[House Report 114-884]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Union Calendar No. 694
114th Congress, 2d Session - - - - - - - - - - - - House Report 114-884
REPORT OF ACTIVITIES
of the
COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, SPACE, AND TECHNOLOGY
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
together with
MINORITY VIEWS
for the
ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH CONGRESS
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
December 21, 2016.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on
the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
______
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
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COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, SPACE, AND TECHNOLOGY
HON. LAMAR S. SMITH, Texas, Chair
FRANK D. LUCAS, Oklahoma EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON, Texas
F. JAMES SENSENBRENNER, JR., ZOE LOFGREN, California
Wisconsin DANIEL LIPINSKI, Illinois
DANA ROHRABACHER, California DONNA F. EDWARDS, Maryland
RANDY NEUGEBAUER, Texas SUZANNE BONAMICI, Oregon
MICHAEL T. McCAUL, Texas ERIC SWALWELL, California
MO BROOKS, Alabama ALAN GRAYSON, Florida
RANDY HULTGREN, Illinois AMI BERA, California
BILL POSEY, Florida ELIZABETH H. ESTY, Connecticut
THOMAS MASSIE, Kentucky MARC A. VEASEY, Texas
JIM BRIDENSTINE, Oklahoma KATHERINE M. CLARK, Massachusetts
RANDY K. WEBER, Texas DON S. BEYER, JR., Virginia
JOHN R. MOOLENAAR, Michigan ED PERLMUTTER, Colorado
STEPHEN KNIGHT, California PAUL TONKO, New York
BRIAN BABIN, Texas MARK TAKANO, California
BRUCE WESTERMAN, Arkansas BILL FOSTER, Illinois
BARBARA COMSTOCK, Virginia
GARY PALMER, Alabama
BARRY LOUDERMILK, Georgia
RALPH LEE ABRAHAM, Louisiana
DARIN LaHOOD, Illinois
WARREN DAVIDSON, Ohio
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
----------
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology,
Washington, DC, December 21, 2016.
Hon. Paul D. Ryan,
Speaker, House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Speaker: In accordance with rule XI(1)(d)(1) of
the Rules of the House of Representatives, I respectfully
submit the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology's
activities report for the 114th Congress.
Sincerely,
Lamar Smith,
Chairman.
C O N T E N T S
Report on Activities of the
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
114th Congress
Page
I. Legislative Activities........................................ 1
Bills Enacted into Law......................................... 1
Bills Passed the House......................................... 2
Bills Ordered Reported by the Committee........................ 4
Business Meetings.............................................. 4
II. Oversight Activities......................................... 6
Hearings....................................................... 6
Summary of Oversight Plan...................................... 24
Summary of Actions Taken and Recommendations Made with Respect
to the Oversight Plan........................................ 30
Summary of Additional Oversight Activities..................... 39
Hearings held Pursuant to Clauses 2(n), (o), or (p) of Rule XI. 46
Union Calendar No. 694
114th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session } { 114-884
======================================================================
REPORT OF ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, SPACE, AND TECHNOLOGY
_______
December 21, 2016.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on
the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Smith, from the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
together with
MINORITY VIEWS
I. LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITIES
BILLS ENACTED INTO LAW
H.R. 23, National Windstorm Impact Reduction Act
Reauthorization of 2015. Introduced by Rep. Randy Neugebauer on
January 6, 2015; passed by the House on January 7, 2015 (under
suspension by a vote of 381-39); report filed in the Senate on
June 11, 2015 (S. Rept. 114-62); passed by the Senate on July
23, 2015 (unanimous consent); passed the House after resolving
differences on September 16, 2015 (under suspension by voice
vote); and became Public Law 114-52 on September 30, 2015.
H.R. 1020, STEM Education Act of 2015. Introduced by Rep.
Lamar Smith on February 20, 2015; passed by the House on
February 25, 2015 (under suspension by a vote of 412-8); report
filed in the Senate on August 4, 2015 (S. Rept. 114-115);
passed by the Senate on September 24, 2015 (voice vote); passed
by the House after resolving differences on October 1, 2015
(agreed without objection); and became Public Law 114-59 on
October 7, 2015.
H.R. 2262, U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness
Act. Introduced by Rep. Kevin McCarthy on May 12, 2015; report
filed by the Committee on May 18, 2015 (H. Rept. 114-119);
passed by the House on May 21, 2015 (by a vote of 284-133);
passed by the Senate on November 10, 2015 (unanimous consent);
passed the House after resolving differences on November 16,
2015 (under suspension by voice vote); and became Public Law
114-90 on November 25, 2015.
H.R. 3033, READ Act. Introduced by Rep. Lamar Smith on July
13, 2015; passed by the House on October 26, 2015 (under
suspension by voice vote); passed by the Senate on February 3,
2016 (unanimous consent); passed the House after resolving
differences on February 4, 2016 (agreed to without objection);
and became Public Law 114-124 on February 18, 2016.
BILLS PASSED THE HOUSE
H.R. 34, Tsunami Warning, Education, and Research Act of
2015. Introduced by Rep. Suzanne Bonamici on January 6, 2015;
passed by the House on January 7, 2015 (under suspension by
voice vote); report filed in the Senate on September 22, 2015
(S. Rept. 114-146); and passed by the Senate on October 6, 2015
(unanimous consent).
H.R. 35, Low-Dose Radiation Research Act of 2015.
Introduced by Rep. Randy Hultgren on January 6, 2015; and
passed by the House on January 7, 2015 (under suspension by
voice vote).
H.R. 810, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Authorization Act of 2015. Introduced by Rep. Steven Palazzo on
February 9, 2015; and passed by the House on February 10, 2015
(under suspension by voice vote).
H.R. 874, American Super Computing Leadership Act.
Introduced by Rep. Randy Hultgren on February 11, 2015; report
filed by the Committee on May 19, 2015 (H. Rept. 114-122); and
passed by the House on May 19, 2015 (under suspension by voice
vote).
H.R. 1029, EPA Science Advisory Board Reform Act of 2015.
Introduced by Rep. Frank Lucas on February 24, 2015; report
filed by the Committee on March 2, 2015 (H. Rept. 114-33); and
passed by the House on March 17, 2015 (by a vote of 236-181).
H.R. 1030, Secret Science Reform Act of 2015. Introduced by
Rep. Lamar Smith on February 24, 2015; report filed by the
Committee on March 2, 2015 (H. Rept. 114-34); and passed by the
House on March 18, 2015 (by a vote of 241-175).
H.R. 1119, Research and Development Efficiency Act.
Introduced by Rep. Barbara Comstock on February 26, 2015;
report filed by the Committee on May 19, 2015 (H. Rept. 114-
121); and passed by the House on May 19, 2015 (under suspension
by voice vote).
H.R. 1156, International Science and Technology Cooperation
Act of 2015. Introduced by Rep. Daniel Lipinski on February 27,
2015; report filed by the Committee on May 19, 2015 (H. Rept.
114-123); and passed by the House on May 19, 2015 (under
suspension by voice vote).
H.R. 1158, Department of Energy Laboratory Modernization
and Technology Transfer Act of 2015. Introduced by Rep. Randy
Hultgren on February 27, 2015; report filed by the Committee on
May 19, 2015 (H. Rept. 114-124); and passed by the House on May
19, 2015 (under suspension by voice vote).
H.R. 1162, Science Prize Competitions Act. Introduced by
Rep. Don Beyer on February 27, 2015; report filed by the
Committee on May 19, 2015 (H. Rept. 114-125); and passed by the
House on May 19, 2015 (under suspension by voice vote).
H.R. 1561, Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act
of 2015. Introduced by Rep. Frank Lucas on March 24, 2015;
report filed by the Committee on May 19, 2015 (H. Rept. 114-
126); and passed by the House on May 19, 2015 (under suspension
by voice vote).
H.R. 1806, America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2015.
Introduced by Rep. Lamar Smith on April 15, 2015; report filed
by the Committee on May 8, 2015 (H. Rept. 114-107, Part I);
supplemental report filed by the Committee on May 14, 2015 (H.
Rept. 114-107, Part II); and passed by the House on May 20,
2015 (by a vote of 217-205).
H.R. 3293, Scientific Research in the National Interest
Act. Introduced by Rep. Lamar Smith on July 29, 2015; report
filed by the Committee on February 2, 2016 (H. Rept. 114-412);
and passed by the House on February 10, 2016 (by a vote of 236-
178).
H.R. 4084, Nuclear Energy Innovation Capabilities Act.
Introduced by Rep. Randy Weber on November 19, 2015; report
filed by the Committee on February 29, 2016 (H. Rept. 114-438);
and passed by the House on February 29, 2016 (under suspension
by voice vote).
H.R. 4742, Promoting Women in Entrepreneurship Act.
Introduced by Rep. Elizabeth Esty on March 15, 2016; and passed
by the House on March 22, 2016 (under suspension by a vote of
383-4).
H.R. 4755, Inspiring the Next Space Pioneers, Innovators,
Researchers, and Explorers (INSPIRE) Women Act. Introduced by
Rep. Barbara Comstock on March 16, 2016; and passed by the
House on March 22, 2016 (under suspension by a vote of 380-3).
H.R. 5049, NSF Major Research Facility Reform Act of 2016.
Introduced by Rep. Barry Loudermilk on April 26, 2016; report
filed by the Committee on June 13, 2016 (H. Rept. 114-619); and
passed by the House on June 14, 2016 (under suspension by a
vote of 412-9).
H.R. 5312, Networking and Information Technology Research
and Development Modernization Act of 2016. Introduced by Rep.
Daren LaHood on May 24, 2016; report filed by the Committee on
June 13, 2016 (H. Rept. 114-620); and passed by the House on
June 13, 2016 (under suspension by a vote of 385-7).
H.R. 5636, National Institute of Standards and Technology
Campus Security Act. Introduced by Rep. Barry Loudermilk on
July 6, 2016; report filed by the Committee on July 11, 2016
(H. Rept. 114-679); and passed by the House on July 11, 2016
(under suspension by voice vote).
H.R. 5638, Solar Fuels Innovation Act. Introduced by Rep.
Stephen Knight on July 6, 2016; report filed by the Committee
on July 11, 2016 (H. Rept. 114-680); and passed by the House on
July 11, 2016 (under suspension by voice vote).
H.R. 5639, National Institute of Standards and Technology
Improvement Act of 2016. Introduced by Rep. John Moolenaar on
July 6, 2016; and passed by the House on July 11, 2016 (under
suspension by voice vote).
H.R. 5640, Electricity Storage Innovation Act. Introduced
by Rep. Lamar Smith on July 6, 2016; report filed by the
Committee on July 11, 2016 (H. Rept. 114-681); and passed by
the House on July 11, 2016 (under suspension by voice vote).
H.R. 6076, To Research, Evaluate, Assess, and Treat
Astronauts Act. Introduced by Rep. Brian Babin on September 20,
2016; and passed by the House on December 7, 2016 (under
suspension by a vote of 413-0).
BILLS ORDERED REPORTED BY THE COMMITTEE
H.R. 1508, Space Resource Exploration and Utilization Act
of 2015. Introduced by Rep. Bill Posey on March 19, 2015; and
report filed by the Committee on June 15, 2015 (H. Rept. 114-
153).
H.R. 2039, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Authorization Act for 2016 and 2017. Introduced by Rep. Steven
Palazzo on April 28, 2015; and reported by the Committee on
April 30, 2015 (by a vote of 19-15).
H.R. 2261, Commercial Remote Sensing Act of 2015.
Introduced by Rep. Jim Bridenstine on May 12, 2015; and report
filed by the Committee on September 28, 2016 (H. Rept. 114-
796).
H.R. 2263, Office of Space Commerce Act. Introduced by Rep.
Dana Rohrabacher on May 12, 2015; and report filed by the
Committee on September 28, 2016 (H. Rept. 114-797).
H.R. 4489, FAA Leadership in Groundbreaking High-Tech
Research and Development Act. Introduced by Rep. Stephen Knight
on February 8, 2016; and reported by the Committee on February
11, 2016 (by voice vote).
H.R. 5829, ADVISE Now Act. Introduced by Rep. Rodney Davis
on July 14, 2016; and reported by the Committee on September
21, 2016 (by voice vote).
H.R. 6066, Cybersecurity Responsibility and Accountability
Act of 2016. Introduced by Rep. Ralph Lee Abraham on September
19, 2016; and reported by the Committee on September 21, 2016
(by voice vote).
BUSINESS MEETINGS
January 27, 2015
Full Committee markup: Committee Rules for the 114th
Congress, approved by recorded vote 17-10; and Oversight Plan
for the 114th Congress, approved by voice vote.
February 25, 2015
Full Committee markup: H.R. 1030, the Secret Science Reform
Act of 2015, ordered reported by recorded vote 16-11. H.R.
1029, the EPA Science Advisory Board Reform Act of 2015,
ordered reported by recorded vote 17-12.
March 4, 2015
Full Committee markup: H.R. 1119, the Research and
Development Efficiency Act, ordered reported, as amended, by
voice vote; H.R. 1156, the International Science and Technology
Cooperation Act of 2015, ordered reported by voice vote; H.R.
1162, the Science Prize Competitions Act, ordered reported, as
amended, by voice vote; H.R. 1158, the Department of Energy
Laboratory Modernization and Technology Transfer Act of 2015,
ordered reported, as amended, by voice vote; and H.R. 874, the
American Super Computing Leadership Act, ordered reported by
voice vote.
March 25, 2015
Full Committee markup: H.R. 1561, the Weather Research and
Forecast Innovation Act of 2015, ordered reported, as amended,
by voice vote.
April 22, 2015
Full Committee Markup: H.R. 1806, the America COMPETES
Reauthorization Act of 2015, ordered reported, as amended, by
recorded vote 19-16.
April 30, 2015
Full Committee Markup: H.R. 2039, the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration Authorization Act for 2016 and 2017,
ordered reported by recorded vote 19-15.
May 13, 2015
Full Committee markup: H.R. 2262, the Spurring Private
Aerospace Competitiveness and Entrepreneurship Act of 2015,
ordered reported, as amended, by recorded vote 18-13; H.R.
1508, the Space Resource Exploration and Utilization Act of
2015 ordered reported, as amended, by recorded vote 18-15; H.R.
2261, the Commercial Remote Sensing Act of 2015, ordered
reported, as amended, by voice vote; and H.R. 2263, the Office
of Space Commerce Act, ordered reported by voice vote.
September 10, 2015
Research and Technology Subcommittee markup: Committee
Print of the Surface Transportation Research and Development
Act of 2015, approved, as amended, by voice vote; and H.R.
2866, the Future Transportation Research and Innovation for
Prosperity Act, ordered reported, as amended, by voice vote.
October 8, 2015
Full Committee markup: H.R. 3033, the Research Excellence
and Advancements for Dyslexia (READ) Act, ordered reported, as
amended, by voice vote; and H.R. 3293, the Scientific Research
in the National Interest Act, ordered reported, by voice vote.
January 12, 2016
Full Committee Markup: H.R. 4084, the Nuclear Energy
Innovation Capabilities Act, ordered reported, as amended, by
voice vote.
February 11, 2016
Full Committee markup: H.R. 4489, the FAA Leadership in
Groundbreaking High-Tech Research and Development Act, ordered
reported, as amended, by voice vote.
April 27, 2016
Full Committee markup: H.R. 5049, the NSF Major Research
Facility Reform Act of 2016, ordered reported, as amended, by
voice vote.
May 24, 2016
Full Committee markup: Committee print of the Networking
and Information Technology Research and Development
Modernization Act of 2016, approved, as amended, by voice vote.
May 25, 2016
Full Committee markup: H.R. 5312, the Networking and
Information Technology Research and Development Modernization
Act of 2016, ordered reported by unanimous consent.
July 7, 2016
Full Committee markup: H.R. 5638, the Solar Fuels
Innovation Act, ordered reported, as amended, by voice vote;
H.R. 5640, the Electricity Storage Innovation Act, ordered
reported, as amended, by voice vote; and H.R. 5636, the
National Institute of Standards and Technology Campus Security
Act, ordered reported by voice vote.
September 21, 2016
Full Committee markup: H.R. 6076, the To Research,
Evaluate, Assess, and Treat (TREAT) Astronauts Act, ordered
reported, as amended, by voice vote; H.R. 6066, the
Cybersecurity Responsibility and Accountability Act of 2016,
ordered reported by voice vote; and H.R. 5829, the ADVISE Now
Act, ordered reported by voice vote.
