Committee Passes Legislation to Advance Green Transportation Research, Fire Safety and Border Security
(Washington, DC) Today, the House Science and Technology Committee favorably passed three bills improving the environment, public safety, and border security. Committee Chairman Bart Gordon (D-TN) led the markup on H.R. 5161, the Green Transportation Infrastructure Research and Technology Transfer Act; H.R. 4847, the United States Fire Administration Reauthorization Act of 2008; and H.R. 3916, a bill to provide for the next generation of border and maritime security technologies. … Continue Reading
February 26, 2008Subcommittee Examines FY09 NOAA Budget; Releases GAO Report on Effectiveness of U.S. Aviation Weather Services
(Washington, DC) Today, the U.S. House Committee on Science and Technology's Subcommittee on Energy and Environment examined the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) FY 2009 budget proposal. The Committee also released a report at the hearing from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) regarding Aviation Weather Services. NOAA oversees U.S. weather forecasting, climate prediction, management of fisheries and coastal and ocean resources. The agency is responsible for … Continue Reading
February 26, 2008Baird, Subcommittee Members Examine Priorities Outlined in the National Science Foundation’s FY09 Budget
(Washington, DC) Today, the Subcommittee on Research and Science Education of the U.S. House Committee on Science and Technology held an oversight hearing to examine the National Science Foundation's (NSF) FY 2009 budget request and related policy issues. As the primary source of federal funding for non-medical, basic research conducted at colleges and universities, NSF has long-served as a catalyst for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education reform. Subcommittee … Continue Reading
February 15, 2008Gordon Comments on OECD/IEA Assessment of Energy Policy Challenges Facing the U.S.
(Washington, DC) Today, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) released an assessment of the challenges facing the United States in energy policy. Every 4-5 years, the IEA conducts a “peer review” of the energy policies of each member country. Chairman Gordon offered the following statement on the release of Energy Policies of IEA Countries - United States - 2007 Review: “The IEA report correctly identifies the two key … Continue Reading
February 15, 2008Gordon, Committee Leaders Ask GAO to Investigate FutureGen
(Washington, DC) Today, the Chairman of the House Committee on Science and Technology Bart Gordon (D-TN) - joined by fellow Committee Members Nick Lampson (D-TX), Jerry Costello (D-IL) and Dan Lipinski (D-IL) - asked the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to investigate the Administration's recent decision to pull their support for FutureGen - a project intended to demonstrate next generation coal-fired power production and the centerpiece of the Department of Energy's(DOE) program on … Continue Reading
February 14, 2008Gordon Comments on CDC Release of Toxic FEMA Trailer Study
(Washington, DC) Today, Chairman Bart Gordon (D-TN) of the U.S. House Committee on Science and Technology commented on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) release of data they compiled in their study of the toxicity of the housing trailers that FEMA put in place along the Gulf Coast after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Upon release of the CDC’s study today, Chairman Gordon offered the following comment:“Finally, the CDC has reached the conclusion that it should have … Continue Reading
February 14, 2008House Honors African-American Innovators, National Engineers Week and Approves Oceans Legislation
(Washington, DC) -Three Science and Technology Committee bills have been granted final approval by the U.S. House of Representatives - a resolution honoring African-American Innovators; a resolution supporting National Engineers Week; and a bill authorizing research programs at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). H. Res. 966, Honoring African-American inventors, past and present, for their leadership, courage, and significant contributions to national … Continue Reading
February 14, 2008Committee Urges Full Funding of COMPETES Act
(Washington, DC) Today, the U.S. House Committee on Science and Technology held a hearing to consider how the Administration's FY2009 budget proposal addresses programs authorized in the America COMPETES Act (PL 110-69) within the jurisdiction of the Committee. Dr. John H. Marburger, III, Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), testified before the Committee. Members asked questions about how the Administration proposes to fund programs authorized in COMPETES. The … Continue Reading
February 13, 2008Committee Examines FY09 NASA Budget
(Washington, DC) Today, the U.S. House Committee on Science and Technology held its first hearing to review the proposal for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Fiscal Year 2009 budget request and NASA's proposed Fiscal Year 2008 Operating Plan. The Committee maintains jurisdiction over the Agency and will be reauthorizing NASA's programs this year. Committee Members heard testimony from and questioned NASA Administrator Dr. Michael Griffin on a range of issues related … Continue Reading
February 13, 2008Gordon Urges NRC to Reject Application to Dump Foreign Nuclear Waste In U.S.
