Chairman and Ranking Member Call on GAO to Examine Sexual Harassment by Federally Funded Researchers
(Washington, DC) - U.S. House Science, Space, and Technology Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX) and Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) today sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to request a report on sexual harassment by federally funded researchers, specifically looking at NIH, NSF, USDA, DOE and NASA. This letter is a continuation of the committee's investigation opened in October into allegations of sexual harassment within the scientific community. They … Continue Reading
January 17, 2018Democratic Leaders of Science Committee Call on Chairmen to Address Election Cybersecurity Concerns and Foreign Influence Operations
(Washington, DC) - Today, Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Oversight, Rep. Donald S. Beyer Jr. (D-VA) sent a formal request to Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX) and Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight, Rep. Darin LaHood (R-IL) to hold a hearing on election security issues. Similar requests were made by Ms. Johnson and Mr. Beyer last year at two cybersecurity focused hearings in October and November. This request follows last Wednesday’s … Continue Reading
December 22, 2017The Government Accountability Office (GAO) Completes its Natural Gas Pipeline Oversight Safety Review
(Washington, DC) - Today, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report that paints a disturbing picture of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s (PHMSA’s) ability to effectively establish and oversee new safety standards of natural gas storage facilities. Click here to see the report: https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-18-89 The GAO review was requested by Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX); Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Ranking … Continue Reading
December 18, 2017House Considers Several Science Committee Bills
(Washington, DC) - Today, the House is considering the following Science Committee bills under suspension of the rules. H.R. 4661 - United States Fire Administration, AFG, and SAFER Program Reauthorization Act of 2017, to reauthorize the United States Fire Administration, the Assistance to Firefighters Grants program, the Fire Prevention and Safety Grants program, and the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response grant program, and for other purposes. See Ranking Member Eddie … Continue Reading
December 12, 2017GAO Finds Trump Administration Illegally withheld ARPA-E Funds:In Response to a Request from Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson
(Washington, DC) - Today, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) informed Congress that the Trump Administration had committed an illegal impoundment of funding for the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) in fiscal year (FY) 2017. According to GAO, “ARPA-E withheld from obligation $91 million of budget authority, in violation of the Impoundment Control Act.” This finding comes as a result of Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson’s efforts to ensure that the Department of … Continue Reading
December 12, 2017Ranking Member Johnson’s Statement on the Second Anniversary of the Paris Climate Agreement
(Washington, DC) - On December 12, 2015, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change was committed to by 195 nations at the COP 21 UN Climate change conference. On June 1st of this year, President Trump announced that he would withdraw the U.S. from the Accord. Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson’s (D-TX), statement is below. “On the two-year anniversary of the signing of the Paris Climate Accord, I am hopeful that, while our President has chosen to cede leadership on environmental issues, … Continue Reading
November 14, 2017Old Tactics, New Tools: A Review of Russia’s Soft Cyber Influence Operations
(Washington, DC) - Today, during the Oversight Subcommittee hearing, “Bolstering the Government’s Cybersecurity: A Survey of Compliance with the DHS Directive,” Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Oversight, Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) will submit a Minority staff report into the record on Russian soft cyber influence operations that aim to amplify false and deceptive messages to influence the public and undermine democracy. Today, Russia is not simply targeting computers, but also human beings … Continue Reading
November 07, 2017House Science Committee Democrats Ask Chairman to Invite EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to Testify
(Washington, DC) - Today, all sixteen Democratic Members of the Committee on Science, Space & Technology wrote a letter to Chairman Lamar Smith requesting that he invite Scott Pruitt, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), to testify before the Committee. The Science Committee has jurisdiction over EPA’s scientific research; the Committee has an obligation to conduct appropriate oversight of the EPA; and issues of potential mismanagement, financial abuse, and unethical … Continue Reading
November 03, 2017SST and E&C Committee Leaders Send Letter to Administrator Pruitt Opposing Harmful Changes to EPA Scientific Advisory Panels
(Washington, DC) - Today, Ranking Members of the Committees on Science, Space & Technology and Energy & Commerce sent a letter to Scott Pruitt, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) strongly opposing the directive he issued imposing severe limitations on the scientific advice and expertise that the Agency’s science advisory committees may receive. The directive would bar scores of the nation’s most qualified scientists from sitting on these committees. It also … Continue Reading
October 31, 2017Ranking Member Johnson Statement on Detrimental Changes to EPA Advisory Panels
(Washington, DC) - Today, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt announced a new policy prohibiting scientists who receive agency funding from serving on independent science panels that advise the agency. He dismissed current science advisers who received agency grants and replaced them with industry representatives and Republican state environmental officials. Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) gave the following statement. Today’s announcement by EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt leaves … Continue Reading