II. OVERSIGHT ACTIVITIES
HEARINGS
January 21, 2015
Full Committee hearing: Unmanned Aircraft Systems Research
and Development.
Witnesses: Dr. Ed Waggoner, Director, Integrated Systems
Research Program, Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate,
NASA; Mr. James Williams, Manager, UAS Integration Office,
Aviation Safety Organization, FAA; Dr. John Lauber, Co-Chair,
Committee on Autonomy Research for Civil Aviation, National
Research Council; Mr. Brian Wynne, CEO and President,
Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI);
Mr. Colin Guinn, Chief Revenue Officer, 3D Robotics, Small UAV
Coalition Member; Dr. John R. Hansman, T. Wilson Professor of
Aeronautics and Astronautics, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT).
January 27, 2015
Research and Technology Subcommittee hearing: The Expanding
Cyber Threat.
Witnesses: Ms. Cheri McGuire, Vice President, Global
Government Affairs & Cybersecurity Policy, Symantec
Corporation; Dr. James Kurose, Assistant Director, Computer and
Information Science and Engineering (CISE) Directorate,
National Science Foundation; Dr. Charles H. Romine, Director,
Information Technology Laboratory, National Institute of
Standards and Technology; Dr. Eric A. Fischer, Senior
Specialist in Science and Technology, Congressional Research
Service; Mr. Dean Garfield, President and CEO, Information
Technology Industry Council.
January 28, 2015
Energy Subcommittee hearing: Supercomputing and American
Technology Leadership.
Witnesses: Mr. Norman Augustine, Board Member, Bipartisan
Policy Center; Dr. Roscoe Giles, Chairman, DOE Advanced
Scientific Computing Advisory Committee; Mr. Dave Turek, Vice
President, Technical Computing, IBM; and Dr. James Crowley,
Executive Director, Society for Industrial and Applied
Mathematics.
February 3, 2015
Oversight Subcommittee and Research and Technology
Subcommittee joint hearing: NSF's Oversight of the NEON Project
and Other Major Research Facilities Developed Under Cooperative
Agreements.
Witnesses: Dr. Richard Buckius, Chief Operating Officer of
the National Science Foundation; Dr. James P. Collins, Chairman
of the National Ecological Observatory Network; and Ms. Kate
Manuel, Legislative Attorney for the Congressional Research
Service.
February 12, 2015
Research and Technology Subcommittee and Oversight
Subcommittee hearing: Can Americans Trust the Privacy and
Security of their Information on HealthCare.gov?
Witnesses: Ms. Michelle De Mooy, Deputy Director, Consumer
Privacy, Center for Democracy and Technology; and Mr. Morgan
Wright, Principal, Morgan Wright, LLC.
February 12, 2015
Environment Subcommittee and Oversight Subcommittee joint
hearing: Bridging the Gap: America's Weather Satellites and
Weather Forecasting.
Witnesses: Mr. David Powner, Director, Information
Technology Management Issues, Government Accountability Office;
Dr. Stephen Volz, Assistant Administrator, National
Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Services,
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; and Mr. Steven
Clarke, Director, Joint Agency Satellite Division, National
Aeronautics and Space Administration; Dr. Alexander MacDonald,
President, American Meteorological Society; Director, Earth
System Research Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, and Chief Science Advisor, Office of Oceanic
and Atmospheric Research, National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration; and Mr. John Murphy, Director, Office of
Science and Technology, National Weather Service, National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
February 26, 2015
Research and Technology Subcommittee hearing: An Overview
of the Budget Proposals for the National Science Foundation and
National Institute of Standards and Technology for Fiscal Year
2016.
Witnesses: The Honorable France Cordova, Director, National
Science Foundation; The Honorable Dan Arvizu, Chairman,
National Science Board; and Dr. Willie E. May, Acting Director,
National Institute of Standards and Technology.
February 27, 2015
Space Subcommittee hearing: The Commercial Crew Program:
Challenges and Opportunities.
Witnesses: Mr. Bill Gerstenmaier, Associate Administrator,
Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); Vice Admiral
Joseph Dyer, USN (Ret.), Chairman, Aerospace Safety Advisory
Panel, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA);
Mr. John Mulholland, Vice President and Program Manager,
Commercial Programs, The Boeing Company; and Dr. Garret
Reisman, Director, Crew Operations, Space Exploration
Technologies Corporation.
February 25, 2015
Full Committee hearing: An Overview of the Department of
Energy's Budget Proposal for Fiscal Year 2016.
Witness: The Honorable Ernest Moniz, Secretary of Energy,
U.S. Department of Energy.
March 17, 2015
Full Committee hearing: Reality Check: The Impact and
Achievability of EPA's Proposed Ozone Standards.
Witnesses: Mr. Harry C. Alford, President and CEO, National
Black Chamber of Commerce; Mr. Raymond Keating, Chief
Economist, Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council; Dr. Mary
B. Rice, Massachusetts General Hospital Pulmonary and Critical
Care; Dr. Allen S. Lefohn, President, A.S.L. & Associates; and
Mr. Eldon Heaston, Executive Director, Mojave Desert AQMD,
Antelope Valley AQMD.
March 24, 2015
Space Subcommittee hearing: Searching for the Origins of
the Universe: An Update on the Progress of the James Webb Space
Telescope.
Witnesses: Dr. John Grunsfeld, Associate Administrator,
Science Mission Directorate, NASA; Ms. Cristina Chaplain,
Director of Acquisition and Sourcing Management, U.S.
Government Accountability Office (GAO); Mr. Jeffrey Grant,
Vice-President & General Manager, Space Systems, Northrop
Grumman Corporation; Dr. John Mather, Senior Project Scientist,
James Webb Space Telescope, Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA.
March 24, 2015
Energy Subcommittee hearing: Department of Energy
Oversight: Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
Witnesses: The Honorable David Danielson, Assistant
Secretary, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S.
Department of Energy; Mr. Nick Loris, Herbert and Joyce Morgan
Fellow, Heritage Foundation; Ms. Ruth McCormick, Director of
Federal and State Affairs, Business Council for Sustainable
Energy (BCSE); and Dr. Veronique de Rugy, Senior Research
Fellow, Mercatus Center, George Mason University.
March 26, 2015
Oversight Subcommittee and Research and Technology
Subcommittee joint hearing: Destruction of Records at EPA--When
Records Must Be Kept.
Witnesses: Mr. Paul M. Wester, Jr., Chief Records Officer,
National Archives and Records Administration; Mr. Kevin
Christensen, Assistant Inspector General for Audit, Office of
Inspector General, Environmental Protection Agency; and Dr.
David Schnare, Former Senior Attorney, EPA Office of
Enforcement and Compliance Assurance; Director, Free-Market
Environmental Law Clinic; Director, Center for Environmental
Stewardship, Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy; and
General Counsel, Energy & Environment Legal Institute.
April 15, 2015
Full Committee hearing: The President's UN Climate Pledge:
Scientifically Justified or a New Tax on Americans?
Witnesses: Dr. Judith Curry, Professor, School of Earth and
Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology; The
Honorable Karen Harbert, President and CEO, Institute for 21st
Century Energy U.S. Chamber of Commerce (former Assistant
Secretary for Policy and International Affairs, U.S. Department
of Energy); Mr. Jake Schmidt, Director, International Program,
Natural Resources Defense Council; and Dr. Margo Thorning,
Senior Vice President and Chief Economist, American Council for
Capital Formation.
April 16, 2015
Space Subcommittee hearing: An Overview of the Budget
Proposal for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
for Fiscal Year 2016.
Witness: The Honorable Charles F. Bolden, Jr.,
Administrator, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA).
April 23, 2015
Full Committee hearing: Hydraulic Fracturing: Banning
Proven Technologies on Possibilities Instead of Probabilities.
Witnesses: Ms. Christi Craddick, Chairman, Railroad
Commission of Texas; Dr. Donald Siegel, Jessie Page Heroy
Professor & Department Chair, The Department of Earth Sciences,
Syracuse University; Mr. Simon Lomax, Western Director, Energy
in Depth; and Mr. Elgie Holstein, Senior Director for Strategic
Planning, Environmental Defense Fund.
April 29, 2015
Environment Subcommittee hearing: Reality Check Part II:
The Impact of EPA's Proposed Ozone Standards on Rural America.
Witnesses: The Honorable Jim Reese, Secretary and
Commissioner of Agriculture, Oklahoma State Board of
Agriculture; Ms. Cara Keslar, Monitoring Section Supervisor,
Wyoming DEQ--Air Quality Division; Dr. Paul J. Miller, Deputy
Director and Chief Scientist, Northeast States for Coordinated
Air Use Management; Mr. Kevin Abernathy, Director of Regulatory
Affairs, Milk Producers Council; Vice Chair, Dairy CARES; and
The Honorable Todd Hiett, Commissioner, Oklahoma Corporation
Commission.
May 1, 2015
Energy Subcommittee hearing: Innovations in Battery Storage
for Renewable Energy.
Witnesses: Dr. Imre Gyuk, Energy Storage Program Manager,
Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability,
Department of Energy; Dr. Jud Virden, Jr., Associate Laboratory
Director for Energy and Environment Directorate, Pacific
Northwest National Laboratory; Mr. Phil Giudice, Chief
Executive Officer, Ambri; and Dr. Jay Whitacre, Chief
Technology Officer, Aquion Energy.
May 13, 2015
Energy Subcommittee hearing: Nuclear Energy Innovation and
the National Labs.
Witnesses: Dr. Mark Peters, Associate Laboratory Director,
Energy and Global Security, Argonne National Laboratory; Mr.
Frank Batten, Jr., President, The Landmark Foundation; Mr.
Nathan Gilliland, CEO, General Fusion; and Dr. John Parmentola,
Senior Vice President, Energy and Advanced Concepts, General
Atomics.
May 20, 2015
Environment Subcommittee hearing: Advancing Commercial
Weather Data: Collaborative Efforts to Improve Forecasts.
Witnesses: Dr. Scott Pace, Director, Space Policy
Institute, George Washington University; Mr. Scott Sternberg,
President, Vaisala Inc.; Ms. Nicole Robinson, Chair, Hosted
Payload Alliance; Dr. Bill Gail, Chief Technology Officer,
Global Weather Corporation; and Dr. Thomas Bogdan, President,
University Corporation for Atmospheric Research.
June 4, 2015
Full Committee hearing: EPA Regulatory Overreach: Impacts
on American Competitiveness.
Witnesses: Mr. Bob Kerr, President, Kerr Environmental
Services Corp.; Mr. Bill Kovacs, Senior Vice President,
Environment, Technology and Regulatory Affairs, U.S. Chamber of
Commerce; Dr. Jerome Paulson, FAAP, Chair, Council on
Environmental Health Executive Committee, American Academy of
Pediatrics; and Mr. Ross Eisenberg, Vice President, Energy and
Resources Policy, National Association of Manufacturers.
June 11, 2015
Space Subcommittee hearing: Transforming America's Air
Travel.
Witnesses: Dr. Jaiwon Shin, Associate Administrator,
Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, NASA, Member, FAA
Research and Development Advisory Committee; Mr. Dennis Filler,
Director, William J. Hughes Technical Center, FAA; Mr. William
Leber, Co-Chair, Committee to Review the Federal Aviation
Administration Research Plan on Certification of New
Technologies into the National Airspace System; Vice-President,
Air Traffic Innovations, PASSUR Aerospace; Dr. R. John Hansman,
T. Wilson Professor of Aeronautics & Astronautics,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Director, MIT
International Center for Air Transportation, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, Chair, FAA Research and Development
Advisory Committee; Dr. Greg Hyslop, Senior Member, American
Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics; Vice President and
General Manager, Boeing Research & Technology, the Boeing
Company, Chief Engineer, Engineering, Operations and
Technology.
June 12, 2015
Research & Technology Subcommittee: U.S. Surface
Transportation: Technology Driving the Future.
Witnesses: The Honorable Gregory D. Winfree, Assistant
Secretary for Research and Technology, United States Department
of Transportation; Dr. Michael Meyer, Chair, Research and
Technology Coordinating Committee (FHWA), National Academies'
Transportation Research Board; Dr. Brian Smith, Director,
Center for Transportation Studies, University of Virginia; Mr.
Jeffrey J. Owens, Chief Technology Officer and Executive Vice
President, Delphi Automotive.
June 16, 2015
Research and Technology Subcommittee hearing: The Science
and Ethics of Genetically Engineered Human DNA.
Witnesses: Dr. Victor Dzau, President, Institute of
Medicine; Dr. Jennifer Doudna, Professor of Biochemistry and
Molecular Biology, University of California, Berkeley; Dr.
Elizabeth McNally, Director, Center for Genetic Medicine,
Northwestern University; Dr. Jeffrey Kahn, Professor of
Bioethics and Public Policy and Deputy Director for Policy and
Administration of the Berman Institute of Bioethics, Johns
Hopkins University.
June 17, 2015
Environment Subcommittee and Energy Subcommittee joint
hearing: Department of Energy Oversight: Energy Innovation
Hubs.
Witnesses: Dr. Harry A. Atwater, Director, Joint Center for
Artificial Photosynthesis (JCAP); Dr. Jess Gehin, Director,
Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors
(CASL); Dr. George Crabtree, Director, Joint Center for Energy
Storage Research (JCESR); and Dr. Alex King, Director, Critical
Materials Institute (CMI).
June 24, 2015
Environment Subcommittee and Energy Subcommittee joint
hearing: U.S. Energy Information Administration Report:
Analysis of the Impacts of the EPA's Clean Power Plan.
Witnesses: Howard Gruenspecht, Deputy Administrator, U.S.
Energy Information Administration (EIA); Mr. Stephen Eule, Vice
President for Climate and Technology, U.S. Chamber of Commerce;
Dr. Susan Tierney, Senior Advisor, Analysis Group, Inc.; and
Dr. Kevin Dayaratna, Senior Statistician and Research
Programmer, The Heritage Foundation.
June 25, 2015
Oversight Subcommittee and Research and Technology
Subcommittee joint hearing: Is NSF Properly Managing Its
Rotating Staff?
Witnesses: Ms. Allison Lerner, Inspector General, National
Science Foundation; and Dr. Richard Buckius, Chief Operating
Officer, National Science Foundation.
July 8, 2015
Research and Technology Subcommittee and Oversight
Subcommittees joint hearing: Is the OPM Data Breach the Tip of
the Iceberg?
Witnesses: Mr. Michael R. Esser, Assistant Inspector
General for Audits, Office of Personnel Management; Mr. David
Snell, Director, Federal Benefits Service Department, National
Active and Retired Federal Employees Association; Dr. Charles
Romine, Director, Information Technology Laboratory, National
Institute of Standards and Technology; Mr. Gregory Wilshusen,
Director, Information Security Issues, U.S. Government
Accountability Office.
July 9, 2015
Full Committee hearing: Examining EPA's Regulatory
Overreach.
Witness: The Honorable Gina McCarthy, Administrator,
Environmental Protection Agency.
July 10, 2015
Space Subcommittee hearing: The International Space
Station: Addressing Operational Challenges.
Witnesses: Mr. Bill Gerstenmaier, Associate Administrator,
Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, NASA; Mr.
John Elbon, Vice President and General Manager, Space
Exploration, The Boeing Company; The Honorable Paul K. Martin,
Inspector General, NASA; Ms. Shelby Oakley, Acting Director,
Acquisition and Sourcing Management, Government Accountability
Office; and Dr. James A. Pawelczyk, Associate Professor of
Physiology and Kinesiology, The Pennsylvania State University.
July 14, 2015
Environment Subcommittee hearing: Advancing Commercial
Weather Data: Collaborative Efforts to Improve Forecasts Part
II.
Witness: The Honorable Manson Brown, Deputy Administrator,
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
July 15, 2015
Full Committee hearing: Investigating Contract Misconduct
at the National Weather Service.
Witnesses: Mr. Mark Greenblatt, Deputy Assistant General
for Compliance & Ethics, Office of Inspector General,
Department of Commerce; Mr. Robert Byrd, Former Chief Financial
Officer, National Weather Service; and Mr. Peter Jiron, Former
Deputy Chief Financial Officer, National Weather Service. [Mr.
Byrd and Mr. Jiron declined to answer questions from the
Committee and asserted their Fifth Amendment rights.]
July 23, 2015
Energy Subcommittee and Oversight Subcommittee joint
hearing: The EPA Renewable Fuel Standard Mandate.
Witnesses: Mr. Matt Smorch, Vice President for Strategy and
Supply, CountryMark; Dr. Jason Hill, Associate Professor of
Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering, University of
Minnesota; Mr. Chuck Red, Vice President of Fuels Development
for Applied Research Associates, Inc.; and Mr. Tim Reid,
Director of Engine Design, Mercury Marine.