(Washington, DC) U.S. House Committee on Science and Technology Chairman Bart Gordon (D-TN) has asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to reject the application of EnergySolutions to import 20,000 tons of low-level radioactive waste (LLRW) from Italy into the United States for processing and disposal. The NRC published a notice in the Federal Register yesterday which initiated a 30-day public comment period on the application. “To approve this license would run counter to … Continue Reading
February 07, 2008Baird Chairs First of Many Subcommittee Hearings on Strengthening Science Diplomacy
(Washington, DC) - Today, Members of the House Science and Technology Committee's Research and Science Education Subcommittee held a hearing to review the visa process for foreign science and engineering students and scholars. Subcommittee Chairman Brian Baird (D-WA) and subcommittee members explored recommendations for improving the current visa process and examined the difficulties that arise when universities try to recruit top notch students and professors from abroad. "Today's … Continue Reading
February 07, 2008Members Hail Successful Launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis
(Washington, DC) This afternoon the Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-122) lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida en route to the International Space Station (ISS). Leaders of the U.S. House Committee on Science and Technology - the Committee with jurisdiction over U.S. civil space and aeronautics activity - offered the following comments on the successful launch and upcoming mission: Committee Chairman Bart Gordon (D-TN): “I want to wish the crew of Atlantis a safe journey as … Continue Reading
February 07, 2008Subcommittee Clears Bills That Engage Research and Technology in Addressing Matters of Security, Green Transportation and Fire Safety
(Washington, DC) Today, the U.S. House Committee on Science and Technology's Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation approved legislation aimed at addressing pressing research and technology needs facing the U.S. Subcommittee Chairman David Wu (D-OR) led the body in passage of the following bills: H.R. 5161, The Green Transportation Infrastructure Research and Technology Transfer Act H.R. 4847, United States Fire Administration Reauthorization Act of 2007 … Continue Reading
February 07, 2008Gordon, Miller and Lampson Issue Call to Protect Whistleblower and Question Recent Actions of Public Health Agency
(Washington, DC) House Committee on Science and Technology Chairman Bart Gordon (D-TN), and Subcommittee Chairmen Brad Miller (D-NC) and Nick Lampson (D-TX) demanded yesterday that Dr. Julie Gerberding, Director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and also the Administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), take steps to protect Dr. Christopher De Rosa, former director of ATSDR’s Division of Toxicology and Environmental Medicine from what … Continue Reading
February 06, 2008Resolution Commemorating 50th Anniversary of Explorer I Among Three S&T Bills Passed by House
(Washington, DC) - A bipartisan House resolution marking the 50th anniversary of the launch of the United States' Explorer I satellite - the world's first scientific spacecraft - passed the House of Representatives today along with two other Committee on Science and Technology resolutions. On January 31, 1958, the U.S. successfully launched Explorer 1, the first satellite into space. That day marked the beginning of the U.S. space program. Fifty years later, leaders of the U.S. House … Continue Reading
February 04, 2008Committee Asks GAO to Analyze NASA’s Air Safety Survey Data
(Washington, DC) Led today by Chairman Bart Gordon (D-TN) of the U.S. House Committee on Science and Technology, Committee leaders asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to analyze massive amounts of data on U.S. air safety that the National Aeronautics and Safety Administration (NASA) made public on New Year's Eve. NASA acquired the data as part of the National Aviation Operations Monitoring Service (NAOMS) pilot survey - collected at taxpayer expense - on the safety of U.S. air … Continue Reading
February 04, 2008Gordon on President’s FY09 Budget: Plan Shortchanges U.S. Competitiveness Efforts
(Washington, DC) U.S. House Committee on Science and Technology Chairman Bart Gordon (D-TN) offered the following comment on the Administration's FY 2009 budget submitted to Congress today: "Today, the Administration submitted its Fiscal Year 2009 budget request to Congress. While the almost $3.11 trillion budget includes $147 billion for R&D, it proposes an incomplete and short-sighted plan to promote U.S. competitiveness." "Last August, Congress passed and the President signed into … Continue Reading
February 01, 2008Gordon Questions Plan to Import Nuclear Waste Into U.S.
(Washington, DC) House Committee on Science and Technology Chairman Bart Gordon (D-TN) today asked the Northwest Interstate Compact for Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management to withhold its support for a license application filed by EnergySolutions with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to put low-level radioactive waste (LLRW) from Italy in a Utah waste site. "It appears that EnergySolutions’ exploitation of a loophole in our country’s nuclear waste regulatory framework and its … Continue Reading
January 31, 2008Committee Leaders Mark 5th Anniversary of Columbia Tragedy
Washington, DC - Tomorrow (February 1, 2008) marks the 5th anniversary of the loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia and the seven brave astronauts who flew on the STS-107 mission. Leaders of the U.S. House Committee on Science and Technology today offered the following remembrances: Rep. Bart Gordon (D-TN) Chairman of the full Committee commented, "When an unexpected tragedy of the magnitude of Columbia occurs, it's up to us as a nation to mourn our loss, assess what went wrong, and work to … Continue Reading
January 30, 2008Explorer I Resolution Introduced to Commemorate 50th Anniversary of the Birth of the U.S. Space Program
Washington, DC - January 31, 2008 marks the 50th anniversary of the launch of the first U.S. satellite - Explorer I - and the dawn of the U.S. space program. Leaders of the U.S. House Committee on Science and Technology marked that anniversary with the introduction of a U.S. House Resolution late yesterday remembering the landmark day and the remarkable advances the U.S. space program has yielded. Resolution author Rep. Mark Udall (D-CO), Chairman of the House Science and Technology … Continue Reading