NASA’s “Lean” Budgetary Outlook Will Have Wide-Ranging Impact on Agency Programs
(Washington, DC) The House Committee on Science and Technology today examined the budgetary outlook for our nation's premier space agency - the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). A source of much concern since President Bush unveiled it in February, NASA's budget plan has frustrated many lawmakers who call it inadequate in that it fails to provide the resources the agency needs to carry out all the tasks it has been given. "You've always been straightforward with me and … Continue Reading
March 14, 2007Subcommittee Questions EPA Budget Cuts
Members of the House Committee on Science and Technology's Energy and Environment Subcommittee today questioned the effects of projected federal budget cuts to environmental research programs at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The President's proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2008 (FY08) reduces the agency's overall budget to $7.2 billion, a 5.5 percent cut compared to FY 06. The overall spending by EPA's research programs has been declining for several years, with a 5 percent … Continue Reading
March 13, 2007Committee Emphasizes Need for Action on and Support of U.S. Innovation, Research, Competitiveness Efforts
(Washington, DC) Some of the nation's top business leaders, innovators and academics gathered today before the House Committee on Science and Technology to underscore the critical importance of science and technology to our nation's prosperity. Their focus - legislation currently before the Committee authored by Chairman Bart Gordon (D-TN) and based upon a widely regarded 2005 report from the National Academies entitled "Rising Above the Gathering Storm." That report was requested by … Continue Reading
March 12, 2007House Approves S & T Committee Legislation
(Washington, DC) - The U.S. House of Representatives today approved legislation aimed at improving America's global competitiveness, increasing energy efficiency and advancing research essential to economic progress. Each bill - products of the House Committee on Science and Technology - passed the House with overwhelming support. "I'm proud that my colleagues on both the Committee and in the House have advanced these bipartisan, consensus bills that put good ideas into practice for our … Continue Reading
March 09, 2007Gordon, Miller Seek Explanation on Continued Censoring of Federal Climate Scientists
(Washington, DC) In a letter today to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior, House Committee on Science and Technology Chairman Bart Gordon (D-TN) and Investigations and Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Brad Miller (D-NC) asked for an explanation as to why federal scientists - this time at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) - are being prohibited from discussing the issue of climate change. In an article by Felicity Barringer in the New York Times today, it was reported … Continue Reading
March 08, 2007Members Explore Priorities of FY08 Homeland Security R&D Budget
(Washington, DC) The Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation of the House Committee on Science and Technology today examined the Administration's FY08 budget request for research and development at the Department of Homeland Security. The Committee has jurisdiction over the agency's Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) and the Domestic Nuclear Protection Office (DNDO). Subcommittee Chairman David Wu (D-OR) thanked the Undersecretary for Science and Technology for his dedication … Continue Reading
March 08, 2007Subcommittee Spearheads Look Into the State of High School Labs; Scientific Learning in Classrooms
Washington, D.C. - Chairman Brian Baird (D-WA) led the House Committee on Science and Technology's Subcommittee on Research and Science Education in discussing how to improve the laboratory experience for America's high school students. This was the first meeting of the subcommittee in the 110th Congress. In today's hearing, the subcommittee heard from two panels of witnesses on H.R. 524, a bill to Establish a Laboratory Pilot Program at the National Science Foundation. The bill would award … Continue Reading
March 07, 2007Subcommittee Focuses on DOE FY08 Budget
(Washington, DC) Today, the House Committee on Science and Technology's Subcommittee on Energy and Environment heard testimonies from heads of five federal offices that oversee civilian energy research and development programs within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). "Addressing the momentous and diverse energy challenges that face the nation requires research and development programs that balance near-term solutions with long-term vision, and consistently support innovation and a broad … Continue Reading
March 06, 2007Administration Agrees to Hand Over Investigative Report on NASA's Inspector General
(Washington, DC) - Rep. Brad Miller (D-NC), Chairman of the House Committee on Science and Technology’s Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight, cancelled tomorrow’s scheduled subpoena meeting concerning the investigation of NASA Inspector General (IG) Robert Cobb after reaching agreement with the President’s Commission on Integrity and Efficiency (PCIE) to provide to the Subcommittee the requested report on Cobb by April 2, 2007. Since November 2006, the House Science and … Continue Reading
March 01, 2007Udall Introduces Resolution Honoring 50th Anniversary of the International Geophysical Year
(Washington, DC) House Committee on Science and Technology Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee Chairman Mark Udall (D-CO) today introduced a resolution honoring the 50th anniversary of the International Geophysical Year (IGY) - an internationally-coordinated global research effort that ushered in the Space Age and the scientific investigation of space. Subcommittee Ranking Member Ken Calvert (R-CA), Science and Technology Committee Chairman Bart Gordon (D-TN), and Research and Science … Continue Reading