July 29, 2015
Energy Subcommittee hearing: A Review of the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission's Licensing Process.
Witness: The Honorable Stephen G. Burns, Chairman, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
July 28, 2015
Full Committee hearing: Exploration of the Solar System:
From Mercury to Pluto and Beyond.
Witnesses: Dr. John Grunsfeld, Associate Administrator,
Science Mission Directorate, NASA; Dr. Alan Stern, Principal
Investigator, New Horizons Mission, Southwest Research
Institute; Dr. Christopher Russell, Principal Investigator,
Dawn Mission, and Professor of Geophysics and Planetary
Physics, University of California Los Angeles; Dr. Robert
Pappalardo, Study Scientist, Europa Mission Concept, Jet
Propulsion Laboratory, NASA; and Dr. Robert Braun, David and
Andrew Lewis Professor of Space Technology, Georgia Institute
of Technology.
September 9, 2015
Full Committee hearing: Holding EPA Accountable for
Polluting Western Waters.
Witnesses: The Honorable Mathy Stanislaus, Assistant
Administrator, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response,
Environmental Protection Agency; Mr. Dennis Greaney, President,
Environmental Restoration LLC; The Honorable Donald Benn,
Executive Director, Navajo National Environmental Protection
Agency; The Honorable Dean Bookie, Mayor, Durango, Colorado;
and, Dr. Mark Williamson, Geochemist, Geochemical Solutions
LLC.
September 10, 2015
Energy Subcommittee and Oversight Subcommittee joint
hearing: Examining Vulnerabilities of America's Power Supply.
Witnesses: Mr. Richard Lordan, Senior Technical Executive,
Power Delivery & Utilization Sector, Electric Power Research
Institute; Ms. Nadya Bartol, Vice President of Industry Affairs
and Cybersecurity Strategist, Utilities Telecom Council; Dr.
Daniel Baker, Distinguished Professor of Planetary & Space
Physics; Moog-BRE Endowed Chair of Space Sciences; Director,
Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of
Colorado Boulder; Dr. M. Granger Morgan, Hamerschlag University
Professor, Departments of Engineering and Public Policy and of
Electrical and Computer Engineering, Carnegie Mellon
University.
September 11, 2015
Environment Subcommittee hearing: How EPA's Power Plan Will
Shut Down Power Plants. The purpose of the hearing was to
examine the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's carbon
emissions regulations and the impact of this rule on states.
Witnesses: Mr. Craig Butler, Director, Ohio Environmental
Protection Agency; Dr. Bryan Shaw, Chairman, Texas Commission
on Environmental Quality; and Mr. Jason Eisdorfer, Utility
Program Director, Oregon Public Utility Commission.
September 18, 2015
Oversight Subcommittee and Research and Technology
Subcommittee joint hearing: NEON Warning Signs: Examining the
Management of the National Ecological Observatory Network.
Witnesses: Dr. James L. Olds, Assistant Director,
Directorate for Biological Sciences, National Science
Foundation; Dr. James P. Collins, Chairman of the Board,
National Ecological Observatory Network, Inc.
September 29, 2015
Full Committee hearing: Astrobiology and the Search for
Life Beyond Earth in the Next Decade.
Witnesses: Dr. Ellen Stofan, Chief Scientist, NASA; Dr.
Jonathan Lunine, David D. Duncan Professor in the Physical
Sciences, and Director, Center for Radiophysics and Space
Research, Cornell University; Dr. Jacob Bean, Assistant
Professor, Departments of Astronomy and Astrophysics,
Geophysics, University of Chicago; Dr. Andrew Siemion,
Director, SETI Research Center, University of California,
Berkeley.
September 30, 2015
Full Committee hearing: Dyslexia and the Need to READ: H.R.
3033, the Research Excellence and Advancements for Dyslexia
Act.
Witnesses: Ms. Barbara Wilson, Co-Founder and President,
Wilson Language Training; Dr. Paula Tallal, Senior Research
Scientist, Center for Human Development, University of
California, San Diego, Adjunct Professor, Salk Institute for
Biological Studies, Founder and Director, Scientific Learning
Corporation; and Dr. Rachel Robillard, Assistant Director, 504
Services and Response to Intervention, Austin Independent
School District.
October 9, 2015
Space Subcommittee hearing: Deep Space Exploration:
Examining the Impact of the President's Budget.
Witnesses: Mr. Doug Cooke--Owner, Cooke Concepts and
Solutions and former NASA Associate Administrator for
Exploration Systems; Mr. Dan Dumbacher, Professor of Practice,
Purdue University and former NASA Deputy Associate
Administrator, Human Exploration and Operations Mission
Directorate.
October 21, 2015
Energy Subcommittee and Research and Technology
Subcommittee joint hearing: Cybersecurity for Power Systems.
Witnesses: Mr. Brent Stacey, Associate Lab Director for
National & Homeland Science and Technology, Idaho National Lab;
Mr. Bennett Gaines, Senior Vice President, Corporate Services
and Chief Information Officer, FirstEnergy Service Company; Ms.
Annabelle Lee, Senior Technical Executive in the Power Delivery
and Utilization Sector, Electric Power Research Institute; and
Mr. Greg Wilshusen, Director of Information Security Issues,
Government Accountability Office.
October 22, 2015
Full Committee hearing: EPA's 2015 Ozone Standard: Concerns
Over Science and Implementation.
Witnesses: The Honorable Jeffrey Holmstead, Partner,
Bracewell & Giuliani LLP; Mr. Seyed Sadredin, Executive
Director and Air Pollution Control Officer, San Joaquin Valley
Air Pollution Control District; Dr. Elena Craft, Senior Health
Scientist, Environmental Defense Fund; and Dr. Michael
Honeycutt, Director, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality,
Toxicology Division.
October 27, 2015
Full Committee Hearing: A Review of Progress by the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Science and Technology
Directorate.
Witness: The Honorable Reginald Brothers, Under Secretary
for Science and Technology, Department of Homeland Security.
October 28, 2015
Research and Technology Subcommittee Hearing--A Review of
the Networking and Information Technology Research and
Development (NITRD) Program.
Witnesses: Dr. Keith Marzullo, Director, National
Coordination Office, The Networking and Information Technology
Research and Development Program; Dr. Gregory D. Hager, Mandell
Bellmore Professor, Department of Computer Science, Johns
Hopkins University, Co-Chair, NITRD Working Group, The
President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology; Dr.
Edward Seidel, Director, National Center for Supercomputing
Applications, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
November 3, 2015
Energy Subcommittee and Oversight Subcommittee joint
hearing: The Renewable Fuel Standard: A Ten Year Review of
Costs and Benefits.
Witnesses: Dr. Terry Dinan, Senior Advisor, Congressional
Budget Office; Mr. Ed Anderson, CEO and President of WEN-GAP,
LLC; Dr. John DeCicco, Research Professor, University of
Michigan Energy Institute; Mr. Brooke Coleman, Executive
Director, Advanced Biofuels Business Council; and Mr. Charles
Drevna, Distinguished Senior Fellow, Institute for Energy
Research.
November 5, 2015
Full Committee hearing: Examining EPA's Predetermined
Efforts to Block the Pebble Mine.
Witnesses: The Honorable William S. Cohen, Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer, The Cohen Group; Mr. Charles Scheeler,
Senior Counsel, DLA Piper; Mr. Tom Collier, Chief Executive
Officer, Pebble Limited Partnership; and the Honorable Rick
Halford, Former Alaska Senate President.
November 17, 2015
Environment Subcommittee and Space Subcommittee joint
hearing: Exploring Commercial Opportunities to Maximize Earth
Science Investments.
Witnesses: Dr. Scott Pace, Director of the Space Policy
Institute, George Washington University; Dr. Walter Scott,
Founder and Chief Technical Officer, DigitalGlobe; Mr. Robbie
Schingler, Co-Founder and President, PlanetLabs; Dr. Samuel
Goward, Emeritus Professor of Geography, University of Maryland
at College Park; Dr. Antonio Busalacchi, Professor and Director
of the Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center,
University of Maryland.
November 18, 2015
Full Committee hearing: The Administration's Empty Promises
for the International Climate Treaty.
Witnesses: Dr. Anne Smith, Senior Vice President, NERA
Economic Consulting; Mr. Bill Magness, Senior Vice President,
Governance, Risk and Compliance, Electric Reliability Council
of Texas; Ms. Katie Dykes, Deputy Commissioner, Connecticut
Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and Chair,
Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, Inc.; and Mr. Chip
Knappenberger, Assistant Director, Center for the Study of
Science, Cato Institute.
November 18, 2015
Energy Subcommittee hearing: Recommendations of the
Commission to Review the Effectiveness of the National Energy
Laboratories.
Witnesses: Mr. TJ Glauthier, Co-Chair, Commission to Review
the Effectiveness of the National Energy Laboratories; Dr.
Jared Cohon, Co-Chair, Commission to Review the Effectiveness
of the National Energy Laboratories; and Dr. Peter Littlewood,
Director, Argonne National Laboratory.
December 1, 2015
Full Committee hearing: Pitfalls of Unilateral Negotiations
at the Paris Climate Change Conference.
Witnesses: Mr. Oren Cass, Senior Fellow, Manhattan
Institute for Policy Research; Mr. Andrew Grossman, Associate,
Baker & Hostetler LLP; Dr. Andrew Steer, President and CEO,
World Resources Institute; and Dr. Bjfrn Lomborg, President,
Copenhagen Consensus Center.
December 3, 2015
Energy Subcommittee hearing: H.R. 4084, the Nuclear Energy
Innovation Capabilities Act.
Witnesses: Mr. John Kotek, Acting Assistant Secretary,
Office of Nuclear Energy, U.S. Department of Energy; Dr. Dale
Klein, Associate Vice Chancellor for Research, University of
Texas; and Mr. Ray Rothrock, Partner Emeritus, Venrock.
December 8, 2015
Research and Technology Subcommittee hearing: The Future of
Biotechnology: Solutions for Energy, Agriculture and
Manufacturing.
Witnesses: Dr. Mary Maxon, Biosciences Principal Deputy,
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; Dr. Steve Evans, Fellow,
Advanced Technology Development, Dow AgroSciences; Dr. Reshma
Shetty, Co-Founder, Ginkgo Bioworks; Dr. Martin Dickman,
Distinguished Professor and Director, Institute for Plant
Genomics and Biotechnology, Texas A&M University; and Dr. Zach
Serber, Co-Founder and Vice President of Development, Zymergen.
December 10, 2015
Environment Subcommittee and Oversight Subcommittee joint
hearing: An Overview of the Nation's Weather Satellite Programs
and Policies.
Witnesses: Dr. Stephen Volz, Assistant Administrator,
National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information
Services, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; and
Mr. David Powner, Director, Information Technology Management
Issues, Government Accountability Office.
January 8, 2016
Oversight Subcommittee and Research and Technology
Subcommittee joint hearing: Cybersecurity: What the Federal
Government Can Learn from the Private Sector.
Witnesses: Mr. John B. Wood, Chief Executive Officer and
Chairman, Telos Corporation; Dr. Martin Casado, Senior Vice
President and General Manager, Networking and Security Business
Unit, VMWare; Mr. Ken Schneider, Vice President of Technology
Strategy, Symantec Corporation; and, Mr. Larry Clinton,
President and Chief Executive Officer, Internet Security
Alliance.
February 2, 2016
Full Committee hearing: Paris Climate Promise: A Bad Deal
for America.
Witnesses: Mr. Steve Eule, Vice President for Climate and
Technology, U.S. Chamber of Commerce; Dr. John Christy,
Professor of Atmospheric Science and Director of the Earth
System Science Center, University of Alabama in Huntsville; Dr.
Andrew Steer, President and CEO, World Resources Institute; and
Mr. Steven Groves, The Bernard and Barbara Lomas Senior
Research Fellow, Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom, The
Heritage Foundation.
February 4, 2016
Oversight Subcommittee and Research and Technology
Subcommittee joint hearing: A Review of Recommendations for NSF
Project Management Reform.
Witnesses: Ms. Cynthia Heckmann, Project Director, National
Academy of Public Administration; Dr. Richard Buckius, Chief
Operating Officer, National Science Foundation; and, Ms.
Allison Lerner, Inspector General, National Science Foundation.
February 3, 2016
Space Subcommittee hearing: Charting a Course: Expert
Perspectives on NASA's Human Exploration Proposals.
Witnesses: Mr. Tom Young, Former Director, Goddard Space
Flight Center, NASA; Former President and Chief Operating
Officer, Martin Marietta Corporation; Dr. John C. Sommerer,
Chair, Technical Panel, Pathways to Exploration Report,
National Academy of Sciences; and, Dr. Paul Spudis, Senior
Scientist, Lunar and Planetary Institute.
February 10, 2016
Full Committee hearing: Midnight Regulations: Examining
Executive Branch Overreach.
Witnesses: Ms. Karen Kerrigan, President and CEO, Small
Business & Entrepreneurship Council; Mr. Jerry Bosworth,
President, Bosworth Air Conditioning; Ms. Kateri Callahan,
President, Alliance to Save Energy; and Mr. Sam Batkins,
Director of Regulatory Policy, American Action Forum.
February 24, 2016
Full Committee hearing: Unlocking the Secrets of the
Universe: Gravitational Waves.
Witnesses: Dr. Fleming Crim, Assistant Director,
Directorate of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, National
Science Foundation; Dr. David Reitze, Executive Director of
LIGO, California Institute of Technology; Dr. Gabriela
Gonzalez, Professor of Physics and Astronomy, Louisiana State
University; and, Dr. David Shoemaker, Director, LIGO
Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
February 25, 2016
Full Committee hearing: The Space Leadership Preservation
Act and the Need for Stability at NASA.
Witnesses: The Honorable John Culberson, chairman of the
Commerce, Justice, Science Subcommittee of the House
Appropriations Committee; Dr. Michael Griffin, Former
Administrator, NASA; Colonel Eileen Collins, USAF (Ret.);
Commander, STS-93 and 114; and Pilot, STS-63 and 94; and former
Chair, Subcommittee on Space Operations, NASA Advisory Council;
Ms. Cristina Chaplain, Director, Acquisitions and Sourcing
Management, Government Accountability Office (GAO).
March 2, 2016
Research & Technology Subcommittee hearing: Smart Health:
Empowering the Future of Mobile Apps.
Witnesses: Mr. Morgan Reed, Executive Director, The App
Association; Dr. Bryan F. Shaw, Assistant Professor, Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Baylor University; Mr. Howard
Look, President, CEO and Founder, Tidepool; Dr. Gregory Krauss,
Professor of Neurology, The Johns Hopkins Hospital; and, Mr.
Jordan Epstein, CEO & Founder, Stroll Health.
March 3, 2016
Energy Subcommittee and Oversight Subcommittee joint
hearing: Department of Energy Oversight: DOE Loan Programs.
Witnesses: Mr. Mark McCall, Executive Director, Loan
Program Office, U.S. Department of Energy; Dr. Frank Rusco,
Director, Natural Resources and Environment, Government
Accountability Office; Gregory Kats, President, Capital E; and
Mr. Nick Loris, Herbert and Joyce Morgan Fellow, Thomas A. Roe
Institute for Economic Policy Studies, Heritage Foundation.
March 15, 2016
Oversight Subcommittee hearing: Racing to Regulate: EPA's
Latest Overreach on Amateur Drivers.
Witnesses: The Honorable Patrick McHenry, Member, U.S.
House of Representatives; Mr. Christopher Kersting, President
and CEO, Specialty Equipment Marketing Association; Mr. Ralph
Sheheen, Managing Partner and President, National Speed Sports
News; and Mr. Brent Yacobucci, Section Research Manager, Energy
and Minerals Section, Congressional Research Service.
March 16, 2016
Research and Technology Subcommittee hearing: An Overview
of the Budget Proposal for the National Institute of Standards
and Technology for Fiscal Year 2017.
Witness: Dr. Willie E. May, Under Secretary of Commerce for
Standards and Technology and Director, National Institute of
Standards and Technology.
March 16, 2016
Environment Subcommittee hearing: An Overview of the Budget
Proposal for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration for Fiscal Year 2017.
Witness: The Honorable Kathryn Sullivan, Undersecretary for
Oceans and Atmosphere, U.S. Department of Commerce, and
Administrator, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
March 17, 2016
Space Subcommittee hearing: An Overview of the Budget
Proposal for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
for Fiscal Year 2017.
