[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 14]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 19920]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


RECOGNIZING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF DANIEL PEARSON TO THE HOUSE COMMITTEE 
                   ON SCIENCE, SPACE, AND TECHNOLOGY

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 9, 2015

  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to 
recognize the service of a valued staff member of the Committee on 
Science, Space, and Technology, Doctor Daniel Pearson. Dr. Pearson has 
served on Capitol Hill for the past quarter century, most recently as 
the Minority Staff Director for the Oversight Subcommittee.
  Dr. Pearson came to the Committee with a PhD in Political Science 
from the University of Washington and a keen interest in public 
service. His commitment has always been to good public policy and 
integrity in government rather than simply partisan politics. That 
commitment is exemplified by the fact that he has worked effectively 
for both Republican and Democratic Members of Congress over his 
congressional career.
  In the early 1990s, Dr. Pearson led investigations and oversight 
activities for Congressman Sherry Boehlert (R-NY). He also worked for 
former Committee Chairman George Brown (D-CA), Democratic Ranking 
Member Ralph Hall, and former Chairman Bart Gordon prior to becoming 
Minority staff director for the Oversight Subcommittee after I became 
Ranking Member in 2011.
  Because of the wide-ranging oversight jurisdiction of the Committee, 
Dr. Pearson has been involved in investigating multiple federal 
agencies, from the Department of Energy to the Department of Homeland 
Security, Environmental Protection Agency, National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration, National Science Foundation, and the 
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, covering a broad array 
of science and technology issues. He leaves behind a legacy of helping 
to reign in waste, fraud, abuse and mismanagement throughout the 
federal government dating back to the Science Committee's investigation 
of environmental crimes at the Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant.
  Dr. Pearson's oversight efforts have helped to uncover mismanagement 
of federal resources, projects and programs. He helped to re-open a 
network of key EPA regional libraries that had been inexplicably 
closed. He investigated the Veterans Administration's inappropriate 
destruction of an irreplaceable collection of biological samples, 
including the legionella bacteria that causes Legionnaires disease. He 
managed an investigation into an important Department of Homeland 
Security (DHS) laboratory called the Environmental Measurements 
Laboratory (EML) that revealed the DHS Science & Technology Directorate 
had intended to close this crucial lab without informing Congress. Dr. 
Pearson's efforts resulted in saving this lab from closure. His 
oversight efforts also resulted in the withdrawal of federal funding 
from a technically troubled and poorly managed aerospace project called 
the DP-2. His investigation of the mishandling of a critical 
radioactive isotope, Helium-3, used for the identification and 
detection of dangerous radioactive material, helped put management of 
that program back on track.
  Dr. Pearson's oversight work on scientific integrity and public 
health resulted in several investigations of the Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention (CDC) including its sister agency the Agency for 
Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). These investigations led 
to the public disclosure of a flawed public health report on the 
potentially toxic levels of formaldehyde in trailers provided to 
survivors of Hurricane Katrina and Rita by the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency (FEMA) and a flawed CDC report on the levels of lead-
in-water in Washington, D.C. In that instance, the Committee's 
investigation prompted an internal CDC investigation of its Childhood 
Lead Poisoning Prevention Branch and the agency issued two separate 
formal notifications correcting its public health study.
  In his investigatory and oversight role, Dr. Pearson has been a 
tireless advocate for people who would otherwise have been left behind 
by the government. There is no better example of this determination 
than the work Dan did on behalf of the families of Marines at Camp 
Lejeune, who we came to learn became sick because of a polluted water 
supply. It was the kind of staff work that should be admired and 
copied.
  Dr. Pearson has always believed strongly in the institutional 
oversight authority vested in Congress and the need to investigate 
alleged wrongdoing by those tasked with overseeing federal agencies. 
His nonpartisan oversight efforts in this regard contributed to the 
removal of three federal Inspector Generals (IGs) from office over the 
years, one at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) 
and two at the Department of Commerce.
  Throughout all of these investigations and oversight activities, Dr. 
Pearson demonstrated the patience and endurance to keep after 
wrongdoers in the federal government for months and even years if 
necessary. Doing investigatory work for a House committee can be 
thankless task at times, but Dr. Pearson was always willing to do what 
was necessary to carry out his oversight responsibilities.
  In sum, Dr. Pearson has been a critically important member of the 
Committee staff. He has been passionate about the issues he has worked 
on, committed to excellence, and a thoughtful mentor to new staff 
members. I will miss him and dedicated service to the Committee. At the 
same time, Congress's loss will be his family's gain, and I know that 
his wife Neddie and his daughter Nora are looking forward to their time 
together with him in Oregon.
  I want to thank him for his selfless professionalism and wish him all 
the best for the next phase of his life.

                          ____________________