Biophysical Society Bulletin | May 2023

Public Affairs

Commerce-Justice-Science Subcommittees The new subcommittee chair on the House side is Rep. Hal Rogers (R-KY), while Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-PA) remains the subcommittee’s top Democrat. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Jerry Moran (R-KS), respectively, remain the chair and ranking member of the Senate Subcommittee. Labor-HHS-Education Subcommittees Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) will serve as chair of the Senate subcommittee and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) is the new ranking member. On the House side, Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-AL) is the new committee chair, while Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) continues to be the top Democrat for both the sub committee and the full committee. This is a significant loss to science as Capito and Aderholt replace two longstanding and outspoken National Institutes of Health supporters, Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK). House Science, Space, and Technology Committee Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK) has taken over as committee chair and will serve alongside Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA). Lucas main tains cordial relations with the committee’s Democratic ma jority, resulting in bipartisan assent for major science policy provisions in the CHIPS and Science Act. Meanwhile Lofgren is known for her, thus far unsuccessful, efforts to create a special visa pathway for STEM graduates. Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) returns as chair of the committee, alongside Sen. Ted Cruz . Cantwell was also a critical part of enacting the major science policy provisions in the CHIPS and Science Act. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) returns as committee chair alongside Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY). While Barrasso is less likely than Manchin to support policies and nominees backed by Demo crats, the two have similar outlooks on fossil fuels and have cooperated to advance the fortunes of nuclear energy. Armed Services Committees Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) is the new lead Republican for the House Cyber, Information Technologies, and Innovation Subcommittee and is also one of the longest-standing con gressional proponents of protecting Department of Defense

(DOD)-funded research and development from exploitation by the Chinese government, which will be a focal point of the new House Committee on China that he also chairs. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) is the subcommittee’s new lead Democrat and shares Gallagher’s concern with the military’s slow pace in fielding new technologies. Representing a Silicon Valley district, he has also expressed a desire to help DOD build bridges with tech companies. The counterpart panel in the Senate is the Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcom mittee, where Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) has been named the new chair with Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) returning as ranking member. House Select Committee on the CCP House Republicans have established a new committee formally titled the Select Committee on the Strategic Com petition between the U.S. and the Chinese Communist Party, chaired by Rep. Gallagher. The committee does not have authority to advance legislation but will explore a range of issues that is apt to include competition in technology, intel lectual property theft, and controls on academic exchanges. Gallagher has indicated the committee will chart how to “se lectively decouple” the U.S. and Chinese economies, arguing that close economic engagement with the country has failed to result in a constructive relationship. Some Republicans have taken a hard line on such decoupling, calling for steps such as preventing Chinese students from studying science at U.S. universities. However, Gallagher and Committee Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) have signaled their desire to proceed in a bipartisan manner. Intelligence Committees Although much of its work is behind closed doors, the Senate Intelligence Committee has in recent years sought to raise public awareness about efforts by the Chinese government to exploit the U.S. research system. Sens. Mark Warner (D VA) and Marco Rubio (R-FL), who return as chair and ranking member, have conducted a “roadshow” to brief leaders in the academic and corporate sectors on the issue. They have also recently expressed interest in reforming the National Counterintelligence and Security Center to better protect key technologies and have been probing whether more should be done to vet foreign students and researchers. The commit tee is also interested in improving the ability of intelligence agencies to monitor science and technology advancements abroad. Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) will now chair the House Intelligence Committee alongside Rep. Jim Himes (D-TX).

May 2023

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