Witness: The Honorable Charles F. Bolden, Jr.,
Administrator, National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
March 22, 2016
Research and Technology Subcommittee hearing: An Overview
of the Budget Proposal for the National Science Foundation for
Fiscal Year 2017.
Witnesses: The Honorable France Cordova, Director, National
Science Foundation; Dr. Dan E. Arvizu, Chairman, National
Science Board.
March 22, 2016
Full Committee hearing: An Overview of the Budget Proposal
for the Department of Energy for Fiscal Year 2017.
Witness: The Honorable Ernest Moniz, Secretary of Energy,
U.S. Department of Energy.
March 23, 2016
Environment Subcommittee hearing: Examining EPA's Regional
Haze Program: Regulations Without Visible Benefits.
Witnesses: Mr. William Yeatman, Senior Fellow, Competitive
Enterprise Institute; Mr. Thomas P. Schroedter, Executive
Director and General Counsel, Oklahoma Industrial Energy
Consumers; Mr. Bruce Polkowsky, Environmental Policy
Consultant; and Mr. Aaron M. Flynn, Partner, Hunton & Williams.
April 14, 2016
Research and Technology Subcommittee hearing: Can the IRS
Protect Taxpayers' Personal Information?
Witnesses: The Honorable John Koskinen, Commissioner,
Internal Revenue Service, the Honorable J. Russell George,
Inspector General, Treasury Inspector General for Tax
Administration; and, Mr. Gregory Wilshusen, Director,
Information Security Issues, U.S. Government Accountability
Office.
April 19, 2016
Space Subcommittee hearing: The Commercial Space Launch
Industry: Small Satellite Opportunities and Challenges.
Witnesses: Mr. Elliot Pulham, Chief Executive Officer,
Space Foundation and Mr. Eric Stallmer, President, Commercial
Spaceflight Federation (CSF).
April 20, 2016
Energy Subcommittee hearing: An Overview of Fusion Energy
Science.
Witnesses: Dr. Bernard Bigot, Director General, ITER
Organization; Dr. Stewart Prager, Director, Princeton Plasma
Physics Laboratory; and Dr. Scott Hsu, Scientist, Physics
Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory.
April 28, 2016
Full Committee hearing: Examining EPA's Predetermined
Efforts to Block the Pebble Mine Part II.
Witness: The Honorable Dennis McLerran, Administrator, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 10.
May 11, 2016
Energy Subcommittee hearing: Department of Energy
Oversight: Office of Fossil Energy.
Witness: The Honorable Chris Smith, Assistant Secretary,
Office of Fossil Energy, U.S. Department of Energy.
May 12, 2016
Oversight Subcommittee hearing: FDIC Data Breaches: Can
Americans Trust that Their Private Banking Information Is
Secure?
Witnesses: Mr. Fred W. Gibson, Acting Inspector General,
FDIC and Mr. Lawrence Gross, Jr., Chief Information Officer and
Chief Privacy Officer, FDIC.
May 18, 2016
Space Subcommittee hearing: Next Steps to Mars: Deep Space
Habitats.
Witnesses: Mr. Jason Crusan, Director, Advanced Exploration
Systems (AES), Human Exploration and Operations Mission
Directorate, NASA; Mr. John Elbon, Vice President and General
Manager, Space Exploration, Boeing Defense, Space, and
Security, The Boeing Company; Ms. Wanda Sigur, Lockheed Martin
Corporation; Mr. Frank Culbertson, President, Space Systems,
Orbital-ATK; and, Mr. Andy Weir, Author, The Martian.
May 25, 2016
Full Committee hearing: Science of Zika: The DNA of an
Epidemic.
Witnesses: Dr. Kacey Ernst, Associate Professor, Department
of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Arizona; Dr.
Daniel Neafsey, Associate Director, Genomic Center for
Infectious Disease, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard; Dr.
Steven Presley, Professor, Department of Environmental
Toxicology, Texas Tech University; and, Mr. Hadyn Parry, Chief
Executive Officer, Oxitec.
May 26, 2016
Environment Subcommittee hearing: Impact of EPA's Clean
Power Plan on States.
Witnesses: The Honorable E. Scott Pruitt, Attorney General,
State of Oklahoma; Ms. Brianne Gorod, Chief Counsel,
Constitutional Accountability Center; and The Honorable Charles
McConnell, Executive Director, Energy and Environment
Initiative, Rice University.
June 8, 2016
Environment Subcommittee hearing: Private Sector Weather
Forecasting: Assessing Products and Technologies.
Witnesses: Mr. Barry Myers, CEO, AccuWeather; Mr. Jim
Block, Chief Meteorological Officer, Schneider Electric; Dr.
Neil Jacobs, Chief Scientist, Panasonic Weather Solutions,
Panasonic; Dr. Antonio Busalacchi, Director, Earth System
Interdisciplinary Center, University of Maryland; and Dr. Sandy
MacDonald, Director, Numerical Weather Prediction, Spire
Global.
June 15, 2016
Space Subcommittee hearing: Human Spaceflight Ethics and
Obligations: Options for Monitoring, Diagnosing, and Treating
Former Astronauts.
Witnesses: Dr. Richard Williams, Chief Health and Medical
Officer, NASA; Captain Chris Cassidy, United States Navy (USN);
Chief, Astronaut Office, NASA; Captain Scott Kelly (USN, Ret.),
Former Astronaut, NASA; Captain Michael Lopez-Alegria (USN,
Ret.), President, Association of Space Explorers-USA; Former
Astronaut, NASA; and, Dr. Jeffrey Kahn, Professor of Bioethics
and Public Policy, Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics;
Chairman, Committee on the Ethics, Principles and Guidelines
for Health Standards for Long Duration and Exploration
Spaceflights, Board on Health Sciences Policy, National
Academies of Sciences.
June 15, 2016
Energy Subcommittee hearing: Innovation in Solar Fuels,
Electricity Storage, and Advanced Materials.
Witnesses: Dr. Nate Lewis, Professor, California Institute
of Technology; Dr. Daniel Scherson, Professor, Case Western
Reserve University; Dr. Collin Broholm, Professor, Johns
Hopkins University; and Dr. Daniel Hallinan Jr., Assistant
Professor, Florida A&M University--Florida State University
College of Engineering.
June 16, 2016
Research and Technology Subcommittee hearing: SBIR/STTR
Reauthorization: A Review of Technology Transfer.
Witnesses: Dr. Pramod Khargonekar, Assistant Director,
National Science Foundation; Dr. Michael Lauer, Deputy
Director, National Institutes of Health; Dr. Patricia Dehmer,
Deputy Director for Science Programs, Office of Science,
Department of Energy; and, Dr. Jilda D. Garton, Vice President
for Research and General Manager, Georgia Tech Research
Corporation.
June 22, 2016
Full Committee hearing: Ensuring Sound Science at EPA.
Witness: The Honorable Gina McCarthy, Administrator, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency.
July 7, 2016
Environment Subcommittee hearing: Examining the Nation's
Current and Next Generation Weather Satellite Programs.
Witnesses: Dr. Stephen Volz, Assistant Administrator,
National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information
Services, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; Mr.
David Powner, Director, Information Technology Management
Issues, Government Accountability Office; Mr. Ralph Stoffler,
Director of Weather, Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, U.S.
Air Force; and Ms. Cristina Chaplain, Director, Acquisition and
Sourcing Management, Government Accountability Office.
July 12, 2016
Research and Technology Subcommittee and Space Subcommittee
hearing: Astronomy, Astrophysics, and Astrobiology.
Witnesses: Dr. Paul Hertz, Director, Astrophysics Division,
NASA; Dr. Jim Ulvestad, Director, Division of Astronomical
Sciences, NSF; Dr. Angela Olinto, Chair, Astronomy and
Astrophysics Advisory Committee (AAAC), and Homer J. Livingston
Professor, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Enrico
Fermi Institute, University of Chicago; Dr. Shelley Wright,
Assistant Professor, University of California, San Diego,
Center for Astrophysics and Space Sciences, Breakthrough Listen
Advisory Committee; and Dr. Christine Jones, Senior
Astrophysicist, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory,
President, American Astronomical Society.
July 14, 2016
Full Committee hearing: Evaluating FDIC's Response to Major
Data Breaches: Is the FDIC Safeguarding Consumers' Banking
Information?
Witnesses: Mr. Martin J. Gruenberg, Chairman, FDIC and Mr.
Fred W. Gibson, Acting Inspector General, FDIC.
September 7, 2016
Space Subcommittee hearing: Commercial Remote Sensing:
Facilitating Innovation and Leadership.
Witnesses: Mr. Kevin O'Connell, President and CEO,
Innovative Analytics and Training LLC; Former Chair, Federal
Advisory Committee on Commercial Remote Sensing (ACCRES); Mr.
Kevin Pomfret, Executive Director, Centre for Spatial Law and
Policy; Ms. Michele R. Weslander Quaid, President, Sunesis
Nexus LLC; Mr. Michael Dodge, Assistant Professor, Department
of Space Studies, University of North Dakota; and, Ms. Joanne
Gabrynowicz, Professor Emerita, University of Mississippi
School of Law.
September 8, 2016
Energy Subcommittee and Middle East and North Africa
Subcommittee (Foreign Affairs Committee) joint hearing: Eastern
Mediterranean Energy: Challenges and Opportunities for U.S.
Regional Priorities.
Witnesses: Mr. Amos J. Hochstein, Special Envoy, Bureau of
Energy Resources, U.S. Department of State; and The Honorable
Jonathan Elkind, Assistant Secretary, Office of International
Affairs, U.S. Department of Energy.
September 13, 2016
Full Committee hearing: Protecting the 2016 Elections from
Cyber and Voting Machine Attacks.
Witnesses: Dr. Charles H. Romine, Director, Information
Technology Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and
Technology; the Honorable Tom Schedler, Secretary of State,
State of Louisiana; Mr. David Becker, Executive Director, The
Center for Election Innovation & Research; and, Dr. Dan S.
Wallach, Professor, Department of Computer Science and Rice
Scholar, Baker Institute for Public Policy, Rice University.
September 14, 2016
Full Committee hearing: Affirming Congress' Constitutional
Oversight Responsibilities: Subpoena Authority and Recourse for
Failure to Comply with Lawfully Issued Subpoenas.
Witnesses: Mr. Jonathan Turley, J.B. & Maurice C. Shapiro
Professor of Public Interest Law at The George Washington
University Law School; Mr. Ronald D. Rotunda, Doy and Dee
Henley Chair and Distinguished Professor of Jurisprudence at
Chapman University Dale E. Fowler School of Law; Ms. Elizabeth
Price Foley, Professor of Law at Florida International
University College of Law; and Mr. Charles Tiefer, Professor of
Law at University of Baltimore; Former Acting General Counsel,
U.S. House of Representatives.
September 21, 2016
Energy Subcommittee and Oversight Subcommittee joint
hearing: Examining Misconduct and Intimidation of Scientists by
Senior DOE Officials.
Witnesses: Dr. Sharlene Weatherwax, Associate Director,
Biological and Environmental Research, U.S. Department of
Energy; and Dr. Noelle Metting, Radiation Biologist, U.S.
Department of Energy.
September 27, 2016
Space Subcommittee hearing: Are We Losing the Space Race to
China?
Witnesses: The Honorable Dennis C. Shea, Chairman, U.S.-
China Economic and Security Review Commission; Mr. Mark Stokes,
Executive Director, Project 2049 Institute; Mr. Dean Cheng,
Senior Research Fellow, Asian Studies Center, Heritage
Foundation; and Dr. James Lewis, Senior Vice President and
Director, Strategic Technologies Program, Center for Strategic
& International Studies.
September 29, 2016
Research and Technology Subcommittee hearing: Academic
Research Regulatory Relief: A Review of New Recommendations.
Witnesses: Dr. Larry R. Faulkner, President Emeritus, The
University of Texas at Austin; Mr. John Neumann, Director,
Natural Resources and Environment Team, Government
Accountability Office; Mr. Jim Luther, Associate Vice President
for Finance & Compliance Officer, Duke University; and, Dr.
Angel Cabrera, President, George Mason University.
SUMMARY OF OVERSIGHT PLAN
House Rule X sets the Committee's legislative jurisdiction
while also assigning broad oversight responsibilities. Rule X
also assigns the Committee special oversight responsibility for
``reviewing and studying, on a continuing basis, all laws,
programs, and Government activities dealing with or involving
non-military research and development.'' The Committee
appreciates the special function entrusted to it and will
continue to tackle troubled programs and search for waste,
fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in non-military research and
development programs regardless of where they may be found.
Much of the oversight work of the Committee is carried out
by and through the Oversight Subcommittee. However, oversight
is conducted by every Subcommittee and the full Committee. All
components of the Committee take their oversight charge
seriously and work cooperatively to meet the Committee's
oversight responsibilities.
The Committee also routinely works with the U.S. Government
Accountability Office (GAO) and the Inspectors General (IG) of
the agencies under its jurisdiction to maintain detailed
awareness of the work of those offices. The Committee currently
has numerous outstanding requests with the GAO. These include
bipartisan requests as well as those signed by multiple
Committee Chairmen with shared interests.
The Committee continues to be concerned about allegations
of intimidation of science specialists in federal agencies,
suppression or revisions of scientific finding, and
mischaracterization of scientific findings because of political
or other pressures. The Committee's oversight will include
examination of allegations, and will also involve the
development and implementation of scientific integrity
principles within the executive branch.
Oversight is commonly driven by emerging events. While the
Committee continues to address new issues and topics as they
transpire, the following is a summary of the Committee's
Oversight Plan approved in February, 2015.
Energy
Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science
The Committee will conduct oversight of Office of Science
programs to review prioritization across, and management
within, its major program areas. Special attention will also be
given to the cost, operation, and maintenance of DOE's existing
and planned major facilities.
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) R&D
The Committee will undertake efforts to improve focus,
prioritization, and transparency of EERE programs, and provide
close oversight to ensure that programs are managed
efficiently, duplication is limited, and funding is allocated
appropriately and effectively.
Nuclear Energy R&D
The Committee will provide oversight of the nation's
nuclear R&D activities. DOE, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
and industry stakeholders are working to advance reactor
construction of new nuclear reactors. The Committee will
examine how DOE R&D can best contribute to this goal through
the advancement of various nuclear energy technologies.
Fossil Energy R&D
In the 114th Congress, the Committee will continue to
ensure that fossil fuel R&D programs are appropriately focused
and managed efficiently. Expected areas of oversight include
coal R&D prioritization and program management and oil and gas
R&D efforts.
Advanced Research Projects Agency--Energy (ARPA-E)
The Committee will undertake oversight of ARPA-E program
funding and management in the 114th Congress, examining the
appropriate role for and focus of ARPA-E in the context of
DOE's numerous other clean energy-focused programs and
activities.
DOE Loan Guarantees
Program management problems associated with past DOE loan
guarantees in recent years call for greater attention by the
Committee. Ensuring the program minimizes risk to taxpayers and
addresses previously identified problems will be a priority in
the 114th Congress.
DOE Contract Management
DOE programs have come under frequent scrutiny for contract
management practices. GAO designated DOE's contract management
as high-risk in 1990 and continues to identify areas of
potential waste, fraud, and abuse.
Environment
Science and R&D at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
The Committee will continue to conduct oversight of EPA's
management of science and its use of science in the decision
making process, including lab management, regulatory science,
transparency, and risk assessment. In particular, the Committee
will examine how to better integrate science into the
Administration's regulatory decision-making process. This
includes how EPA uses and manages scientific data to reach its
regulatory conclusions.
Risk Assessment
As the number and complexity of regulations increases
throughout federal and state governments, the risk assessments
that inform those decisions are garnering more attention. The
Committee will continue to oversee how risk assessments are
developed and how they are used in the regulatory process to
ensure that policies are based on the best science available.
Climate Research Activities
The Committee will continue to monitor the broad array of
programs addressing climate change issues across the Federal
government to ensure that existing programs are necessary,
appropriately focused, effectively coordinated, and properly
organized to prevent duplication of efforts and waste taxpayer
resources.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Weather
Forecasting
The Committee will examine funding prioritization and
program management challenges related to the NOAA's mission to
understand and predict changes in weather, particularly as they
relate to severe weather events that threaten life and
property.
NASA Earth Science
The Committee will monitor NASA's efforts to prioritize,
plan, and implement Earth science missions within cost and
schedule. Particular attention will be paid to programs that
exceed cost estimates to ensure they do not adversely impact
the development and launch of other NASA priorities.