March 01, 2007Congress Pushes to Catalog Nation's Capacity to "Bottle" Carbon Emissions from Coal and Other Energy Plants
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the amount of carbon dioxide in the world's atmosphere increased by 30 percent, a byproduct of the combustion of fossil fuels. This greenhouse gas is now considered a significant contributor to global climate change. However, recent research has developed the ability to ensure carbon dioxide emissions are not released into the atmosphere but instead are stored harmlessly in the ground in geologic formations, a process called … Continue Reading
February 28, 2007Innovation, Competitiveness Efforts Advance in Several Bills Cleared by Committee
(Washington, DC) Legislation designed to increase support for scientific research and encourage young scientists and researchers to pursue high-risk/high-reward research cleared the U.S. House Committee on Science and Technology Committee today, along with several other bills aimed at boosting U.S. competitiveness. “You’ve heard me say this time and again, when this Committee sees good ideas with broad bipartisan support, we are going to move those ideas forward. The legislation we … Continue Reading
February 26, 2007Science & Technology Committee Web Site Receives Highest Honor
Chairman Bart Gordon accepts the Gold Mouse Award from Tim Hysom of the Congressional Management Foundation. The House Committee on Science and Technology's minority website from the 109th Congress was honored in February as one of the best in Congress. The website received the Gold Mouse Award, the highest honor issued by the Congressional Management Foundation, a non-profit, non-partisan management consulting and research organization in Washington, D.C. … Continue Reading
February 16, 2007Baird Introduces Bills to Increase Country's Global Competitiveness, Support Scientific R&D
House Committee on Science and Technology Research and Science Education Subcommittee Chairman Brian Baird (D-WA) has introduced two bills aimed at increasing America's global competitiveness, and scientific research and development. Both bills have been referred to the Committee. The High-Performance Computing Act, which was introduced with the co-sponsorship of Rep. Judy Biggert who proposed similar legislation during both the 108th and 109th Congress, would improve the planning and … Continue Reading
February 16, 2007GAO: NASA's Management of Its Contractor Award Fees Needs to Be Improved
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report today (GAO-07-58) on procurement practices at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) that identifies a number of problems with the agency's management of its contractor award fees. The GAO report, entitled Use of Award Fees for Achieving Program Outcomes Should Be Improved, was requested by House Committee on Science and Technology Chairman Bart Gordon (D-TN). "Given NASA's dependence on cost-plus-award-fee … Continue Reading
February 15, 2007Wu Spearheads Look into NIST Budget, U.S. Competitiveness
In his first subcommittee hearing as Chairman, Rep. David Wu (D-OR) led the House Committee on Science and Technology's Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation in discussing the Administration's proposed FY2008 budget for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Specifically, Members examined whether NIST can maintain its goals of improving competitiveness under the President's proposed budget, which is $25 million less than the FY2007 amount appropriated in H.J.Res. 20. … Continue Reading
February 14, 2007Chairman Will Work to Strengthen Federal Commitment to Science and Math Education, Research
Members of the House Committee on Science and Technology today questioned the White House’s Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) - Dr. John H. Marburger - on the Administration’s proposal for federal research and development funding for Fiscal Year 2008 (FY2008). "You have heard me say this before, but it continues to ring true - as the father of a five year old daughter, I am deeply concerned that our children will be the first generation of Americans not to inherit … Continue Reading
February 13, 2007Committee Examines State of U.S. Weather Forecasting, Climate Monitoring Satellite Systems
Today, the House Committee on Science and Technology heard from the National Academies of Science and Engineering (NAS) on their report detailing the state of the nation's Earth observation satellite monitoring systems - spacecraft and satellite-based instruments used in weather forecasting, collecting critical climate data, monitoring land use and resources, and much more. The National Academies report is entitled Earth Science and Applications from Space: National Imperatives for the Next … Continue Reading
February 13, 2007Miller Leads Subcommittee Hearing into White House Executive Order That Gives More Political Control Over Public Health, Safety Regulations
Investigations and Oversight Subcommittee Chair Brad Miller (D-NC) wielded the gavel today at the Subcommittee’s first hearing of the 110th Congress.Today’s hearing was prompted by a directive from the President (Executive Order 12866) which gives the White House greater control in shaping rules that have primarily been generated by civil servants and scientific experts by putting the regulatory process at agencies under control of a political appointee."This order allows political appointees … Continue Reading
February 08, 2007Committee Vows Action on Climate Change
Today, the U.S. House Committee on Science and Technology held the first Congressional conversation with climate scientists who authored the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessment report released last weekend in Paris (February 2, 2007). "This is the first opportunity Congress has had to examine the findings of this important report," said Committee Chairman Bart Gordon (D-TN). The report, entitled Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis of Climate … Continue Reading