Ranking Member Johnson Attends White House Science Fair
(Washington, DC) - Today, President Obama hosted the fifth annual White House Science Fair to celebrate the achievements of students in a broad range of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) endeavors. This year’s Science Fair focused on diversity and included students from underrepresented backgrounds who are excelling in STEM and inspiring the next generation with their work. President Obama announced $240 million in private-sector commitments to inspire and prepare more students … Continue Reading
March 19, 2015Ranking Member Johnson and Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner Reintroduce Public Access Bill
Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) and Committee on Science, Space, and Technology Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas) today reintroduced the Public Access to Public Science (PAPS) Act. This legislation would ensure public access to published materials concerning scientific research and development activities funded by federal science agencies, including the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institute of … Continue Reading
March 18, 2015House Passes another Bill to Undermine EPA
(Washington, DC) - Today the House passed H.R. 1030, the Secret Science Reform Act, by a vote of 241-175. Republicans claim that H.R. 1030 increases EPA's transparency and accountability by ensuring that its regulations are based on public data that can be verified and reproduced. In reality, H.R. 1030 prevents EPA from functioning effectively and using the most relevant scientific data-including confidential medical information that is legally protected from public disclosure. If this bill … Continue Reading
March 17, 2015Amidst Strong Democratic Opposition, House Passes Bill Limiting Scientific Advice to EPA, Risking Public Health
(Washington, DC) - Today, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1029, the Science Advisory Board Reform Act of 2015. Numerous scientific, public health, and environmental organizations expressed strong opposition to this bill, characterizing the legislation as “harmful”, “unnecessary”, and aimed at “undermining important health, safety, and environmental protections.” A nearly identical bill passed the House last Congress along mostly party lines. On the House floor, Ranking Member Suzanne … Continue Reading
March 17, 2015Committee Democrats Support Strengthening the Ozone Standard to Protect Public Health
(Washington, DC) - Today the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology held a hearing to “examine the scientific and technological achievability” of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ozone.” Under the Clean Air Act, EPA is required to set the primary standard for ozone at a level requisite to protect public health within an adequate margin of safety. EPA is prohibited from considering cost or technical feasibility … Continue Reading
March 04, 2015Bipartisan Bills Pass Out of Committee
(Washington, DC) - Today the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology held a markup of H.R. 1119, H.R. 1156, H.R. 1162, H.R. 1158, and H.R. 874. All of the bills passed out of Committee on bipartisan voice votes. Though the markup was bipartisan, Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), expressed concern that the bills did not go through regular order on the Committee. She also said, “I am concerned that we are spending our time marking up a number of individual small bills that … Continue Reading
February 27, 2015Subcommittee Emphasizes Need for Safety and Transparency in Commercial Crew Program
(Washington, DC) - Today the Science, Space, and Technology’s Subcommittee on Space held a hearing titled, “The Commercial Crew Program: Challenges and Opportunities,” to review the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) efforts to develop and acquire safe, reliable, and affordable crew transfer services to the International Space Station (ISS). Last September, NASA established contracts with Space Exploration Technologies and The Boeing Corporation to finalize designs, … Continue Reading
February 26, 2015Subcommittee Examines FY 2016 Budgets for NSF and NIST
(Washington, DC) - Today, the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology’s Subcommittee on Research & Technology held a hearing to examine the FY 2016 budget requests for the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Testifying before the Subcommittee were Dr. France Co?rdova, the Director of NSF, Dr. Daniel Arvizu, the Chairman of the National Science Board (NSB), and Dr. Willie E. May, the Acting Director of NIST. On the budget request … Continue Reading
February 26, 2015Republicans Hold Committee Markup to Pass Two Destructive EPA Bills
(Washington, DC) - Today, the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology held a Full Committee markup of two bills aimed at preventing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from utilizing the best research to create effective regulations. The two bills before the Committee were H.R. 1030, the Secret Science Reform Act of 2015 and H.R. 1029, the EPA Science Advisory Board Reform Act of 2015. The markup was noticed only two days in advance while Members were still out of town. Minority … Continue Reading
February 25, 2015House Passes STEM Education Bill
(Washington, DC) - Today, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1020, the STEM Education Act of 2015. The bill incorporated provisions previously proposed by Rep. Elizabeth Esty (D-CT) and Rep. Daniel Lipinski (D-IL). The bill authorizes the National Science Foundation (NSF) to award grants and support activities, including teaching fellowships, to improve STEM learning outcomes. Rep. Esty said, “We must support educational and economic foundations that encourage the innovation and … Continue Reading
February 25, 2015Committee Discusses DOE Science and Technology Priorities with the Secretary of Energy
