(Washington, DC) Today, the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology at a Full Committee Markup unanimously passed five bipartisan bills which help ensure U.S. leadership in satellite imagery, embolden innovative capabilities of federal agencies, and expand transformative STEM education.
"These are what I’d call workhorse bills instead of show horse bills," said Lucas. "They’re great examples of the consensus work we can do across the aisle to improve American science and research."
H.R. 6845, the Commercial Remote Sensing Amendment Act, ensures that Congress continues to receive updates on how the commercial remote sensing industry is regulated so that we can ensure the U.S. remains the global leader in this important field. Satellite imagery has proven critical across industries, from aiding in natural disaster preparation and response to maximizing crop yields. Read Ranking Member Lucas' statement on H.R. 6845 here.
H.R. 3952, the NOAA Chief Scientist Act, strengthens the role of the Chief Scientist of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) by defining the qualifications and responsibilities for the chief scientist position and office. It also promotes scientific integrity and advances the NOAA’s research and development portfolio by directing the Chief Scientist to establish scientific integrity standards and provide annual public reports detailing ongoing scientific work at NOAA.
H.R. 7077, the Empowering the U.S. Fire Administration Act, authorizes the USFA to send safety specialists, fire protection engineers, codes and standards experts, researchers, and fire training specialists to coordinate and assist local firefighter investigators in on-site investigations of major fires, and directs incident investigators to examine the determined cause and origins or the fire and to assess broader inter-agency systematic matters. "This ensures that state and local governments can access their knowledge and – hopefully – prevent major fires in the future," said Lucas.
H.R. 3588, the Mathematical and Statistical Modeling Education Act, ensures the U.S. teaching workforce is well equipped to encourage student interest and involvement in STEM is a key component of U.S. competitiveness and stimulating the U.S.’s stem workforce. It directs funding towards research and development of curricula and teaching methods improving mathematical and statistical modeling education using competitive grants. The bill also directs $10M per year out of the National Science Foundation’s appropriations for the next 5 years, and authorizes no new spending.
H.R. 6933, the Cost-Share Accountability Act of 2022, improves accountability and transparency by requiring the Department of Energy to submit quarterly reports to Congress on changes to their cost-sharing requirements for its research, development, demonstration, and commercial application activities.
Read Lucas’ full opening statement here.