NOAA Satellite Modernization
The Committee will continue its close monitoring of
satellite modernization at NOAA. The restructured Joint Polar
Satellite System (JPSS) will continue to draw the Committee's
attention, as will the Geostationary Operational Environmental
Satellites and the broader issues of research-to-operations
planning and data continuity.
Research and Technology
National Science Foundation (NSF)
The Committee will continue to oversee the NSF, looking for
ways to trim duplicative and unused programs in an effort to
maximize available resources. The innovative work of the
National Science Foundation is important to the economic
prosperity and competitiveness of the United States. However,
there are various activities within the Foundation that may go
beyond the mission of the agency and require more scrutiny and
potential cuts in order to ensure that federal investments in
basic science remain primarily focused on research that
actually benefits the Nation.
Science, Technology, Education and Mathematics (STEM) K-12 Oversight
Members of the Committee have expressed interests in
improving STEM education activities from pre-K through graduate
and continuing education in order to cultivate a top-notch
future scientific and technical workforce, including well-
qualified teachers in STEM fields. Determining the appropriate
forms of federal support for these outcomes is important to the
Committee. While STEM education is critical to maintaining the
scientific and technical workforce essential to our
competitiveness, many duplicative, wasteful, or simply unused
programs exist across a number of federal agencies and must be
more closely examined and, where warranted, cut.
U.S. Antarctic and Arctic Programs
The U.S. has conducted operations on the Antarctic
continent under the terms of the Antarctic Treaty System since
1959, and U.S. research activities in the Arctic predate that.
The NSF serves as the steward for U.S. interests in Antarctica.
Research in these extreme regions is a fundamental component to
understanding the Earth and its systems. The future of the
icebreaker fleet that provides vital logistical support for NSF
activities in the harsh polar environments continues to be of
concern.
NSF Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction (MREFC)
Program
The Committee will continue to monitor and oversee NSF's
MREFC program, including how priorities for projects are
developed, long-term budgeting for such priorities, the
management of cooperative agreements, and decision-making with
regards to ever-changing scientific community needs.
Cybersecurity
The Committee has continuously stressed the protection of
the nation's cyber-infrastructure, which underpins much private
and public activity. The Committee will continue to provide
critical oversight of how NIST, DHS and NSF address this
important topic and will be particularly interested in how
federal agencies balance security mandates with the ability to
allow technological development through innovation. The
Committee will also continue to conduct oversight of agency
efforts to protect information technology systems. Threats and
intrusions increase as GAO and IG recommendations go
unaddressed. The Committee will ensure that agencies comply
with existing statutes and address outside recommendations in a
timely manner.
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
The Committee will conduct program oversight for NIST, and
other programs in the Department of Commerce, paying special
attention to the evaluation of their alignment with and impact
on industry. In another area of NIST, the Committee is aware
that America's competitive position can be dramatically
improved, or weakened, depending on how standards for different
products and processes are developed. NIST is the only federal
agency with long-term expertise in this arena, and the
Committee is concerned that the cooperation on standards
development across agencies is less than optimal.
Advanced Technologies
The Committee will examine R&D programs to ensure that they
are focused in areas that support the most promising new areas
of technology, including technology in the bio, nano, energy
and health sectors. The Committee will also examine NIST's role
in the development of the smart grid, the management of cross-
agency information technology (NITRD) and nanotechnology (NNI)
research programs, and measurement science underpinning the
biotechnology industry.
Department of Transportation (DOT) R&D Programs
The Committee will conduct oversight with regard to
implementation of MAP-21 and related surface transportation R&D
programs within the federal government, with a particular focus
on strategic planning, performance metrics, effectiveness and
redundancy elimination.
Economic Competitiveness and Job Creation
The Committee will conduct oversight of policies enacted by
the Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR), and
ensure that it is focused on the most promising innovations.
Natural Hazards
The Committee has supported interagency research programs
to mitigate the damage caused by natural disasters such as
earthquakes, windstorms, and fires by developing early warning
systems and improved building and infrastructure design. The
Committee will continue to evaluate programs to protect
Americans from these and other hazards.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology
The Committee will continue to monitor the maturation of
DHS, particularly the effectiveness and organization of the
Science and Technology Directorate, and the research and
technology programs associated with the Domestic Nuclear
Detection Office.
Space
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Human Space Flight
Program
The Committee will continue to provide oversight of NASA's
human spaceflight program as it undergoes a period of
uncertainty and transition following various Administration
proposals. Specific attention will be paid to the feasibility
of NASA's plans and priorities relative to their resources and
requirements.
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Commercial Space Transportation
FAA's Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST)
licenses commercial launch vehicles. An area of increasing
interest is the emergence of a number of fledgling commercial
human suborbital space flight ventures. In addition to its
oversight of the FAA's AST, the Committee will examine the
progress of the emerging personal space flight industry, as
well as the challenges it faces.
NASA Space Science
The Committee will monitor NASA's efforts to prioritize,
plan, launch, and operate space science missions within cost
and schedule. Particular attention will be paid to programs
that exceed cost estimates to ensure they do not adversely
impact the development and launch of other missions.
FAA Research and Development (R&D) Activities
The Committee will oversee the R&D activities at the FAA to
ensure that they lead to improvements in the U.S. Aerospace
sector. The Committee has a particular interest in the
performance of the Joint Planning and Development Office
(JPDO), and FAA's management of its Next Generation Air
Transportation System (NextGen) program.
Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS)
The Committee will evaluate the ability, cost, safety, and
reliability of commercial providers to meet NASA requirements
to deliver cargo and crew to the ISS.
International Space Station (ISS) Utilization and Operation
The plans for operation and utilization of the ISS will
continue to draw the Committee's attention as NASA attempts to
fully utilize the unique research opportunities that the
facility offers, while exclusively relying on logistical
services from commercial and foreign providers. Given the
significant national investment to date in the facility,
Congress has directed that NASA maintain a strong research and
technology program to take advantage of ISS' unique
capabilities.
Aeronautics Research
The Committee plans to examine NASA's ability to support
the interagency effort to modernize the nation's air traffic
management system, the development of unmanned aviation systems
(UAS), as well as its ability to undertake important long-term
R&D on aircraft safety, emissions, noise, and energy
consumption--R&D that will have a significant impact on the
quality of life and U.S. competitiveness in aviation.
NASA Contract and Financial Management
A perennial topic on GAO's high risk series, NASA financial
management will continue to receive attention from the
Committee. The Committee will also monitor NASA's contract
management to ensure acquisitions are handled appropriately.
Near Earth Objects
Congress has provided guidance to NASA relating to Near
Earth Objects. The Committee will continue to monitor NASA's
compliance with that direction, as well as determine whether
additional oversight is necessary.
SUMMARY OF ACTIONS TAKEN AND RECOMMENDATIONS MADE WITH RESPECT TO THE
OVERSIGHT PLAN
Energy
Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science
The Committee conducted extensive oversight of Office of
Science programs, focusing specifically on the Obama
administration's efforts to cut basic science in furtherance of
the President's Climate Action Plan. Hearings addressing the
Office of Science include ``An Overview of the Budget Proposal
for the Department of Energy for Fiscal Year 2016'' (02/25/
2015); ``Innovations in Battery Storage for Renewable Energy''
(05/01/2015); ``Department of Energy Oversight: Energy
Innovation Hubs'' (06/17/2015); ``An Overview of the Budget
Proposal for the Department of Energy for Fiscal Year 2017''
(03/22/2016); ``An Overview of Fusion Energy Science'' (04/20/
2016); ``SBIR / STTR Reauthorization: A Review of Technology
Transfer'' (06/16/2016); and ``Innovation in Solar Fuels,
Electricity Storage, and Advanced Materials'' (06/15/2016).
The Committee also conducted bipartisan oversight of the
ITER project, an international collaboration to construct a
first-of-a-kind nuclear fusion reactor authorized by Congress.
This collaboration includes the European Union, Russian
Federation, China, Republic of Korea, Japan, and India. The
Committee addressed the challenge of ITER in a hearing entitled
``An Overview of Fusion Energy Science'' (04/20/2016).
To address the misplaced priorities and resources within
the Office of Science, the Committee advanced legislation to
address key Committee priorities, including bipartisan
legislation authorizing the DOE to upgrade its super computers
(H.R. 874, the American Supercomputing Act); bipartisan
legislation authorizing basic and applied R&D to support
innovation of solar fuels (H.R. 5638, the Solar Fuels
Innovation Act) and battery technology (H.R. 5640, the Battery
Storage Innovation Act); and bipartisan legislation authorizing
research on low dose radiation research (H.R. 35, the Low Dose
Radiation Research Act), the subject of the Committee's
investigation on DOE management intimidating and retaliating
against scientists.
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) R&D
The Committee held a series of hearings conducting
oversight of EERE programs, including ``An Overview of the
Budget Proposal for the Department of Energy for Fiscal Year
2016'' (02/25/2015); ``Department of Energy Oversight: Office
of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy'' (03/24/2015);
Innovations in Battery Storage for Renewable Energy'' (05/01/
2015); ``Department of Energy Oversight: Energy Innovation
Hubs'' (06/17/2015); ``An Overview of the Budget Proposal for
the Department of Energy for Fiscal Year 2017'' (03/22/2016);
``Innovation in Solar Fuels, Electricity Storage, and Advanced
Materials'' (06/15/2016); and ``Eastern Mediterranean Energy:
Challenges and Opportunities for U.S. Regional Priorities''
(09/08/2016).
Legislation to address the focus, prioritization, and
transparency of EERE programs was included H.R. 1806, The
America COMPETES Reauthorization Act, which passed the House on
05/20/2015. H.R. 1806 reauthorized EERE research, development,
demonstration, and commercial application of renewable energy
and energy efficiency technology. This legislation repealed
outdated programs and included specific direction to streamline
the EERE portfolio, reduce duplication and identify activities
that could be better undertaken by states, institutions of
higher education, or the private sector, and areas of sub-par
performance.
The Committee also sent oversight letters to the Department
of Energy regarding EERE programs, including addressing the
Home Energy Auditing Standards in letters to Secretary Moniz on
01/12/2016 and 02/11/2016.
Nuclear Energy R&D
The Committee conducted oversight of the Department's
current spending and related activities in research,
development, demonstration, and commercial application of
nuclear energy technologies through a series of hearings in the
114th Congress, including ``An Overview of the Budget Proposal
for the Department of Energy for Fiscal Year 2016'' (02/25/
2015); ``Nuclear Energy Innovation and the National Labs'' (05/
13/2015); ``Subcommittee on Energy Hearing--Department of
Energy Oversight: Energy Innovation Hubs'' (06/17/2015); ``A
Review of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Licensing
Process'' (07/29/2015); ``H.R. 4084, the Nuclear Energy
Innovation Capabilities Act'' (12/03/2015); and ``An Overview
of the Budget Proposal for the Department of Energy for Fiscal
Year 2017'' (03/22/2016).
The Committee also conducted oversight of the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission's capabilities to license advanced
reactor technologies and effectively collaborate with the DOE
on related R&D activities through extensive meetings with
industry stakeholders, DOE, and NRC staff, and the Committee's
first hearing with the NRC Commissioner in July 2015, ``A
Review of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Licensing
Process'' (07/29/2015).
Legislation to address the focus, prioritization, and
transparency of the Department's Nuclear Energy R&D programs
was included in H.R. 1806, which reauthorized nuclear energy
research, development, demonstration, and commercial
application of renewable energy and energy efficiency
technology.
The Committee also drafted bipartisan legislation (H.R.
4084) authorizing nuclear energy research, development, and
demonstration activities. This legislation focuses federal
spending on enabling research, development, and demonstration
activities that the private sector is not able to undertake.
This legislation was taken up by the Senate as a bipartisan
companion bill (Crapo-Whitehouse-Risch-Booker-Hatch).
The Committee also conducted oversight of the Department's
role for implementation and related research and development
activities for the Iran nuclear deal (the Joint Comprehensive
Plan of Action). The Committee sent letters to the DOE and FBI
related to this work as part of an ongoing investigation on 06/
21/2016 and 10/18/2016.
Fossil Energy R&D
The Committee held a series of hearings conducting
oversight of fossil energy programs, including ``An Overview of
the Budget Proposal for the Department of Energy for Fiscal
Year 2016'' (02/25/2015); ``An Overview of the Budget Proposal
for the Department of Energy for Fiscal Year 2017'' (03/22/
2016); ``Department of Energy Oversight: Office of Fossil
Energy'' (05/11/2016); and ``Eastern Mediterranean Energy:
Challenges and Opportunities for U.S. Regional Priorities''
(09/08/2016).
Legislation to address the focus, prioritization, and
transparency of fossil energy programs, by reauthorizing
research, development, demonstration, and commercial
application of fossil energy technology was included in H.R.
1806. This legislation included specific direction to
streamline the fossil energy portfolio, reduce duplication and
identify activities that could be better undertaken by states,
institutions of higher education, or the private sector, and
areas of sub-par performance.
Advanced Research Projects Agency--Energy (ARPA-E)
The Committee conducted oversight of ARPA-E programs
through reviews of the DOE budget request, including in two
hearings, ``An Overview of the Budget Proposal for the
Department of Energy for Fiscal Year 2016'' (02/25/2015); and
``An Overview of the Budget Proposal for the Department of
Energy for Fiscal Year 2017'' (03/22/2016). In order to address
the funding and management of ARPA-E programs, the Committee
reauthorized ARPA-E, but significantly reduced funding for the
controversial program, and included direction to require
program applicants to prove they could not receive funding from
a private entity in H.R. 1806.
DOE Loan Guarantees
The Committee conducted oversight of the DOE loan programs
through several hearings, including ``An Overview of the Budget
Proposal for the Department of Energy for Fiscal Year 2016''
(02/25/2015); ``Department of Energy Oversight: The DOE Loan
Guarantee Program'' (03/03/2016); and ``An Overview of the
Budget Proposal for the Department of Energy for Fiscal Year
2017'' (03/22/2016).
The Committee also conducted a year-long investigation into
the management of the DOE loan guarantee program, focusing on
the Department's decision to expand loan guarantee program
eligibility to distributed energy and state funded energy
projects, the bankruptcy of companies associated with the loan
guarantee program, and Congressional access to documents
outlining the financial stability of the existing loan
guarantee portfolio.
The Committee sent letters to Secretary Moniz regarding the
DOE loan program on 09/08/2015, 12/09/2015, and 06/01/2016, and
conducted numerous staff briefings and document reviews with
DOE loan program office staff.
DOE Management
The Committee conducted oversight of DOE laboratory
management and contract competition to select management for
the DOE national laboratories, conducting several hearings
examining the labs in the 114th Congress. These hearings
include ``An Overview of the Budget Proposal for the Department
of Energy for Fiscal Year 2016'' (02/25/2015);
``Recommendations of the Commission to Review the Effectiveness
of the National Energy Laboratories'' (11/18/2015); and ``An
Overview of the Budget Proposal for the Department of Energy
for Fiscal Year 2017'' (03/22/2016).
The Committee worked extensively with the Commission to
Review the Effectiveness of the National Energy Laboratories
(CRENEL) to understand contract and management challenges in
the current lab system, and to address opportunities for reform
to improve the efficiency of lab operations.
The Committee also commissioned a GAO study comparing the
overhead costs, effectiveness, and achievements of the DOE
research programs, including the Office of Science and applied
research programs in energy efficiency and renewable energy
(EERE) and nuclear energy. This study required extensive data
collection and is expected to be finalized by January 2017.
To address the management challenges within the DOE
national labs, the Committee drafted H.R. 1158, the Department
of Energy Laboratory Modernization and Technology Transfer Act
of 2015. This bipartisan legislation reforms the DOE's
laboratory management practice and emphasizes the need to make
laboratories more accessible to the private sector.
Scientific Integrity
The Committee conducted oversight, wrote letters to
Secretary Moniz (02/03/2016, 02/26/2016, 04/28/2016, and 06/09/
2016), held transcribed interviews, and held a hearing entitled
``Examining Misconduct and Intimidation of Scientists by Senior
DOE Officials'' (09/21/2016) pursuant to the Committee's
investigation on DOE management intimidating and retaliating
against scientists.
Environment
Science and R&D at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
The Committee has held multiple oversight hearings on EPA's
regulatory actions, including: ozone NAAQS, Clean Power Plan,
methane, regional haze, 404c permitting (Pebble Mine) and
energy efficiency. These hearings examined the lack of science
used to justify agency regulations, as well as examining the
role that politics rather than science influences policy. The
Committee has also written numerous letters to EPA, USDA, NPS,
and DOT requesting documents and communications relating to
regulations initiated or overseen by these Agencies.
