Senator Jeff Bingaman
What Will the New Congress Do?
December 2006 / January 2007
Volume 4 Number 6
The mid-term elections triggered a tectonic shift in the Congressional landscape, but leaders of both political parties say they will continue a bipartisan push for more federal investment in science and technology. Some of the priorities will be different. With Democrats now in control of both the House and Senate, expect to see more emphasis on the development of renewable fuels and fuel-efficiency technology in the energy sector.
"I think you'll see a different agenda," said Senator Jeff Bingaman, a New Mexico Democrat who will take over as chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. "I think the committees, and the full Senate and the House, will work on a different set of issues than the Republicans had us working on, and that's very positive. We'll be working on the issues that the American people want us working on."
Senator Pete Domenici, the New Mexico Republican who is outgoing Senate energy chairman, said leaders in both parties will support more science investment across the federal government. Late last year, Bingaman and Domenici and others introduced the PACE Act, designed to boost America's proficiency in math and science. The bill still hasn't reached the president's desk, but Domenici and Bingaman said the impetus remains.
"PACE has been pushed by a huge number of senators and it's ready to go," Domenici said, adding that its passage has been snarled up in the Congress' slow pace in passing appropriations bills in 2006. "It's very hard to predict exactly how we'll get the competitiveness initiative passed, but we'll get it done."
Domenici also said that science and technology are issues that politicians of all political persuasions can rally around—€”a rarity in today's hyper-polarized congressional climate.
"There is a growing commitment to change the direction of science," Domenici said. "We've gotten together and pushed science hard."
But Domenici, who will also lose his position as chairman of the Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, said he is concerned about the future of funding for the Department of Energy's national laboratories, where much of the federal government's cutting-edge science is done. As chairman of that powerful subcommittee, Domenici routinely funneled billions of dollars to the national laboratories, two of which—€”Sandia and Los Alamos—€”are in his home state.
"I'm very concerned about this situation because it's at a time when resources are very tight," Domenici said. "I don't know what the new chairman will have in mind, but where he goes, he'll take the majority with him."
Perhaps the most dramatic committee chairmanship change with respect to science is on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Senator Barbara Boxer of California, an outspoken critic of the Bush Administration, will take over for Senator James Inhofe, an Oklahoma Republican who has called the notion of global warming a "hoax." Boxer has vowed to make curbing greenhouse emissions her top priority.
"Nowhere is there a greater threat to future generations than the disastrous effects of global warming," Boxer said in a statement. "Scientists tell us we must act soon to cut production of greenhouse gases. One of my top priorities will be to spotlight this issue with the help of colleagues from both sides of the aisle with the goal of ultimately bringing legislation to the Senate floor."
On the House side, Rep. John Dingell, a Michigan Democrat first elected to Congress in 1955—€”and is the House's most senior member, will now wield the gavel on the Energy and Commerce Committee. Dingell's office provided Innovation with a list of initiatives he will support as chairman.
They include the creation of a "new center for high efficiency vehicles." The idea is to create a Manhattan Project-like approach to the development of efficient cars and trucks. The legislation would "double the federal commitment to alternative fuels and vehicle technology programs," according to Dingell's office. Dingell also wants to pass legislation that would develop the market and related infrastructure for ethanol and bio-diesel fuels. The grant program would reimburse private-sector partners to share the costs of investing in the wholesale and retail bio-fuel pumps, tanks and related equipment.
But while Dingell wants to help develop more fuel efficient cars, he will continue to resist mandates. Dingell, who represents Detroit, has said such requirements would be unnecessary and harmful to the auto industry.
However, Bingaman said he'll continue to push for so-called CAFE standards for fuel efficiency it in the Senate.
"I said repeatedly in the campaign, one area we need to move ahead on is energy efficiency," Bingaman said. "We did some things to promote energy efficiency in the last Congress but we didn't do enough. We have several hurdles to overcome to make progress in that area, but I think it's worth making the effort."
On the House Science Committee, Rep. Bart Gordon, a Tennessee Democrat, will take over for retiring Chairman Sherwood Boehlert. The Science Committee has jurisdiction over all federal nonmilitary scientific and technology research and development programs. In mid-November, Boehlert and Gordon authored a letter urging the administration and Congress to more aggressively fund the development of nanotechnology.
"There is too much at stake to continue to dally," Gordon and Boehlert wrote.
"Nanotechnology is an area of research that could add billions of dollars to our economy, but that won't happen if it is shrouded in uncertainty about its consequences.
"We are at a rare moment when industry and environmental leaders both see the tremendous need and tremendous benefit from moving forward with this research."
Bingaman said the time has finally come when Congress is getting serious about using science and technology to ward off looming crises for the American economy and environment.
"The public has been ahead of the politicians on many of these issues —€”more efficiency in the use of energy, more diverse set of energy sources, more use of alternative energy. The public is also ahead of the politicians on wanting more responsible action on global warming," Bingaman said.
But he warned that narrow majorities in the House and especially the Senate, mean that it will be difficult to get anything done if there isn't bipartisan cooperation.
"We've got to have bipartisan support to do anything of substance —€”that's just the reality," Bingaman said. "I hope we can come up with proposals that make good sense to both Republicans and Democrats and something the administration can agree to. "I think there is a lot we can agree on."
Tom Michael reports from Washington for Innovation.
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Key Science and Technology Committee Changes
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Commitee: Pete Domenici will pass the gavel to his New Mexico colleague, Jeff Bingaman. Bingaman has vowed to push hard for more renewable energy and energy efficiency, reduced greenhouse emissions and to pass the PACE Act, designed to improve America's standing in math and science proficiency.
Senate Environment and Public Works Committee: Barbara Boxer of California is in as chairman of the panel and James Inhofe of Oklahoma is out. Boxer says battling climate change will be her No. 1 priority on this committee.
Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee: Daniel Inouye of Hawaii replaces Ted Stevens of Alaska. Inouye is likely to focus some on tsunami preparation and detection and other oceanographic technologies.
Senate Science and Space Subcommittee: Kay Bailey Hutchison will be replaced by Bill Nelson of Florida. Nelson, a former astronaut, is likely to focus heavily on NASA and space exploration.
House Energy and Commerce Committee: Joe Barton of Texas will turn over the gavel to John Dingell of Michigan. Dingell, who represents Detroit automakers, will resist efforts to impose new fuel economy standards for cars but has vowed to boost federal investment in science to make them more efficient. He is supportive of clean fuel technologies and efforts to reduce greenhouse emissions.
House Science Committee: Sherwood Boehlert, a New York moderate who complained about a lack of federal commitment to science, is retiring. His successor is Bart Gordon of Tennessee.Gordon has vowed to resist any attempts to spin scientific research for political reasons and to champion more federal investment in nanotechnology, clean fuel technology and efforts to mitigate climate change.
House Resources Committee: Nick Rahall, a West Virginia Democrat, takes over the chairmanship from Richard Pombo, a California Republican who lost his bid for reelection. Pombo was criticized by environmentalists for trying to weaken the Endangered Species Act and for supporting a large-scale sell-off of public lands. Rahall won kudos from the environmental community for his efforts to reform the hardrock-mining law of 1872, which left thousands of polluted sites across the West. It remains unclear what the culturally conservative Rahall's science-related priorities will be.
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