Eddie Bernice Johnson

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and good afternoon to everyone.

The bills that we are considering today reflect many bipartisan priorities, and I hope each of them will receive strong support from Committee Members on both sides of the aisle today.

I want to be clear. I strongly support efforts to establish a civilian space situational awareness capability.

This may be the least amount of notice I've ever received on a bill being marked up in the Science Committee.

This bill builds on the Senate-passed space weather legislation that we're marking up today with some additional improvements.

H.R. 5509, the Innovations in Mentoring, Training, and Apprenticeships Act, is a good bill, and I support it.

I will not object to the passing of this legislation, but I want the record to reflect that we have a responsibility to do the work that we were sent here to do for the good of the people of the Nation.

In summary, my amendment is really a Science Committee do-your-job amendment, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

For that reason, I will not oppose the passage of this bill today.

This is no way to govern, and it wouldn't be the first time this Administration has acted that way.

Let me be clear. I think the search for life in the universe is a fascinating quest, and I'm also a strong supporter of exploration.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have an amendment at the desk.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, for holding today's markup of three important bills that support science and innovation at Department of Energy.

I strongly support efforts to establish a civilian space situational awareness capacity.

Let's have the Academies look at the issue and give us guidance on what civilian agency is best suited to shoulder this new responsibility.

H.R. 5906, sponsored by Science Committee Vice Chairman Frank Lucas and Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson, establishes DOE policy.

I appreciate the fact that you've introduced H.R. 6227, the National Quantum Initiative Act, on which I'm happy to be a cosponsor.

I want to thank Mr. Lucas for sponsoring this bill, which I am cosponsoring.

I am hopeful that if we provide our scientists and industry leaders with the right tools, they can fulfill the promise of clean nuclear energy.

Advanced nuclear reactor technology provides the best opportunity to make reliable, emission-free electricity available throughout the industrial and developing world.

I think a more incremental improvement to the process would be more constructive.

This bill is a transparent attempt to slow down the regulatory process and stack science review boards with industry representatives.

We must continue to push agencies on this objective.

We must be prepared to pay for what we value, or we will simply not accomplish the laudable goals of this legislation.

As grant proposal success rates at NSF and NIH sink to historical lows for some programs, we should be very wary of any actions that would further destabilize the basic research enterprise.