The Committee also conducted oversight of current and
former EPA employees for potential violations of the anti-
Lobbying Act. The House passed H.R. 1029 (Science Advisory
Board Reform Act of 2015) and H.R. 1030 (Secret Science Reform
Act of 2015)--these two bills would bring greater transparency
and accountability to both the scientific and the regulatory
process within all federal regulations.
Climate Research Activities
The Committee requested a GAO report on federal climate
change policies to review instances of duplication and waste.
The Committee has monitored the climate change activities of
the Administration, including the examination of the Climate
Action Plan.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Weather
Forecasting
The Committee held multiple hearings on the state of
weather forecasting in prediction, including the role of
government agencies as well as the growing private sector
weather services. The House passed H.R. 1561, the Weather
Research and Forecasting Innovation Act, which will increase
our weather forecasting skill by targeted funding for new
weather technologies and research.
NOAA Satellite Modernization
The Committee held multiple hearings on the current state
of NOAA satellites. The Committee has been very critical of the
continued high costs, delays, and mismanagement of the
programs, and has called for NOAA to implement other strategies
to strengthen our Nation's weather satellite constellation,
including implementation commercial weather data. The Committee
included commercial weather language in H.R. 1561, the Weather
Research and Forecasting Innovation Act, which will increase
our ability to accurately predict weather when faced with
government delays or even failures.
NASA Earth Science
The Committee has continued to monitor NASA's earth science
portfolio, including the potential for duplicative activities
related to climate change research.
Risk Assessment
The House passed H.R. 1029 (Science Advisory Board Reform
Act of 2015) which would ensure that risk assessments are
conducted in an open and transparent way, while eliminating
conflicts of interest. The Committee has also conducted
oversight on EPA's handling of its evaluation of glyphosate, in
addition to several other chemicals. From this oversight
activity, the Committee continues to monitor and evaluate the
manner that federal agencies use risk assessments to make
regulatory and policy decisions.
Research and Technology
National Science Foundation (NSF)
The Committee reviewed more than 50,000 NSF research grants
made during the past half-dozen years. This was the first
systematic review of NSF grant-making by Congress. The result
of this huge undertaking was identifying and cataloging several
thousand questionable NSF awards. Examples of such questionable
expenditures of taxpayer money include $700,000 to underwrite a
climate change musical, $250,000 for trips to Norway to compile
information about local tourism, and $700,000 to support a
study of ancient fishing practices on Lake Victoria (Africa).
Science, Technology, Education and Mathematics (STEM) K-12 Oversight
The Committee elicited hearing testimony about the
proliferation of categorical, often overlapping federally-
funded STEM programs. Although witnesses provided anecdotal
information about the effectiveness/ineffectiveness of these
programs, the overarching concern was that there was no
objective information about STEM program outcomes, i.e., no
basis for measuring success and judging the return-on-
investment for taxpayers. In contrast, leaders of several
privately funded STEM initiatives described detailed,
longitudinal results that depicted significant increases in
STEM interest, STEM studies, and STEM careers.
Another important result of STEM oversight hearings was
highlighting that computer science was not a core STEM
discipline. The Committee reported, the House approved, and the
President signed into law the STEM Education Act of 2015, which
added computer science to the definition of STEM and bolstered
informal, privately-sponsored STEM education initiatives.
As part of broader legislation which included reauthorizing
STEM programs under the Committee's jurisdiction, the Committee
also required that outcomes data be collected systematically
and used to assess the effectiveness and worth of publicly-
funded STEM programs.
U.S. Antarctic and Arctic Programs
A 2015 Committee CODEL to the Antarctic provided ten
Members with a first-hand look at the physical infrastructure
that supports U.S. scientific activity, including the
insufficiency of U.S. resources to meet ice-breaking
requirements and the problems that accompany U.S. reliance on
other nations' ice-breaking resources. (This was the first
Congressional oversight trip to the Antarctic and the U.S.
multi-billion dollar investment there in several years.)
NSF Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction (MREFC)
Program
Reports by the NSF Inspector General and information from a
whistleblower/federal auditor stimulated Committee information
gathering and a series of oversight hearings that revealed
massive mismanagement of a $440 million NSF research facility
construction project and improper and possibly illegal
expenditures of millions of taxpayer dollars on lobbying,
lavish parties and foreign travel by the non-profit developer
hired by NSF. Committee oversight forced NSF to: acknowledge a
$110 million total cost over-run, fire the non-profit and make
major changes in NSF internal and external policies and
procedures in order to protect taxpayer funds from waste and
abuse.
Government-wide R&D Initiatives in Emerging Fields
The Committee held a series of oversight hearings that
brought forward information about scientific breakthroughs and
taxpayer investments in emerging technologies. These included:
NSF-funded research which yielded the ground-breaking discovery
of gravitational waves; the creation of new gene-editing tools
(e.g., CRISPR) with virtually limitless possibilities for
benefiting mankind and a considerable potential for misuse;
development of autonomous vehicle technology and associated
cyber/safety issues; and inter-agency collaboration in network
information and technology research aimed at advances in
emerging fields like cyber-physical systems, quantum computing
and more.
Cybersecurity
The Committee's jurisdiction includes the Federal
Information Security Modernization Act of 2014 (FISMA) and the
National Institute for Standards and Technology, which conducts
research that informs its cyber security standards for federal
agencies and cyber security guidelines for the private sector.
Conspicuous cyber-security incidents and heightened concerns
about private and public organizations' vulnerabilities to
foreign-sponsored cyber-attacks dominated Committee oversight
in this area. Oversight hearings focused on both public and
private cyber-attacks, including a series of hearings about the
risks of health insurance enrollment at healthcare.gov, the
massive breach of sensitive data at the Office of Personnel
Management, and poor or non-existent communications between
private sector cyber researchers and practitioners and federal
agencies. Of overarching concern was the consistent non-
compliance of federal agencies with NIST standards, as required
by FISMA.
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
The Committee conducted a series of hearings about two
serious lapses in physical security at NIST campuses: an
explosion and fire caused by an illegal meth ``factory''
operated in a NIST laboratory by a NIST security officer and
the unauthorized entry into a secure NIST laboratory which
contained hazardous materials.
As part of its focus on cyber security problems, the
Committee elicited information from NIST and others about the
sufficiency and completeness of NIST cyber security standards
for federal agencies, the evolving threats of foreign cyber-
attacks on federal agencies, and NIST responsiveness to federal
agency requests for information and advice.
Advanced Technologies
Committee oversight in this area included two hearings
about cross-agency networking and information technology
collaborations under the NITRD Act, the development of
international standards for nanotechnology, and the efficiency
and physical condition of NIST laboratories.
Department of Transportation (DOT) R&D Programs
Committee hearings featured U.S. DOT and private industry
experts and focused on development of technologies to support
autonomous vehicles. Knowledge gleaned from these hearings
informed Committee contributions to subsequent surface
transportation legislation.
Economic Competitiveness and Job Creation
In preparation for 2017 reauthorization of SBIR/STTR, the
Committee conducted one oversight hearing and prepared for a
subsequent one that will feature a GAO report on waste, fraud
and abuse.
United States Fire Administration (USFA)
The Committee's professional staff met with federal agency
and first-responder representatives to monitor the affected
programs.
Natural Hazards
The Committee held hearings about interagency research
programs for windstorms and fires and also organized meetings
on these subjects and earthquake hazards. In particular, the
Committee meetings with the several affected federal agencies
focused on the need to do a better job of coordinating among
agencies and tracking the dollar amount of federal activities.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology
The Committee conducted several hearings and meetings with
DHS senior officials about the Science and Technology
Directorate's direction and performance, including the
efficiency and effectiveness of the processes through which the
Directorate considers and vets emerging new technologies for
homeland security requirements.
Space
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Human Space Flight
Program
The Committee held five hearings that pertain to NASA's
human spaceflight program They covered topics including
international competitiveness in human exploration, deep space
habitation, the need for stability in NASA's human exploration
program, and general exploration goals within the solar system.
The Committee also held one hearing on the ethics and
obligations of healthcare for NASA. This was followed up by a
markup to review H.R. 6076, To Research, Evaluate, Assess, and
Treat Astronauts Act, which is the response to that hearing. In
October, 2016, Chairman Smith sent a letter to Charles Bolden,
NASA administrator, requesting the un-redacted decision
memoranda for the Space Launch System and Orion crew vehicle
programs, which had completed Key Decision Point C. Committee
staff has also toured facilities related to those programs at
Kennedy Space Center and Stennis Space Center.
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Commercial Space Transportation
The Subcommittee on space convened to discuss challenges
and opportunities facing the small satellite community.
Chairman Smith and Chairman Babin sent a letter to the Federal
Aviation Administration requesting an un-redacted report on the
October 28, 2014 failure of an Orbital ATK Antares rocket.
Orbital ATK had provided the report to FAA. The Committee is
actively participating in conversations related to mission
authorization, space situational awareness, and space traffic
management.
NASA Space Science
The Committee held a hearing to monitor the status of the
James Webb Space Telescope and continues to receive progress
reports on the project. The Committee also held hearings to
better understand the status of research in astronomy,
astrophysics, and astrobiology. The Space Subcommittee held a
joint hearing with the Subcommittee on Environment to discuss
ways to maximize earth science investments through commercial
opportunities. Chairman Smith sent a letter to NASA requesting
copies of NASA's Sustainable Land Imaging Architecture Study,
Sustainable Land Imaging Reduced Instrument Envelope Study, and
the Sustainable Land Imaging Business Model Study.
The Committee is also monitoring the development of
spacecraft to conduct space science. Chairman Smith and
Chairman Babin sent a letter to the Government Accountability
Office requesting information on the status of the US reserve
of plutonium-238. This element can be used as a power source
for space probes and its quantity and production influences
space science missions. Committee staff also visited the NASA's
Jet Propulsion Laboratory to conduct oversight on the work that
is being done there on spacecraft.
FAA Research and Development (R&D) Activities
The Committee held a hearing on unmanned aircraft systems
(UAS). The hearing informed the Committee on advancements in
UAS research and development, UAS research and development
policy, and UAS integration in to the National Airspace System.
Each of these issues will be of particular use to the Committee
for FAA and NASA reauthorizations. The Committee ordered
reported H.R. 4489, the FAA Leadership In Groundbreaking High-
Tech Research and Development Act which reauthorizes Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA) research and development (R&D)
programs for FY2016-FY2019. The Committee requested a GAO
report on FAA's R&D activities, which included the overall
efficiency of its efforts and coordination between other
government and private R&D efforts. Committee staff traveled to
FAA's William Hughes Technical Center to meet with FAA staff,
receive briefings on key FAA R&D activities, and engage in
general oversight activities.
Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS)
The Committee held a hearing to review NASA's efforts to
develop and acquire safe, reliable, and affordable crew
transfer services to the International Space Station (ISS). The
hearing examined the progress of NASA's Commercial Crew
Program, its acquisition model, and future challenges for the
program as the contractors move towards certification. The
Committee reported H.R. 2262, U.S. Commercial Space Launch
Competitiveness Act, which was signed into law and reported
H.R. 1508, the Space Resource Exploration and Utilization Act
of 2015, which promotes the development of a United States
commercial space resource exploration and utilization industry
and to increase the exploration and utilization of resources in
outer space. The Committee conducted oversight into NASA's
investigation of launch accidents involved with COTS and Cargo
Resupply Services programs.
International Space Station (ISS) Utilization and Operation
The Committee held a hearing on NASA's plans for ISS. The
hearing examined the current status of ISS, evaluated NASA's
plans for dealing with operational and maintenance challenges,
the status of the ISS partnership, how NASA is utilizing the
ISS to enable future deep space exploration, and the
Administration's request to extend ISS operations to 2024. The
Committee also hosted an ISS Downlink for Committee Members.
Staff attended the Space Commerce Conference and Exhibition in
Houston to keep abreast of developments in the space industry
and engage with governmental and non-governmental policy-makers
off the Hill and engage in general oversight activities.
Aeronautics Research
The Committee held a hearing on civil aeronautics research
to inform the Committee's reauthorization of the Federal
Aviation Administration's research, engineering, and
development programs. Staff traveled to NASA Armstrong Flight
Research Center to meet with NASA staff, received briefings on
key NASA Armstrong aeronautics activities, and engaged in
general oversight activities. The Committee hosted a forum on
American aeronautics.
NASA Contract and Financial Management
The Committee held multiple hearings on NASA's budget
proposal and the President's budget. These hearings reviewed
and provided oversight for budget requests. The House passed
H.R. 2039, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Authorization Act for 2016 and 2017, that authorized the
programs of NASA. The Committee also conducted oversight
requesting information from NASA regarding the reasoning behind
certain decisions regarding the balance of funds within
programs.
Near Earth Objects
The Committee held a hearing to examine the options for
intermediate missions as well as research, technology, and
systems needed before NASA can safely and effectively carry out
a human mission to Mars, while maintaining a constancy of
purpose and steady technical progress through the next
Presidential Administration and beyond.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Commercial
Remote Sensing Regulatory Affairs Office
The Committee held a hearing to examine the current state
of the space-based remote sensing industry. The hearing covered
the scientific and technical advances in the fields of space-
to-earth and space-to-space remote sensing and also assessed
existing United States law and regulation governing private
remote sensing space systems, including whether there is a need
to reform existing law and regulation. The Committee reported
H.R. 2261, the Commercial Remote Sensing Act of 2015 to the
House, which facilitates the continued development of the
commercial remote sensing industry and protect national
security and H.R. 2263, the Office of Space Commerce Act, which
renames the Office of Space Commerce. The Committee has also
conducted oversight regarding updates from NOAA to discuss any
statutory updates necessary to licensing private remote sensing
space system.
SUMMARY OF ADDITIONAL OVERSIGHT ACTIVITIES
Oversight of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's
(NOAA) National Weather Service (NWS)
In July 2015, the Committee held a hearing entitled
Investigating Contract Misconduct at the National Weather
Service. The hearing examined findings by the Department of
Commerce Inspector General (OIG) regarding contract misconduct
at the NWS. Additionally, the hearing addressed allegations
regarding exertion of influence by a senior official to obtain
employment for an immediate family member at the NWS.
The primary source of information discussed at the hearing
is contained in the OIG report Investigation into Alleged
Contracting Misconduct and Exertion of Improper Influence
Involving a Senior National Weather Service Official issued
June 2015. In 2009, then-Deputy Chief Financial Officer Peter
Jiron intended to retire from the NWS. Mr. Jiron's supervisor,
then-Chief Financial Officer Robert Byrd, suggested Mr. Jiron
return to the NWS post-retirement as a consultant. One month
before officially retiring from the NWS, Mr. Jiron negotiated
the terms of his consultancy, drafted and edited the associated
Statement of Work, drafted terms and conditions of his contract
with NWS as a consultant, and eventually signed the consulting
agreement with NWS in April 2010. In total, Mr. Jiron's
consulting contract lasted 21 months, costing tax payers
$471,875 including $50,000 in post-retirement housing. All of
Mr. Jiron's alleged actions relating to post-retirement
contracts were approved by his supervisor, Mr. Byrd.
In addition, the OIG found evidence that Mr. Jiron may have
attempted to influence NWS officials when seeking to find
employment for an immediate family member in a NWS office.
According to an Administrative Official, Mr. Jiron ``offered to
exert influence to have the Administrative Official promoted
from the GS-13 position he held at the time to a higher-paid
GS-14 position if he assisted'' in getting Mr. Jiron's family
member hired. Ultimately, the Administrative Official alerted
his supervisor, and Mr. Jiron's family member was not hired.
The OIG indicated that Mr. Jiron's alleged improprieties
may have violated numerous federal laws and regulations,
including criminal statutes. Specifically, the criminal
conflict-of-interest statute prohibits federal employees from
acting in their official capacity in matters that will affect
their financial interests. Additionally, federal regulations
prohibit Executive Branch employees from using a government
position to benefit themselves. According to the OIG, Mr.
Jiron's creation of his consulting position while employed at
NWS and arranging for the future payment of his housing
expenses was a conflict of interest that benefited himself.
Furthermore, Mr. Jiron allegedly violated 18 U.S.C. Sec. 201,
which criminalizes bribing government officials, when he
attempted to influence NWS employees to hire his immediate
family member.
