United States House Committee on Science, Space and Technology

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, NIST, FEMA, the U.S. Fire Administration, and USGS.

History

In the wake of the Soviet Sputnik program in the late 1950s, Congress created the Select Committee on Astronautics and Space Exploration in 1958, chaired by majority leader John William McCormack. 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.

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.

In the 112th Congress, Committee Chairman Ralph Hall added “Space” back into the committee’s name: “The Committee on Science, Space, and Technology” – a nod to the committee’s history, broad jurisdiction, and the importance of space exploration in maintaining American innovation and competitiveness.

Members

114th Congress

Majority

Minority

Template:Party shading/Republican valign=top | Lamar S. Smith, Texas, Chairman Frank Lucas, Oklahoma, Vice Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner, Wisconsin, Chairman emeritus Dana Rohrabacher, California Randy Neugebauer, Texas Michael McCaul, Texas Mo Brooks, Alabama Randy Hultgren, Illinois Bill Posey, Florida Thomas Massie, Kentucky Jim Bridenstine, Oklahoma Randy Weber, Texas Bill Johnson, Ohio John Moolenaar, Michigan Steve Knight, California Brian Babin, Texas Bruce Westerman, Arkansas Barbara Comstock, Virginia Dan Newhouse, Washington Gary Palmer, Alabama Barry Loudermilk, Georgia Ralph Abraham, Louisiana

Template:Party shading/Democratic valign=top | Eddie Bernice Johnson, Texas, Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren, California Dan Lipinski, Illinois Donna Edwards, Maryland Frederica Wilson, Florida Suzanne Bonamici, Oregon Eric Swalwell, California Alan Grayson, Florida Ami Bera, California Elizabeth Esty, Connecticut Marc Veasey, Texas Katherine Clark, Massachusetts Don Beyer, Virginia Ed Perlmutter, Colorado Paul Tonko, New York

Subcommittees

There are five subcommittees in the 114th Congress.

Subcommittee	Chair	Ranking Member
Energy	Randy Weber (R-TX)	Alan Grayson (D-FL)
Environment	Jim Bridenstine (R-OK)	Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR)
Oversight	Barry Loudermilk (R-GA)	Don Beyer (D-VA)
Research and Technology	Barbara Comstock (R-VA)	Dan Lipinski (D-IL)
Space	Brian Babin (R-TX)	Donna Edwards (D-MD)

Committee chairmen, 1959-present

Chairmen since 1959.

• Overton Brooks, 1959–1961
• George P. Miller, 1961–1973
• Olin E. Teague, 1973–1978
• Don Fuqua, 1979–1987
• Robert A. Roe, 1987–1991
• George Brown, Jr., 1991–1995
• Robert S. Walker, 1995–1997
• Jim Sensenbrenner, 1997–2001
• Sherwood Boehlert, 2001–2007
• Bart Gordon, 2007–2011
• Ralph Hall, 2011–2013
• Lamar Smith, 2013–present

External links

• Official web site
• Republican Science Committee website
• Democratic Science Committee website
• A History of the Committee on Science and Technology: 85th-110th Congresses 1958-2008
• Template:Gutenberg author
• Template:Internet Archive author