(Washington, DC) - Today the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology held a hearing to examine the Department of Energy’s (DOE) science and technology priorities and discuss the Administration’s fiscal year (FY) 2016 budget request for the Department of Energy’s research and development portfolio. Testifying before the Committee was the Honorable Ernest Moniz, Secretary of Energy, U.S. Department of Energy. Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) stressed the importance of … Continue Reading
February 13, 2015Joint Subcommittee Hearing Examines Privacy of Healthcare.gov and Third-Party Data Sharing
(Washington, DC) - Today the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology’s Subcommittee on Research & Technology and Subcommittee on Oversight held a joint hearing to discuss the potential privacy concerns of the third-party data sharing on the Federal healthcare website, Healthcare.gov. Testifying before the subcommittees were Ms. Michelle De Mooy, Deputy Director of Consumer Privacy at the Center for Democracy and Technology and Mr. Morgan Wright, Principal at Morgan Wright, LLC. Ranking … Continue Reading
February 12, 2015Subcommittees Review Weather Satellite Systems Progress
(Washington, DC) - Today the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology’s Subcommittees on Environment and Oversight held a joint hearing to discuss problems and concerns associated with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) weather satellite systems, the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) and the Geostationary Orbiting Environmental Satellite (GOES). JPSS and GOES acquisitions have been marked by schedule delays, significant cost growth, the repeated down-sizing of … Continue Reading
February 10, 2015Democrats Announce Subcommittee Assignments and Ranking Members
(Washington, DC) - The Democratic Caucus of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology elected Subcommittee Ranking Members and selected subcommittee assignments today. Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) said, “I am proud to be working with such a strong group of Ranking Members and caucus. There is much work to be done this Congress and I look forward to working with them and our colleagues across the aisle to advance our nation’s scientific research, innovation, and education … Continue Reading
February 10, 2015House Passes Bipartisan NASA Reauthorization Act
(Washington, DC) - The House of Representatives today passed H.R. 810, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2015 under suspension of the rules. H.R. 810 authorizes programs and projects at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for one year and updates NASA funding to be consistent with FY 2015 enacted funding numbers. The bill is essentially identical to H.R. 4412 that passed the House overwhelmingly last year by a vote of 401-2 under suspension of … Continue Reading
February 06, 2015Committee Leaders Announce Bipartisan NASA Bill
(Washington, DC) - Members of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee today announced details of the NASA Authorization Act of 2015, legislation intended to reaffirm Congress’s commitment to NASA as a multi mission agency with programs in science, aeronautics, exploration, and human spaceflight, and make clear that Mars should be NASA’s primary goal. The bill will be introduced in the House the week of February 9th. Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) was joined by Ranking … Continue Reading
February 02, 2015Ranking Member Johnson’s Statement on the President’s FY2016 Budget
(Washington, DC) - Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) offered the following statement after the release of the President’s FY2016 Budget. “The President’s Budget would help ensure that the U.S. can compete in a 21st Century global economy and solidify America’s place as a scientific and technological leader. The commitment to STEM education, advanced manufacturing, and energy efficiency and the development of clean energy alternatives is encouraging. I am most pleased by the 6 percent … Continue Reading
January 29, 2015Ranking Member Johnson’s Statement on the Passing of Charles Townes
(Washington, DC) - Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) released the following statement regarding the passing of heralded inventor and scientist, Dr. Charles Townes. In addition to a long list of accolades, Dr. Townes won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1964 for his fundamental work in the field of quantum electronics. “I join the entire scientific community in expressing my sadness on the passing of Dr. Charles Townes. As the inventor of the laser, his breakthrough work is utilized in … Continue Reading
January 29, 2015Ranking Member Johnson's Remarks on EPA Proposal to Update National Air Quality Standards
Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson's remarks on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Proposal to Update National Air Quality Standards for Ground-level Ozone are below: "We are here today to discuss the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal to lower the standard for ozone, the pollutant that causes smog, from the current standard of 75 parts per billion to a standard in the range of 65 to 70 parts per billion. "As someone who worked in the public health field before I entered … Continue Reading
January 29, 2015Ranking Member Johnson and Rep. Sensenbrenner Introduce Bipartisan Engineering Biology Legislation
(Washington, DC) - Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) and Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) introduced H.R. 591, the Engineering Biology Research and Development Act of 2015. The Engineering Biology Research and Development Act of 2015 would establish a National Engineering Biology Research and Development Program to support and coordinate Federal R&D in engineering biology. Engineering biology research is at the intersection of biological, physical, and information sciences and … Continue Reading