A History of the Committee on Science and Technology

Abstract

The U.S. House of Representatives established the Committee on Science and Technology more than 50 years ago. As one of the newer committees on Capitol Hill, it has a long history of bipartisanship and tackling some of the most important challenges facing the nation. The Committee successfully oversaw the reorganization of the space program and ensured NASA met its goal of landing a man on the moon by the end of the 1960s. During the difficult times of the 1970s, the House gave the Committee new jurisdiction in the energy and emerging environmental fields. With a further expansion of responsibilities in the 1980s and 1990s, the Committee's legislative and oversight work included a wide assortment of technology issues as well as intellectual property rights, homeland security, and the development of super-computers and the Internet. In the 21st century the Committee had to confront natural and manmade disasters as well as maintain the nation's technological lead in the sciences and education. The first written history of the Committee covered the period from its inception through 1979. It was an all encompassing review prepared by subcommittee Chairman Ken Hechler of West Virginia. The work reflected firsthand knowledge of the major events, legislation passed, the Members who served on the Committee and the expert staff assembled to help them in their work. Through the use of its extensive table of contents and epilogue, the researcher can review the wide-ranging activities of the Committee and read extensive quotes by the principals. When preparing this updated history of the Committee, it was readily apparent that an entirely different approach had to be developed to recount the significant events of the past 50 years. In writing this edition, the authors felt it important not to overburden the reader with a long narrative. Since this project would be done by individuals outside the Committee, Hechler's approach could not be repeated.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 01, 2008
Accession Number
ADA516404

Entities

Organizations

  • House of Representatives

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Cyber
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Astronautics
  • Climate Change
  • Congress
  • Employment
  • Energy Storage
  • Environment
  • Environmental Protection
  • Geography
  • Health Services
  • Intellectual Property
  • Law
  • Medical Personnel
  • National Security
  • Personnel Management
  • Renewable Energy
  • Solar Energy
  • Spacecraft

Readers

  • Academic Conference Management
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.
  • Public Financial Management and Budgeting

Technology Areas

  • Space