The Committee on Science, Space and Technology is a committee of the United States House of Representatives. It has jurisdiction over non-defense federal scientific research and development. Specifically, the committee has partial or complete jurisdiction over the following federal agencies: NASA, the Department of Energy, EPA, ATSDR, NSF, FAA, NOAA, National Institute of Standards and Technology, FEMA, the U.S. Fire Administration, and United States Geological Survey.
Contents |
In the wake of the Soviet Sputnik program in the late 1950s, Congress created the Select Committee on Astronautics and Space Exploration in 1958. This select committee drafted the National Aeronautics and Space Act that created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). A staff report of the committee, the Space Handbook: Astronautics and its Applications, provided non-technical information about spaceflight to U.S. policy makers.[1]
The committee also chartered the permanent House Committee on Science and Astronautics, which officially began on January 3, 1959, and was the first new standing committee established in the House since 1946. The name was changed in 1974 to the House Committee on Science and Technology. The name was changed again in 1987 to the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology. After the Republican Party gained a majority in Congress in 1994, the name of the committee was changed to the House Committee on Science. With the return of control to the Democrats in 2007, the committee's name was changed back to the House Committee on Science and Technology.[2]
The Committee is chaired by Ralph Hall of Texas, and the Ranking Member is Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas.
Majority | Minority |
---|---|
|
|
Source:
In the 111th United States Congress (January 2009-January 2011), the Committee was chaired by Democrat Bart Gordon of Tennessee,[3] and the Ranking Member was Republican Ralph Hall of Texas.[4]
Sources:
There are five subcommittees in the 112th Congress.[5]
Subcommittee | Chair | Ranking Member |
---|---|---|
Space and Aeronautics | Steven Palazzo (R-MS) | Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) |
Research and Science Education | Mo Brooks (R-AL) | Dan Lipinski (D-IL) |
Energy and Environment | Andy Harris (R-MD) | Brad Miller (D-NC) |
Technology and Innovation | Ben Quayle (R-AZ) | David Wu (D-OR) |
Investigations and Oversight | Paul Broun (R-GA) | Donna Edwards (D-MD) |
Chairmen since 1959.[6]
|