Further, the OIG found the ``lack of understanding about
applicable laws and regulations on the part of multiple''
agency officials so concerning that the OIG is ``taking steps
to ascertain whether this matter is indicative of a more
systemic revolving door' contracting problem within
[NOAA].''\1\ According to Mr. Byrd, this type of behavior is
``just the way business is done'' at the agency.\2\ Several
people interviewed by the OIG expressed a similar belief that
these practices are commonplace.\3\ For instance, ``one of the
highest-ranking NWS leadership officials wondered aloud during
her OIG interview `why we have all these people that retire and
then we go and hire them to come back.'''\4\ Moreover, the
Acquisition and Grants Office (AGO) Representative that
facilitated Mr. Jiron's contract told investigators that NOAA
employees returning post-retirement ``happens all the
time.''\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\U.S. Dep't of Commerce, Office of Inspector General,
Investigation into Alleged Contracting Misconduct and Exertion of
Improper Influence Involving a Senior National Weather Service Official
(June 2015). Found at: http://www.oig.doc.gov/OIGPublications/OIG-12-
0447-I.pdf.
\2\Id.
\3\Id.
\4\Id.
\5\Id.
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The findings from this report prompted the OIG to conclude
that some of Senior Official's conduct may have been criminal
in nature, and as such referred the matter to both the Office
of Government Ethics and to the Department of Justice for
prosecution, but the relevant prosecutors declined to pursue
charges. The Committee held a hearing and conducted oversight
to highlight the issue and deter similar activity in the future
from occurring at NOAA and NWS.
Oversight of Physical Security at National Institute of Standards
(NIST)
On Saturday July 19, 2015, an explosion at a National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) facility in
Gaithersburg, Maryland was caused by the manufacturing of the
illegal drug methamphetamine. A NIST Police Officer resigned
July 19, the day after he was injured during an explosion. As a
result of this incident, the Committee began asking questions
related to NIST security. On July 22, 2015, the Chairman sent
Secretary Penny Pritzker a request for documents and
information related to the incident at NIST.
Over the course of the investigation, it became clear that
there was a pattern of misconduct and mismanagement at NIST
Police Services. On September 30, 2015, Chairman Smith
requested additional documents and information related to
building access and personnel matters as well as documents
related to alleged abuse of personnel standards such as misuse
of overtime pay at NIST Police Services or misuse of government
equipment. Between September and December 2015, the Committee
continued to receive documents from NIST and Committee staff
toured NIST facilities on October 6, 2015. On December 4, 2015,
the Chairman sent yet another letter to Director Mays at NIST
requesting additional documents after Committee staff learned
that NIST was not being candid and forthcoming. On January 7,
2016, the NIST security officer responsible for the laboratory
explosion was sentenced to 41 months in jail.
The Science Committee, the authorizing and oversight
committee for NIST, has a legitimate interest in the safety of
NIST employees and ensuring that agency property is not used to
produce illegal drugs. The employee who was injured while
manufacturing methamphetamine on the NIST campus was not a low
level employee, but the former acting Chief of Police in charge
of NIST security. Documents reviewed by the Committee indicate
that time and attendance fraud occurs regularly at NIST Police
Services. In one instance, the officer in question allegedly
worked 84 hours of overtime during a two-week period while also
covering his full-time shifts. It also appears that police
equipment worth thousands of dollars is unaccounted for or
missing from the police force. These allegations raise serious
questions about the lack of internal agency controls at NIST.
During April and May 2016, Committee staff conducted
transcribed interviews of two NIST employees hoping to better
understand the management challenges at the agency.
Information obtained by the Committee shows a culture of
waste, fraud, abuse, and misconduct at NIST Police Services.
Agency officials were apparently aware of officer's conduct but
failed to take appropriate disciplinary actions and even
selected him as interim chief of police despite his misconduct.
It is clear Congress must better monitor those with access to
our nation's high-tech research facilities. Researchers at our
nation's high-tech labs deserve to be safe from this sort of
criminal activity. The American people expect the federal
government to exercise responsible stewardship of their tax
dollars.
Oversight of Agency Information Technology Security
FDIC's Cybersecurity Posture--Pursuant to the Committee's
legislative jurisdiction over portions of the Federal
Information Security Modernization Act of 2014 (FISMA), the
Committee receives an annual FISMA report from each department
and agency subject to the statute. As part of routine reviews
of FISMA reports, Committee staff noted an anomaly in the
FDIC's report. Additionally, on March 18, 2016, the Committee
received written notice, as required by FISMA, of a major
information technology (IT) security breach. In an effort to
better understand the circumstances of this breach, on April 8,
2016, Chairman Smith sent a letter to FDIC Chairman Gruenberg
requesting documents, information, and a briefing from the
agency.
The breach reported to Congress on March 18, 2016, involved
an employee who obtained sensitive data for 44,000 individuals
prior to separating from employment at the agency on February
26, 2016. The FDIC represented to that the separating employee
inadvertently downloaded the information to a portable storage
device referred to as a thumb drive and removed it from the
premises. Upon learning of the incident three days later, FDIC
personnel worked to recover the device. The device was
ultimately recovered on March 1, 2016.
The FDIC Acting Inspector General (OIG) contacted the
Committee relaying information about ongoing audits of the
agency's cybersecurity posture as well as raising concerns
about other major breaches that the agency failed to report to
Congress. The Committee also received credible whistleblower
allegations stating that the agency was purposefully
withholding information from Congress related to other major IT
security breaches. On April 20, 2016, Chairman Smith wrote the
FDIC requesting information related to other unreported
breaches that took place in the latter part of 2015.
Alarmingly, the IG and several whistleblowers told the
Committee that the agency appeared to be withholding documents
from the Committee even after twice certifying verbally that
they had produced all responsive documents. Allegations of
withholding documents led Chairman Smith to send a May 10,
2016, letter to the IG requesting all documents not produced by
the agency. On May 12, 2016, the Oversight Subcommittee held a
hearing on this matter. Witnesses were the Chief Information
Officer Lawrence Gross and the IG. At the hearing Members noted
numerous inconsistencies in Gross' testimony. These
inconsistencies were outlined in a May 19, 2016, letter to the
FDIC from Chairman Smith and Subcommittee Chairman Loudermilk.
The Committee subsequently learned of multiple other breaches
involving sensitive financial information and held a follow-up
hearing with Chairman Greenberg on July 14, 2016. During this
hearing, the Committee learned about an advanced persistent
threat which infected the FDIC's system for approximately three
years beginning in 2010.
In conjunction with the July 2016 hearing, the Committee
released an interim staff report finding the following: (1) the
FDIC Chief Information Officer has created a toxic work
environment, misled Congress, and retaliated against
whistleblowers, (2) the FDIC deliberately evaded Congressional
oversight, and (3) the FDIC has historically experienced
deficiencies related to its cybersecurity posture and those
deficiencies continue to the present. The interim was based on
numerous interviews with whistleblowers and extensive document
review. To date, Committee staff has conducted seven
transcribed interviews and reviewed thousands of documents. The
Committee will continue its investigation in conjunction with
the Inspector General's Office, which has a number of related
and ongoing reviews underway.
Oversight of the ``Green 20'' and others
The 114th Congress Science Committee oversight plan states
that the Committee will review ``Academic/Industry
Partnerships.'' As part of this effort in May 2016, the
Committee began conducting oversight of the effects of
investigations launched by certain attorneys general, the self-
proclaimed ``Green 20,'' to use various legal channels to
advance their views on climate change.
In support of this effort, the Attorney General of New
York, the Attorney General of Massachusetts, and the U.S.
Virgin Islands Attorney General\6\ issued broad subpoenas for
documents. The subpoenas demand documents, information, and the
research of numerous scientists (at Exxon, nonprofit groups,
universities, and other organizations) seemingly for the
purpose of passing judgment on the quality and conclusions.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\In the latter part of May 2016, the Attorney General of the U.S.
Virgin Islands rescinded his subpoena.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
On May 18, 2016, thirteen Members of the Committee sent
letters to 17 state attorneys general and eight activist
environmental organizations. These letters requested documents
and information related to their coordinated efforts to deprive
companies, nonprofit organizations, scientists and scholars of
their First Amendment rights.
Between May 31 and June 3, 2016, the Green 20 and the
activist environmental groups responded to the Science
Committee. They raised various legal objections to the
Committee's investigation. All their arguments are flawed.
After the Chairman's voluntary requests were met with
unyielding objections, he was left with no option other than to
issue July 13, 2016, subpoenas to the refusing parties--the New
York and Massachusetts Attorneys General as well as several
environmental activist groups.
The Committee is on strong legal and jurisdictional grounds
with regard to the requests in our letters. In particular, this
Committee has a duty to protect scientists & their research
from the potential chilling effect of these legal actions.
Additionally, the Committee is concerned that legal actions
such as those undertaken by the ``Green 20'' could negatively
affect research and development funding in both the public and
private sectors as well as partnerships between the two
sectors.
The Committee has a responsibility to ensure that taxpayer
dollars authorized and appropriated by Congress are not being
misspent. The Committee has had a longstanding interest in
grants funded by NSF, including those awarded to universities
and private companies. Given the Committee's jurisdiction over
NSF, the Committee also has an interest in the research funded
by NSF grants. As you may know, most research is funded by a
combination of private and government sources.\7\ Like many
other large energy companies, researchers employed by Exxon
have received grant awards from federal sources. Additionally,
NSF and Exxon jointly fund projects and programs such as
Research Experiences in Solid Earth Science for Students, and
the American Mathematical Society Task Force on Excellence.
Further, Exxon partners with universities, themselves
recipients of millions of dollars in federal funds, to conduct
research. If, as a result of your investigation, the private
sector feels pressure to make research funding decisions based
in part on a desire to avoid burdensome state investigations
and political or ideological coercion rather than on the basis
of pure scientific merit, it is this Committee's responsibility
to identify that imbalance and correct it by directing funding
elsewhere. The documents and information being sought by the
Committee subpoena will help inform whether any such imbalance
or chilling has occurred.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\7\Science & Engineering Indicators 2016 Report, Chapter 4, https:/
/nsf.gov/statistics/2016/nsb20161/#/report/front-matter (last visited
Aug. 16, 2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The NSF's Science & Engineering Indicators 2016 delineates
total U.S. R&D expenditures by source of funds: Business:
65.2%; Federal government: 26.7%; Universities and colleges:
3.3%; Nonfederal government 0.9%; Other nonprofit
organizations: 3.9%. Any disincentive to industry maintaining
its position as the dominant source of funding for R&D will
have a detrimental impact on the nation's scientific
enterprise. If businesses believe that the research they fund
can be mischaracterized for political or ideological reasons
and used to build cases of fraud against the company, they will
have a powerful incentive to cease funding that research and
instead to direct their funds elsewhere. Similarly, if
scientists believe that their industry-sponsored research, or
discussions with industry about research funded by other
sources, will be subpoenaed if it is in disagreement with the
beliefs and preferences of state officials or advocacy groups,
they will have a powerful incentive to cease conducting that
research or disseminating the results of their research to all
interested parties. This Committee has an interest in informing
itself of these trends and effects and potentially offsetting
any trends or effects that would skew research in one direction
or another on the basis of non-scientific considerations like
these.
Either of these scenarios could result in dramatic cuts to
or misdirection of research funding by non-federal sources. If
that occurs, the Committee may be forced to take a host of
legislative actions, including authorizing increases in federal
funding for scientific research to make up for the reduction in
or misdirection of funding from other sources. The documents
and information demanded in the July 13 subpoena will help
inform the Committee if such actions are warranted and
necessary. The Committee continues the tedious process of
negotiating towards compliance with its subpoenas.
Oversight of former Secretary Hillary Clinton's Email Server
The Committee continued its oversight of cybersecurity in
January 2016, by sending letters to information technology (IT)
companies involved in setting up and maintaining former
Secretary Clinton's private email server located at her home.
Questions about the security of the server were raised during a
Science Committee hearing on January 8, 2016, entitled Cyber
Security: What the Federal Government Can Learn from the
Private Sector. The Chairman asked a question related to
Secretary Clinton's private server and the one of the witnesses
raised concerns about cybersecurity vulnerabilities.
Specifically, he articulated concerns about the private network
because it exposed sensitive or classified information ``in the
open.'' He also called the arrangement ``illegal.''
On July 12, Chairman Smith and Sen. Ron Johnson, Chariman
of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs
Committee sent letters again to the three of the four companies
responsible for setting up and maintain former Secretary
Clinton's private server. The companies refused to voluntarily
produce documents due and the Chairman authorized staff to
serve subpoenas duces tecum on three IT companies managing
former Secretary Clinton's server. Two of the three companies
responded by producing documents in rolling productions. The
third company continues to refuse to produce requested
documents claiming that the Committee is not authorized to
conduct this investigation. This is false.
The Committee has undertaken its investigation into the
cybersecurity posture of former Secretary Clinton's private
email server pursuant to the authority delegated to it under
the House Rules. Specifically, as noted above, the Committee is
charged with oversight of NIST.\8\ NIST is the government
agency responsible for promulgating guidelines under FISMA.
Pursuant to FISMA, NIST developed the ``Framework for Improving
Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity'' (``Framework''), which
aims to ensure ``the national and economic security of the
United States'' by managing cybersecurity risk through a series
of standards and best practices.\9\ The Committee has conducted
rigorous oversight utilizing this important jurisdiction. For
example, during the 114th Congress, the Committee conducted
robust oversight of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's
cybersecurity posture, holding hearings on the topic on May 12,
2016, and July 14, 2016.\10\ Additionally, as part of the
Committee's legislative authority over portions of FISMA, on
September 21, 2016, the Committee marked up and ordered
reported to the House H.R. 6066, the Cybersecurity
Responsibility and Accountability Act of 2016. Depending upon
the findings of this current investigation related to former
Secretary Clinton's server and network additional legislation
may be necessary.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\8\House Rule X(p)(7).
\9\Nat'l Inst. of Standards & Tech., Framework for Improving
Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity (Feb. 12, 2015), available at
https://www.nist.gov/sites/default/files/documents/cyber framework/
cybersecurity-framework-021214.pdf.
\10\H. Comm. on Science, Space, & Tech., Hearing on FDIC Data
Breaches: Can Americans Trust that Their Private Banking Information Is
Secure?, 114th Cong. (May 12, 2016); H. Comm. on Science, Space, &
Tech., Hearing on Evaluating FDIC's Response to Major Data Breaches: Is
the FDIC Safeguarding Consumers' Banking Information?, 114th Cong.
(Jul. 14, 2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In a September 28, 2016, letter to Platte River Networks'
counsel, Chairman Smith provided the company with a final
opportunity to comply with the Committee's subpoenas and placed
the company on notice that the Committee would pursue contempt
if it failed to comply.\11\ After requesting an extension to
answer Chairman Smith's letter,\12\ the Committee received a
two sentence letter from Mr. Eichner on October 11, 2016,
stating: ``Neither I nor any personnel at Platte River Networks
have anything further to add . . .''\13\
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\11\Sept. 28, 2016 Letter, supra note 7.
\12\E-mail from Ken Eichner, Principal, Eichner Law, to Committee
Staff (Oct. 3, 2016, 1:19 p.m.)
\13\Letter from Ken Eichner, Principal, Eichner Law Firm, to Hon.
Lamar Smith, Chairman, H. Comm. on Science, Space, & Tech. (Oct. 11,
2016).
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HEARINGS HELD PURSUANT TO CLAUSES 2(n), (o), OR (p) OF RULE XI
Clause 2(n)
February 3, 2015
Oversight Subcommittee and Research and Technology
Subcommittee joint hearing: NSF's Oversight of the NEON Project
and Other Major Research Facilities Developed Under Cooperative
Agreements.
Witnesses: Dr. Richard Buckius, Chief Operating Officer of
the National Science Foundation; Dr. James P. Collins, Chairman
of the National Ecological Observatory Network; and Ms. Kate
Manuel, Legislative Attorney for the Congressional Research
Service.
June 25, 2015
Oversight Subcommittee and Research and Technology
Subcommittee joint hearing: Is NSF Properly Managing Its
Rotating Staff?
Witnesses: Ms. Allison Lerner, Inspector General, National
Science Foundation; and Dr. Richard Buckius, Chief Operating
Officer, National Science Foundation.
July 8, 2015
Research and Technology Subcommittee and Oversight
Subcommittees joint hearing: Is the OPM Data Breach the Tip of
the Iceberg?
Witnesses: Mr. Michael R. Esser, Assistant Inspector
General for Audits, Office of Personnel Management; Mr. David
Snell, Director, Federal Benefits Service Department, National
Active and Retired Federal Employees Association; Dr. Charles
Romine, Director, Information Technology Laboratory, National
Institute of Standards and Technology; Mr. Gregory Wilshusen,
Director, Information Security Issues, U.S. Government
Accountability Office.