October 26, 2017SST Committee Opens Bipartisan Investigation into Alleged Sexual Harassment by Boston University Professor
(Washington, DC) – U.S. House Science, Space, and Technology Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) and Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas) today initiated a bipartisan investigation into allegations of assault and sexual harassment against a Boston University professor who has received nearly $5.5 million in federal grants. According to media reports, the director of Boston University’s Antarctic Research Group allegedly assaulted and sexually … Continue Reading
October 24, 2017Bipartisan ARPA-E Reauthorization Garners Outpouring of Support
In September, Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), introduced H.R. 3681, the ARPA-E Reauthorization Act of 2017. This bipartisan bill authorizes reasonable growth in funding for ARPA-E through 2022. Increased funding for ARPA-E is consistent with the strong and sustained recommendations of many respected industrial and academic institutions and organizations in recent years. The bill also includes a provision that ensures that sensitive proprietary business information collected by … Continue Reading
October 13, 2017Ranking Member Johnson Appointed as a Conferee for National Defense Authorization Act
(Washington, DC) - Yesterday, Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) was selected to be a member of the conference committee of lawmakers designated to reconcile the House and Senate variations of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2018. The portions of the legislation that Ranking Member Johnson will be negotiating include the commercialization of innovative federal technologies and successful small business research and development efforts, in addition to … Continue Reading
October 10, 2017Ranking Member Johnson Condemns Repeal of Clean Power Plan
(Washington, DC) -Today, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt signed a proposal to eliminate the Obama Administration’s Clean Power Plan. This follows an executive order signed in March 2017 ordering the EPA to review the landmark climate change rule, as well as a decision by the Trump Administration to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement. Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) made the following statement. “I am profoundly saddened that the … Continue Reading
September 18, 2017Facts Contradict Science Committee Majority’s Attack on NOAA’s Climate Scientists
(Washington, DC) - On Sunday, the British tabloid The Mail on Sunday, was forced to publish an “adverse adjudication” against it by the Independent Press Standards Organization (IPSO), the independent regulator of the British newspaper and magazine industry, regarding a climate change story it published on February 5, 2017, by controversial reporter David Rose. The article, with the original online headline: Exposed: How world leaders were duped into investing billions over manipulated global … Continue Reading
September 06, 2017Ranking Member Johnson Introduces Bipartisan ARPA-E Reauthorization
(Washington, DC) - Today, Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) introduced H.R. 3681, the ARPA-E Reauthorization Act of 2017. This bipartisan bill authorizes reasonable growth in funding for ARPA-E through 2022. Increased funding for ARPA-E is consistent with the strong and sustained recommendations of many respected industrial and academic institutions and organizations in recent years. The bill also includes a provision which ensures that sensitive proprietary business information … Continue Reading
September 06, 2017Science Board Applauds EPA’s IRIS Program Ahead of Committee Hearing
(Washington, DC) - Last Friday, the members of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Science Advisory Board (SAB) sent a letter to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt praising the progress made by EPA’s Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) program over the past several years. “The changes are so extensive and positive that they constitute a virtual reinvention of IRIS,” wrote the Chair of the SAB, Dr. Peter Thorne. The IRIS program provides critical risk assessments of chemicals, such as … Continue Reading
August 08, 2017Ranking Members Johnson, Bonamici, and Beyer Respond to Draft Climate Science Report
(Washington, DC) - Following President Trump’s formal communication to the United Nations last Friday of the United States’ intent to withdraw from the Paris Climate Change Agreement, the New York Times yesterday released a draft of the Climate Science Special Report, an authoritative assessment of the science of climate change, which provides the scientific foundation for the Fourth National Climate Assessment. This special report, due for final publication this fall, is a stand-alone report … Continue Reading
July 21, 2017Ranking Members Johnson, Beyer, and Bonamici Request Information from Administrator Pruitt on Proposed “Red Team - Blue Team” Exercise
(Washington, DC) - Democratic leaders of the House Science, Space, & Technology Committee sent a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt today requesting that he provide more information on his proposed “red team-blue team” exercise, where the scientific consensus on human-caused climate change would be debated. The letter was signed by Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), Ranking Member of the Science, Space & Technology Committee; Donald S. Beyer … Continue Reading
July 14, 2017Ranking Member Johnson’s Statement on House Vote to Establish Apollo 1 Memorial
(Washington, DC) - Today, the House of Representatives voted to establish a memorial at Arlington National Cemetery to honor the crew of the Apollo 1 mission, who perished in a spacecraft fire 50 years ago. It was included as an amendment by Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) in H.R. 2810, the “National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2018” (NDAA). The House approved NDAA this morning by a vote of 344-81. Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson made the following statement after the … Continue Reading