It would seem that every new committee chairman in Congress has an urge to tinker with the plumbing. In the 113th Congress, Republican Representative Lamar Smith (Texas) is taking the gavel, and has restructured the committee. Democratic Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson remains as Ranking Member. Two former chairs of the committee (both Republicans) will serve on the committee this Congress, Ralph Hall and James Sensenbrenner. Rep. Sensenbrenner sought the gavel for this Congress, so it remains to be seen how engaged he might be during this session. While there are some returning faces in subcommittee leadership, there is a fair amount of turnover. Committee members include at least two doctors and two with Ph.Ds. But it is fair to say that since the retirement of Representative Sherwood Boehlert in 2007 that the tacit knowledge and experience of this committee has diminished greatly. It is but a small comfort that scientific and technical issues are now, more than ever, found in many Congressional committees.
In the previous two Congresses, there were five subcommittees: Energy and Environment, Technology and Innovation, Space and Aeronautics, Research and Science Education and Oversight and Investigations. Now there will be six subcommittees. While the names of all of them have changed, the major difference is that the Energy and Environment subcommittee has been split into two.
The new subcommittee names, and leaders, are below:
Space: Chair – Steven Palazzo (Mississippi, in his second term as chair), Ranking Member – Donna Edwards (Maryland, was previously ranking member of the Oversight and Investigations subcommittee)
Energy: Chair – Cynthia Lummis (Wyoming), Ranking Member – Eric Swalwell (California)
Environment: Chair – Andy Harris (Maryland, chaired the Energy and Environment subcommittee in the previous Congress), Ranking Member – Suzanne Bonamici (Oregon)
Research: Chair – Larry Buschon (Indiana), Ranking Member – Dan Lipinski (Illinois, in his second term as ranking member)
Technology: Chair – Thomas Massie (Kentucky), Ranking Member – Frederica Wilson (Florida)
Oversight: Chair – Paul Broun (Georgia), Ranking Member – Dan Maffei (New York)
Pasco Phronesis 