July 15, 2015
Full Committee hearing: Investigating Contract Misconduct
at the National Weather Service.
Witnesses: Mr. Mark Greenblatt, Deputy Assistant General
for Compliance & Ethics, Office of Inspector General,
Department of Commerce; Mr. Robert Byrd, Former Chief Financial
Officer, National Weather Service; and Mr. Peter Jiron, Former
Deputy Chief Financial Officer, National Weather Service. [Mr.
Byrd and Mr. Jiron declined to answer questions from the
Committee and asserted their Fifth Amendment rights.]
September 9, 2015
Full Committee hearing: Holding EPA Accountable for
Polluting Western Waters.
Witnesses: The Honorable Mathy Stanislaus, Assistant
Administrator, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response,
Environmental Protection Agency; Mr. Dennis Greaney, President,
Environmental Restoration LLC; The Honorable Donald Benn,
Executive Director, Navajo National Environmental Protection
Agency; The Honorable Dean Bookie, Mayor, Durango, Colorado;
and, Dr. Mark Williamson, Geochemist, Geochemical Solutions
LLC.
September 18, 2015
Oversight Subcommittee and Research and Technology
Subcommittee joint hearing: NEON Warning Signs: Examining the
Management of the National Ecological Observatory Network.
Witnesses: Dr. James L. Olds, Assistant Director,
Directorate for Biological Sciences, National Science
Foundation; Dr. James P. Collins, Chairman of the Board,
National Ecological Observatory Network, Inc.
February 4, 2016
Oversight Subcommittee and Research and Technology
Subcommittee joint hearing: A Review of Recommendations for NSF
Project Management Reform.
Witnesses: Ms. Cynthia Heckmann, Project Director, National
Academy of Public Administration; Dr. Richard Buckius, Chief
Operating Officer, National Science Foundation; and, Ms.
Allison Lerner, Inspector General, National Science Foundation.
September 21, 2016
Energy Subcommittee and Oversight Subcommittee joint
hearing: Examining Misconduct and Intimidation of Scientists by
Senior DOE Officials.
Witnesses: Dr. Sharlene Weatherwax, Associate Director,
Biological and Environmental Research, U.S. Department of
Energy; and Dr. Noelle Metting, Radiation Biologist, U.S.
Department of Energy.
Clause 2(o)
February 26, 2015
Research and Technology Subcommittee hearing: An Overview
of the Budget Proposals for the National Science Foundation and
National Institute of Standards and Technology for Fiscal Year
2016.
Witnesses: The Honorable France Cordova, Director, National
Science Foundation; The Honorable Dan Arvizu, Chairman,
National Science Board; and Dr. Willie E. May, Acting Director,
National Institute of Standards and Technology.
February 25, 2015
Full Committee hearing: An Overview of the Department of
Energy's Budget Proposal for Fiscal Year 2016.
Witness: The Honorable Ernest Moniz, Secretary of Energy,
U.S. Department of Energy.
April 16, 2015
Space Subcommittee hearing: An Overview of the Budget
Proposal for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
for Fiscal Year 2016.
Witness: The Honorable Charles F. Bolden, Jr.,
Administrator, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA).
March 16, 2016
Research and Technology Subcommittee hearing: An Overview
of the Budget Proposal for the National Institute of Standards
and Technology for Fiscal Year 2017.
Witness: Dr. Willie E. May, Under Secretary of Commerce for
Standards and Technology and Director, National Institute of
Standards and Technology.
March 16, 2016
Environment Subcommittee hearing: An Overview of the Budget
Proposal for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration for Fiscal Year 2017.
Witness: The Honorable Kathryn Sullivan, Undersecretary for
Oceans and Atmosphere, U.S. Department of Commerce, and
Administrator, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
March 17, 2016
Space Subcommittee hearing: An Overview of the Budget
Proposal for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
for Fiscal Year 2017.
Witness: The Honorable Charles F. Bolden, Jr.,
Administrator, National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
March 22, 2016
Research and Technology Subcommittee hearing: An Overview
of the Budget Proposal for the National Science Foundation for
Fiscal Year 2017.
Witnesses: The Honorable France Cordova, Director, National
Science Foundation; Dr. Dan E. Arvizu, Chairman, National
Science Board.
March 22, 2016
Full Committee hearing: An Overview of the Budget Proposal
for the Department of Energy for Fiscal Year 2017.
Witness: The Honorable Ernest Moniz, Secretary of Energy,
U.S. Department of Energy.
Clause 2(p)
January 27, 2015
Research and Technology Subcommittee hearing: The Expanding
Cyber Threat.
Witnesses: Ms. Cheri McGuire, Vice President, Global
Government Affairs & Cybersecurity Policy, Symantec
Corporation; Dr. James Kurose, Assistant Director, Computer and
Information Science and Engineering (CISE) Directorate,
National Science Foundation; Dr. Charles H. Romine, Director,
Information Technology Laboratory, National Institute of
Standards and Technology; Dr. Eric A. Fischer, Senior
Specialist in Science and Technology, Congressional Research
Service; Mr. Dean Garfield, President and CEO, Information
Technology Industry Council.
February 12, 2015
Research and Technology Subcommittee and Oversight
Subcommittee hearing: Can Americans Trust the Privacy and
Security of their Information on HealthCare.gov?
Witnesses: Ms. Michelle De Mooy, Deputy Director, Consumer
Privacy, Center for Democracy and Technology; and Mr. Morgan
Wright, Principal, Morgan Wright, LLC.
April 23, 2015
Full Committee hearing: Hydraulic Fracturing: Banning
Proven Technologies on Possibilities Instead of Probabilities.
Witnesses: Ms. Christi Craddick, Chairman, Railroad
Commission of Texas; Dr. Donald Siegel, Jessie Page Heroy
Professor & Department Chair, The Department of Earth Sciences,
Syracuse University; Mr. Simon Lomax, Western Director, Energy
in Depth; and Mr. Elgie Holstein, Senior Director for Strategic
Planning, Environmental Defense Fund.
July 10, 2015
Space Subcommittee hearing: The International Space
Station: Addressing Operational Challenges.
Witnesses: Mr. Bill Gerstenmaier, Associate Administrator,
Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, NASA; Mr.
John Elbon, Vice President and General Manager, Space
Exploration, The Boeing Company; The Honorable Paul K. Martin,
Inspector General, NASA; Ms. Shelby Oakley, Acting Director,
Acquisition and Sourcing Management, Government Accountability
Office; and Dr. James A. Pawelczyk, Associate Professor of
Physiology and Kinesiology, The Pennsylvania State University.
October 21, 2015
Energy Subcommittee and Research and Technology
Subcommittee joint hearing: Cybersecurity for Power Systems.
Witnesses: Mr. Brent Stacey, Associate Lab Director for
National & Homeland Science and Technology, Idaho National Lab;
Mr. Bennett Gaines, Senior Vice President, Corporate Services
and Chief Information Officer, FirstEnergy Service Company; Ms.
Annabelle Lee, Senior Technical Executive in the Power Delivery
and Utilization Sector, Electric Power Research Institute; and
Mr. Greg Wilshusen, Director of Information Security Issues,
Government Accountability Office.
October 27, 2015
Full Committee Hearing: A Review of Progress by the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Science and Technology
Directorate.
Witness: The Honorable Reginald Brothers, Under Secretary
for Science and Technology, Department of Homeland Security.
January 8, 2016
Oversight Subcommittee and Research and Technology
Subcommittee joint hearing: Cybersecurity: What the Federal
Government Can Learn from the Private Sector.
Witnesses: Mr. John B. Wood, Chief Executive Officer and
Chairman, Telos Corporation; Dr. Martin Casado, Senior Vice
President and General Manager, Networking and Security Business
Unit, VMWare; Mr. Ken Schneider, Vice President of Technology
Strategy, Symantec Corporation; and, Mr. Larry Clinton,
President and Chief Executive Officer, Internet Security
Alliance.
February 25, 2016
Full Committee hearing: The Space Leadership Preservation
Act and the Need for Stability at NASA.
Witnesses: The Honorable John Culberson, chairman of the
Commerce, Justice, Science Subcommittee of the House
Appropriations Committee; Dr. Michael Griffin, Former
Administrator, NASA; Colonel Eileen Collins, USAF (Ret.);
Commander, STS-93 and 114; and Pilot, STS-63 and 94; and former
Chair, Subcommittee on Space Operations, NASA Advisory Council;
Ms. Cristina Chaplain, Director, Acquisitions and Sourcing
Management, Government Accountability Office (GAO).
March 3, 2016
Energy Subcommittee and Oversight Subcommittee joint
hearing: Department of Energy Oversight: DOE Loan Programs.
Witnesses: Mr. Mark McCall, Executive Director, Loan
Program Office, U.S. Department of Energy; Dr. Frank Rusco,
Director, Natural Resources and Environment, Government
Accountability Office; Gregory Kats, President, Capital E; and
Mr. Nick Loris, Herbert and Joyce Morgan Fellow, Thomas A. Roe
Institute for Economic Policy Studies, Heritage Foundation.
April 14, 2016
Research and Technology Subcommittee hearing: Can the IRS
Protect Taxpayers' Personal Information?
Witnesses: The Honorable John Koskinen, Commissioner,
Internal Revenue Service, the Honorable J. Russell George,
Inspector General, Treasury Inspector General for Tax
Administration; and, Mr. Gregory Wilshusen, Director,
Information Security Issues, U.S. Government Accountability
Office.
May 11, 2016
Energy Subcommittee hearing: Department of Energy
Oversight: Office of Fossil Energy.
Witness: The Honorable Chris Smith, Assistant Secretary,
Office of Fossil Energy, U.S. Department of Energy.
May 12, 2016
Oversight Subcommittee hearing: FDIC Data Breaches: Can
Americans Trust that Their Private Banking Information Is
Secure?
Witnesses: Mr. Fred W. Gibson, Acting Inspector General,
FDIC and Mr. Lawrence Gross, Jr., Chief Information Officer and
Chief Privacy Officer, FDIC.
July 14, 2016
Full Committee hearing: Evaluating FDIC's Response to Major
Data Breaches: Is the FDIC Safeguarding Consumers' Banking
Information?
Witnesses: Mr. Martin J. Gruenberg, Chairman, FDIC and Mr.
Fred W. Gibson, Acting Inspector General, FDIC.
MINORITY VIEWS
114th Congress
Majority Report on Activities of the Committee on Science, Space, and
Technology
In the 114th Congress the Science Committee Majority has
been active in writing document request letters to federal
agencies, issuing subpoenas to various parties, and releasing
numerous related press releases. This appears to be the metric
the Majority has used to measure successful oversight. The
Chairman has boasted that the Committee has issued 25 subpoenas
this Congress. The Majority has also launched approximately
three dozen investigations. However, by and large these efforts
have not been successful in uncovering cases of waste, fraud or
abuse, identifying inefficient management, or improving the
effectiveness of federal science and technology programs. On
the other hand, they have been successful in pushing a partisan
oversight agenda that has harmed the scientific credibility of
the Committee and undermined our legitimate investigative
authority.
In many of these ``investigations'' the Majority has made
sensational allegations of mismanagement, or worse, before they
actually have had any facts in hand. Despite lengthy and
repeated public statements repeating these unfounded assertions
these allegations have usually fallen apart once the Majority
is unable to substantiate their original claims. This push to
pursue political and ideological investigations has also moved
the Committee outside of its extensive and legitimate oversight
jurisdiction on a number of occasions. These tactics have had
an overwhelmingly negative impact on the reputation of the
Committee within the broader scientific community.
A Majority investigation that utilized these questionable
tactics was not even mentioned once in the Majority's 114th
Activities Report. During the Majority's investigation of a
twice peer-reviewed scientific study on climate change by
scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association
(NOAA) published in the journal Science in June 2015, the
Chairman falsely claimed that NOAA's scientists ``altered
historical climate data to get politically correct results in
an attempt to disprove the hiatus in global temperature
increases.'' To date, seventeen months after the Majority
launched its clearly politically motivated ``investigation,''
they have provided ZERO evidence to the public, NOAA, or
Minority Members or staff of the Science Committee, that would
validate their bold and false statements.
The Majority has abused the Committee's legitimate
oversight powers by its efforts to tarnish the reputation of
federal scientists, science-based non-governmental
organizations (NGOs), and federal science agencies that do not
concur with the Majority's politically biased views.
The Majority has done this in other ``investigations''
during the 114th Congress as well. In an unprecedented act for
the U.S. Congress, the Chairman of the Science Committee issued
subpoenas to the New York and Massachusetts State Attorneys
General (AGs) Offices, as well as multiple non-governmental
organizations (NGOs), allegedly to investigate these state law
enforcement agencies for their investigations of ExxonMobil for
potential fraud. The U.S. Congress has never before issued a
subpoena to a State Attorney General Office related to a state
law enforcement investigation. The State AG investigations
apparently revolve around whether or not ExxonMobil failed to
disclose internal scientific data it had decades ago to its
investors and shareholders showing that climate change was a
reality, that fossil fuel production was contributing to global
warming, and that these facts could undermine ExxonMobil's
business in the future. The AG investigations have to do with
the failure of ExxonMobil's executives to disclose these facts
to its shareholders and customers, thus potentially engaging in
fraud. They do not seek to question the conclusions of Exxon's
scientists who performed their own studies on climate change,
as the Majority has wrongly and repeatedly claimed on numerous
occasions in an attempt to suggest these investigations are
seeking to ``silence'' ExxonMobil's scientists. The irony in
these allegations, considering the Majority's efforts to
silence scientists at NOAA and other federal agencies, is
striking.
The politically motivated rationale and questionable
tactics used by the Majority in both the NOAA case and recent
AG investigation have been broadly condemned by the mainstream
media. The editorial boards of seven major newspapers,
including the San Antonio Express-News, The Washington Post,
The New York Times, The Des Moines Register, The Baltimore Sun,
The Los Angeles Times and The Boston Globe have forcefully
condemned the Majority for launching these clearly political
investigations.
The Majority's politically motivated oversight activities
came to a crescendo in mid-late 2016 with the Committee's
``investigation'' of former Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton's private email server. Despite the existence of
numerous additional investigations of this arrangement (at
least five other Congressional Committees and two executive
agencies), including a comprehensive investigation by the
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), for some reason the
Majority decided that the Science Committee also needed to
conduct an investigation of the same issues in the months prior
to the presidential election. This is also despite the fact
that the Science Committee has no oversight jurisdiction over
the Department of State. Unsurprisingly, this transparently
partisan ``investigation'' produced no new information and
appears to have been dropped by the Majority in the aftermath
of the November 8th election.
The Committee should get back to investigating fact-based
problems involving waste, fraud, abuse or mismanagement at the
important federal agencies we oversee. The sort of political
witch-hunts the Majority has engaged in should cease. Certainly
federal agencies should be investigated when there is actual
evidence or serious and substantiated allegations of abuse or
mismanagement. However, the Majority's specific distaste for
certain well established scientific facts, such as climate
change, and dislike for federal agencies, including the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), has led to repeated
investigations where facts have taken a back seat to politics.
The Committee has launched at least one dozen investigations of
various issues at EPA and written more than two dozen oversight
letters to the Agency. The Committee has also issued 11
subpoenas and written at least 36 letters revolving around its
investigation of the Attorneys General investigating
ExxonMobil. Some of that correspondence has clearly been
helpful to ExxonMobil, who has officially submitted some of it
as part of a lawsuit they filed against the New York and
Massachusetts Attorney Generals, for instance.
In another case the Majority questioned an investigation by
the EPA's Inspector General's (IG's) office, in an effort to
support a non-U.S. mining company intent on building a proposed
open pit gold and copper mine in Bristol Bay, Alaska, which is
home to the largest natural sockeye salmon fishery in the
world.
The attention given to these politically motivated efforts
has led the Committee to simply ignore entire areas of
important oversight, including the Department of Homeland
Security's (DHS's) Science & Technology Directorate, that do
not seem to support the Majority's political rhetoric and anti-
regulatory, science denial, agenda. The Majority held a single
hearing on DHS in the 114th Congress, for instance, but has not
written a single oversight-related letter or launched any
investigations involving the critically important DHS S&T
Directorate this Congress.
The Minority is deeply concerned that the Majority's
repeated misuse and abuse of the legitimate, broad, and
extremely important oversight authority of the Science
Committee in the 114th Congress for political purposes will
have a substantial and long-lasting negative impact on the
Committee and its ability to conduct necessary and appropriate
oversight in the future.
Eddie Bernice Johnson.
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