News

Chairwoman Johnson and Ranking Member Lucas urge FCC to limit spectrum sharing to avoid harmful interference in the 1675-1680 MHz band

—Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) and Ranking Member Frank Lucas (R-OK) sent letters to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Commissioners Brendan Carr, Geoffrey Starks, and Nathan Simginton urging that the FCC stop the consideration of the proposal to share the 1675-1680 MHz frequency band with commercial wireless carriers for downlink purposes. The 1675-1680 MHz band is critical to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s co…  Continue Reading

Science Committee Members Celebrate Successful Launch of Artemis I

—Today, Artemis I, the first integrated Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion crew vehicle, successfully launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, beginning its four to six-week mission. The Artemis I mission is an uncrewed flight test that will demonstrate the performance of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the Orion spacecraft that will eventually carry astronauts to and from deep space destinations. The mission will test our capabilities to orbit the Moon and return to…  Continue Reading

Chairwoman Johnson Applauds Biden Administration Plan to Address Methane Emissions

—Today at COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, President Biden announced the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) supplemental proposal to reduce methane and other harmful pollution from oil and natural gas operations. This supplemental proposal comes as an update and expansion of EPA’s November 2021 proposal to reduce methane emissions. “Addressing methane emissions is vital to America’s ability to confront the climate crisis and reach its emission reduction goals …  Continue Reading

Federal investments in science are needed to reduce wildfire

It used to be that October marked the end of wildfire season, and the most destructive fires occurred in or around forested areas. But increasingly, more Americans experience the impacts of wildfires year-round.  In 2021, nearly 50,000 wildfires were reported, which burned over  seven million acres of land. And as we saw with the Marshall fire in Boulder County, sometimes the most devastating fires can happen in suburban areas in the dead of winter. As members of Congress representin…  Continue Reading

A federal coal ash strategy: putting health and safety first

Last month, the Environmental Protection Agency announced that it would crack down to protect public health and the environment from coal ash contamination. EPA will ramp up enforcement of its rules to prohibit companies from dumping coal ash into unlined storage pits, and to require those companies to speed up their efforts to close down the existing pits that have been shown to leak. As the Chairwoman of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, I want to see our federal age…  Continue Reading

Mapping a Strong Future for Ocean Science and Technology