Chairwoman Johnson’s Opening Statement for Markup of H.R. 34, H.R. 2397, H.R. 1237, H.R. 1716, H.R. 1921, and H.R. 988
(Washington, DC) – Today, the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology is holding a markup of H.R. 34, the “Energy and Water Research Integration Act of 2019”, H.R. 2397, the “American Manufacturing Leadership Act”, H.R. 1237, the “COAST Research Act of 2019”, H.R. 1716, the “Coastal Communities Ocean Acidification Act of 2019”, H.R. 1921, the “Ocean Acidification Innovation Act of 2019”, and H.R. 988, the “NEAR Act of 2019.”
Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson’s (D-TX) opening statement for the record is below.
I want to welcome everyone to our first Full Committee markup of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology for the 116th Congress. Today we meet to markup six good bipartisan bills. Each of these bills addresses critical issues facing our Nation.
First, we are considering H.R. 34, the Energy and Water Research Integration Act of 2019. I’ll say more about this bill in a minute. For now, I’ll just say that the bill addresses the complex ties between water and energy production in America.
As water resources are increasingly strained all across our country, I think it is critical that we better use and conserve those resources. I want to thank Ranking Member Lucas for being an original cosponsor of the bill and helping me to make a good bill even better. We both come from a part of the country where a drop of water has long been a precious commodity. Unfortunately, as water resources are increasingly strained around the country, more and more people are realizing that water is going to be a precious resource in places we never would think of as arid.
Next, we will consider H.R. 2397, the American Manufacturing Leadership Act, which is sponsored by Research and Technology Chairwoman Stevens. This bill reauthorizes, updates, and improves the RAMI program, which was originally created by our colleagues Tom Reed and Joseph Kennedy in 2014.
The RAMI program provides crucial support to American manufacturing, and that results in good high paying jobs for our constituents. I strongly support this bill, which is why I am an original cosponsor, along with several of my Republican colleagues.
We will then take up four bills which address the issue of ocean acidification:
H.R. 1237, the COAST Research Act, sponsored by Ms. Bonamici; H.R. 1716, the Coastal Communities Ocean Acidification Act of 2019, sponsored by Ms. Pingree; H.R. 1921, the Ocean Acidification Innovation Act of 2019, sponsored by Mr. Kilmer; and, H.R. 988, the NEAR Act of 2019, sponsored by Mr. Posey.
These bills collectively reauthorize and improve our government’s research and response efforts to ocean acidification. As we learned at the Environment Subcommittee hearing in March, the effects of ocean acidification are already showing up in our coastal communities. We need to have a much better understanding of this issue and how we can mitigate its effects to our coastal regions, and the bills before us today put us on the right path.
I look forward to a productive markup today and then moving these good bipartisan bills to the full House for passage. I also want to take a moment to thank the Ranking Member and his staff for their constructive input on the bills before us today. I can’t promise that we will agree on every piece of legislation that comes before the Committee, but I can promise that we will always work hard to reach consensus whenever possible. That makes for better legislation, and ultimately makes it more likely we can actually help address our constituents’ needs.
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