January 23, 2019

Casten Named to Science, Space, and Technology Committee

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Sean Casten (IL-06) announced that he has been selected to join the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee.

Casten said, "I have dedicated my career to science and understand whole heartedly you can't make informed decisions without accurate information. In the last Congress, I believe my colleagues on the other side of the aisle embraced a fetishization of ignorance when it came to climate change and facts. That must end. The time for denial is over, we have a moral obligation to act. My mission on the committee is not only to implement meaningful long overdue change on issues such as climate change but also to make decisions based on facts. I will work to ensure that we are providing factual information to the public and our policymakers independent of policy. I'm looking forward to joining my colleagues on the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee under Chairwoman Johnson because more than ever we need the 116^th Congress to lead with facts."

Chairwoman Johnson said, "It is a pleasure to welcome Congressman Sean Casten to the Science Committee. Members with STEM backgrounds bring new and unique insights into solving the challenges we address in the Committee. Rep. Casten will surely be a valuable asset to this Committee, and I look forward to beginning our work together."

Casten's priorities on the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee include:

Ensuring our agencies with R&D mandates including the Department of Energy (DOE), Environment Protection Agency (EPA), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and Health and Human Services (HHS) are receiving the resources they need to advance better science and help bring new innovations to the U.S. economy.
Re-Instituting the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) to provide Congress with objective analysis of scientific and technical issues.
Providing congressional oversight to agencies that compile information such as USDA, the U.S. Energy Administration (EIA), and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLA) so they are able to distribute accurate and whole information.
Ensuring NASA has the budget not just to study other planets but also to monitor the rapidly changing climate on ours through satellites, particularly those which detect the emissions of powerful greenhouse gases such as methane.
Ensuring that the United States Congress is not standing in the way of disruptive technologies, such as CRISPR, the internet of things, or advancements in cyber technology, but instead helping to ensure these technologies are being explored in a responsible way with adequate supports where needed.
Ensuring that the United States continues its global leadership in advancing clean energy innovation including by meeting our international commitments made through the 2015 Mission Innovation global initiative.