January 28, 2009

Committee Organizes, Approves Oversight Plan

(Washington, DC) – Today the House Committee on Science and Technology held its Organizational meeting, in which Members approved Subcommittee Chairs, Ranking Members, Subcommittee Assignments, and Committee Rules. The Committee also approved its Oversight Plan, as required by House Rules.

“I would like to welcome back my friend Ralph Hall as the Ranking Member of the Committee. I feel very lucky to work closely with a colleague with such deep experience in the issues that are important to our Committee. I look forward to continuing to draw upon that experience as we move forward with an aggressive agenda for the 111^th Congress,” said Chair of the Committee Rep. Bart Gordon (D-TN). “This Congress, the Committee plans to consider several issues we began to look at in the last Congress – transportation R&D, electronic waste, new energy technologies, natural disasters R&D, STEM education – as well as a number of new issues.”

The Changes to the Committee Rules include:

General reorganization for a more coherent structure, and
Updates to be consistent with House Rules or House practices, i.e., requesting, insofar as it is practicable, that witnesses provide written statements to the Committee 48 hours before appearance, rather than the 24 hour window the Committee had previously.

The Committee will continue its aggressive oversight operations in the 111^th Congress. The Oversight Plan focuses on themes including: restoring public confidence in the integrity of public science; helping to ensure programs are well managed; and evaluating programs and identifying emerging challenges.

“Also, there are a handful of noncontroversial bills that this Committee acted on last year and that passed the House in the 110^th Congress but were not enacted into law. Once these are introduced in the 111^th, we will suggest that they be discharged from the Committee and taken to the floor,” said Gordon.

These include:

The National Nanotechnology Initiative
The Produced Water Utilization Act (Mr. Hall’s bill)
The Water Conservation Research and Development Act (Mr. Matheson’s bill)
The Green Energy Education Act (Mr. McCaul’s bill)

Per the Minority’s request, we increased the number of Members on Energy and Environment, Research and Science Education, and Technology and Innovation Subcommittees.

Subcommittee assignments:

Subcommittee on Energy and Environment

Rep. Brian Baird, Chair

Democratic Members:

Rep. Jerry F. Costello
Rep. Lynn C. Woolsey
Rep. Donna F. Edwards
Rep. Ben Ray Luján
Rep. Paul Tonko
Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson
Rep. Daniel Lipinski
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords
Rep. Jim Matheson
Rep. Lincoln Davis
Rep. Ben Chandler
Rep. Bart Gordon (ex officio)

Republican Members:

Rep. Bob Inglis, Ranking Member
Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett
Rep. Vernon J. Ehlers
Rep. Judy Biggert
Rep. W. Todd Akin
Rep. Randy Neugebauer
Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart
Rep. Ralph M. Hall (ex officio)

Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, Chair

Democratic Members:

Rep. Marcia L. Fudge
Rep. Parker Griffith
Rep. David Wu
Rep. Donna F. Edwards
Rep. Steven Rothman
Rep. Baron Hill
Rep. Charles A. Wilson
Rep. Alan Grayson
Rep. Suzanne Kosmas
Rep. Bart Gordon (ex officio)

Republican Members:

Rep. Pete Olson, Ranking Member
Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr.
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher
Rep. Frank D. Lucas
Rep. Michael T. McCaul
Rep. Ralph M. Hall (ex officio)

Subcommittee on Research and Science Education

Rep. Daniel Lipinski, Chair

Democratic Members:

Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson
Rep. Brian Baird
Rep. Marcia L. Fudge
Rep. Parker Griffith
Rep. Paul Tonko
Rep. Russ Carnahan
Rep. Bart Gordon (ex officio)

Republican Members:

Rep. Vernon J. Ehlers, Ranking Member
Rep. Randy Neugebauer
Rep. Brian P. Bilbray
Rep. Adrian Smith
Rep. Ralph M. Hall (ex officio)

Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation

Rep. David Wu, Chair

Democratic Members:

Rep. Donna F. Edwards
Rep. Ben Ray Luján
Rep. Paul Tonko
Rep. Daniel Lipinski
Rep. Harry E. Mitchell
Rep. Gary C. Peters
Rep. Bart Gordon (ex officio)

Republican Members:

Rep. Adrian Smith Ranking Member
Rep. Judy Biggert
Rep. W. Todd Akin
Rep. Paul C. Broun
Rep. Ralph M. Hall (ex officio)

Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight

Rep. Brad Miller, Chair

Democratic Members:

Rep. Kathleen A. Dahlkemper
Rep. Steven Rothman
Rep. Lincoln Davis
Rep. Charles A. Wilson
Rep. Alan Grayson
Rep. Bart Gordon (ex officio)

Republican Members:

Rep. Paul Broun, Ranking Member
Rep. Brian P. Bilbray
Vacancy
Rep. Ralph M. Hall (ex officio)

For more information, including the Committee’s agenda, please see the Committee’s website.

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111.007

Related Subcommittees

Science and Technology (111th Congress)

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