heard first-hand about the critical research infrastructure needs at all of our agencies. The Print before us today makes significant investments in our Nation’s research infrastructure to ensure that the students and scientists of America can conduct their work in cutting edge facilities instead of dilapidated old buildings.
And, if you serve on this Committee, then you know about the tremendous threats posed by climate change, and the vital need for investments in climate change research and mitigation. We meet that challenge with billions of dollars of new investments in climate and weather research and mitigation activities.
I strongly believe that the investments made in the Print before us today will lead to a new golden era of American research and development and help ensure our Nation’s competitiveness for decades to come.
I do want to take a moment to mention the process by which we arrived at today’s markup. The budget reconciliation process is inherently partisan and complicated. I do not expect my Republican colleagues to be happy about this process. Quite frankly, I’m not especially happy with all aspects of the process, but my goal for our Committee’s contribution to the overall reconciliation effort is to meet our responsibilities as respectfully and fairly as possible.
As we crafted the text before us today, we did not stray from the values that have guided the other Committee work we have done this Congress. We have worked hard to ensure that much of what is funded in this Print aligns closely with the priorities this Committee has focused on in a bipartisan manner this Congress.
Finally, we also have a number of amendments to consider today, and I look forward to their consideration. In closing, I want to thank Members of the Committee for their work and contributions to this bill and to all our work this Congress, and I hope that we can work together to complete today’s markup expeditiously and thoughtfully.
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