Adam Schiff: “the Subcommittee on Basic Research, which I chair, has responsibility for the National Science Foundation [NSF]. NSF is…”

“the Subcommittee on Basic Research, which I chair, has responsibility for the National Science Foundation [NSF]. NSF is responsible, in part, for conducting research in Antarctica and the protection of the environment in this pristine and unique part of the world. The subcommittee has recently completed hearings on the future of the South Pole Station and the role of NSF in Antarctic research. I believe it is important to recognize the uniqueness of Antarctica; a place where the temperature in winter can exceed -45 deg. F and winds can reach 180 miles per hour; a place 1 times the size of the United States. Antarctica's associated seas represent nearly 6 percent of the world's oceans and its ice, 70 percent of the Earth's fresh water. Lately, there have been news articles of the discovery of a large underground freshwater lake in Antarctica, Lake Vostok, 140 miles long, 30 miles wide, buried under 9,000 feet of ice and heated by the earth's core. And, most recently in the headline news, the meteorite that is credited with evidence of life on Mars was discovered in Antarctica. We have much to learn from this area. The United States has important foreign policy, national security, scientific, and environmental interests in this vast region.”