[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 130 (Friday, October 7, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11302-S11303]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 THANKING AND CONGRATULATING JANA DAVIS

 Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, each year at about this time, 
three dozen or so scientists descend on Capitol Hill looking to work 
for Members of Congress or congressional committees. They come to us 
offering their expertise and service free of charge, courtesy of the 
American Association for the Advancement of Science, AAAS. For over 30 
years now, AAAS and its constituent professional societies have 
provided science fellows, and Congress and the Nation are better for 
it.
  Science and technology dominate our lives and yet there are 
relatively few scientists and engineers engaged in formulating public 
policy, either as Members of Congress or as congressional staff. As 
Carl Sagan said, ``We live in a society exquisitely dependent on 
science and technology, in which hardly anyone knows anything about

[[Page S11303]]

science and technology.'' That is why the AAAS science fellows are so 
important.
  Scientific expertise has never been more important than it is right 
now. The Bush administration and its allies in and out of government 
are pursuing policies that seem to depend on repudiating science on 
everything from the environment to biomedical research to education. 
Whether we are talking about global warming or stem cell research or 
teaching evolution, this administration and the majority here in 
Congress too often ignore or dispute the solid consensus that exists in 
scientific communities with regard to these and other crucial issues.
  For the past year, I have been fortunate to have Dr. Jana Davis work 
in my office as a AAAS science fellow. Her tenure has come to an end 
and she will soon start a new job with the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Agency, NOAA, so I would like to take this opportunity to 
thank her for her service here in the Senate and to congratulate her on 
her new job.
  Jana is a New Jersey native who went to Yale University for her 
undergraduate degree in environmental biology. She received her Ph.D. 
in oceanography from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. After 
that, she served as a postdoctoral fellow and biologist at the 
Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. She has held various 
teaching jobs and has a lengthy list of scholarly publications to her 
credit.
  In her short time here, Jana worked on a number of bills and became a 
trusted adviser on a range of scientific issues, especially those which 
fall under the jurisdiction of the Committee on Environment & Public 
Works and the Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation--two of 
the three committees I serve on. For instance, Jana was the principal 
author of several measures I have introduced, including S. 1645, an 
ocean and coastal science literacy and education bill; S. 1635, a bill 
to protect deep sea coral habitat; S. 1619, a bill to reduce pesticide 
use in schools; and S. Res. 99, a resolution urging the U.S. delegation 
to the International Whaling Commission to press for an end to dolphin 
slaughter. Jana also drafted the ``Save Climate SCIENCE''--Scientific 
Credibility, Integrity, Ethics, Non-partisanship, Consistency, and 
Excellence--amendment I offered to H.R. 6, the Energy bill. And she 
served as my representative in Commerce Committee staff negotiations on 
reauthorizing the Coastal Zone Management Act, ballast water exchange 
legislation, and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act.
  Jana has done a superb job during her fellowship. I have relied on 
her scientific expertise and she has shown a great aptitude for public 
policy. I am grateful for her service and value her numerous 
substantive contributions. I regret that she is moving on but our loss 
here in the Senate is NOAA's gain. She will do a superb job at NOAA.
  I want to thank the American Geophysical Union for sponsoring Jana 
and the AAAS for sponsoring the science fellows program. The program is 
invaluable because it brings talented, energetic, and idealistic 
scientists like Jana Davis to Capitol Hill. We need more people like 
that here in Congress.

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