Congressional Update – Midterm Elections
November 29, 2006

When the 110th Congress convenes on January 4, 2007, the Democrats will control both the House and Senate for the first time since 1994.  As a result of the November 7, 2006 elections, the Democrats picked up at least 29 seats in the House (a number of races are still undecided) and gained six in the Senate for a one-seat margin. Democrats will now assume control of all committees, hold oversight hearings and determine what issues come up for debate.  

The switch in leadership could enhance prospects for passage of one of OSA’s top legislative goals—innovation legislation.  2006 saw the innovation issue become a top issue for many in Congress.  The House Science Committee reported out two bi-partisan innovation bills but the House leadership would not schedule floor time.  Senate Republicans and Democrats worked together on a bill that Majority Leader Bill Frist (TN) had once hoped to bring to the Senate floor in November. In his January 2006 State of the Union address, President Bush outlined his American Competitiveness Initiative.  In short, House and Senate Democrats and the White House all agree on the need for innovation legislation that makes increased investments in R&D funding and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education.   This may be an area that Congress and the Administration can work together for a bi-partisan victory.

House

Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi (CA) announced her top legislative priorities for the first 100 hours that the House is in session.  Among these will be an effort to return to the so-called pay-as-you-go or “pay-go” rules that had been in place during the Clinton Administration for both tax cuts and spending increases. This will require offsets for spending increases, including for the major increased investments OSA hopes to see in research and STEM education. Though not part of the Democrats’ initial agenda, Pelosi did release the “Innovation Agenda: A Commitment to Competitiveness to Keep America #1” in 2005, which became part of the party’s campaign platform.

Democratic control should make the political environment more favorable for the innovation agenda to progress. A note of caution, however, is that many of the new members are fiscal conservatives who are expected to join the so-called Blue Dog Caucus, which could challenge major new spending initiatives.

In December, party leaders will select the committee chairs and make other assignments.  The make-up of the House committees will change considerably.  The amount of slots available for Democrats will increase to parallel the increase in overall House seats.  Expect a great deal of shuffling as Democrats seek coveted seats on the Appropriations, Ways and Means, and Commerce Committees.  It is likely that a significant number of Science Committee members will seek slots on other committees.  This means there may be new members on the Science Committee who may need to be informed and brought up to speed on innovation and other core science issues. 

Rep. Allan Mollohan (WV), a longtime and consistent supporter of funding scientific research, is in line to become chair of the subcommittee with jurisdiction over the National Science Foundation (NSF) and other science programs (Science, State, Justice, and Commerce).  It is unclear, at this point, if outgoing subcommittee Chairman Frank Wolf (VA) will stay on as ranking member or rotate off the committee.

Rep. David Obey (WI) is in line to become chair of the entire Appropriations Committee.  Rep. Obey could also decide to chair the subcommittee on education appropriations, on which he now serves as the ranking member. He is a strong proponent of education, though he has not shown specific leadership on science and math education in the past. 

Rep. George Miller (CA) is in line to become chair of the Education and the Workforce Committee.  He has close ties to Rep. Pelosi.  In previous meetings, he has expressed the importance of America retaining its competitive edge in science and technology.

Rep. Bart Gordon (TN) will take over the Science Committee.  Rep. Gordon has been a strong proponent of legislation that supports U.S. competitiveness in areas of technology, engineering and science.  He was one of the first members to introduce comprehensive innovation legislation on the House side.  His bills were based on the National Academy of Sciences’ Rising Above the Gathering Storm report.  He has also publicly called for examining ways to decrease the nation’s dependence on foreign oil.

In the areas of the country where there is a large cluster of optics businesses (Florida, Arizona, New York, Colorado and Massachusetts) only Arizona and Colorado saw changes in House seats.  Of particular note is Arizona’s 8th Congressional District, which was previously held by retiring Republican Rep. Jim Kolbe.  Kolbe has met with OSA members and was seen as a friend of optics.  Taking his seat is Democrat Gabrielle Giffords who, during the course of the campaign, called for hiring new K-12 math and science teachers and for using the considerable infrastructure at the University of Arizona, Arizona State University and Northern Arizona University to encourage technological innovation. 

In Colorado, Democrat Ed Perlmutter captured the seat of Republican Rep. Bob Beauprez who retired to run for governor.  Perlmutter has served in the State Senate and has been active in education issues.

Although no seats changed hands in the Rochester, N.Y. area, Rep. Louise Slaughter is in line to become chairwoman of the powerful Rules Committee.  This committee determines which pieces of legislation and amendments are brought to the House floor for votes.

Senate

As is always the case in the Senate, especially with a razor thin one-seat majority, Democrats will have to work in a bipartisan way to get things done, needing at least 60 votes for especially controversial items. Even under the Republican majority, the Senate has consistently provided higher appropriations than the House for education and key research programs over the past six years.

Especially noteworthy has been the degree of bipartisanship surrounding innovation legislation in the Senate. The new Majority Leader, Senator Harry Reid (NV), was one of the sponsors of the innovation legislation.  Given the track record and the ascension of innovation champions like Senator Jeff Bingaman (NM) to the helm of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, it is reasonable to expect a high likelihood for success in the coming two years.

The make-up of the Senate panels will not be altered much but will either shrink by one seat or grow by one to end up with an odd number of members.  Senator Ted Kennedy (MA) will reclaim the chairmanship of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.  In recent years Kennedy has become increasingly interested in STEM issues, even drafting his own STEM bill.  The No Child Left Behind Act is up for reauthorization in 2007 and he will likely use that as an opportunity to enhance K-12 STEM education programs.  The Higher Education Act was scheduled to be reauthorized during the 108th Congress but the Senate put it off, acting in favor of year-long extensions.  Chairman Kennedy may also look to sections in this Act to strengthen STEM education.

Appropriations will be chaired by Senator Robert Byrd (WV).  Senator Barbara Mikulski (MD) will lead the Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies, which has jurisdiction over NSF.  Mikulski has been a strong supporter of R&D funding.

Chairman Ted Stevens (R-AK) and ranking minority member Daniel K. Inouye (D-HI) of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, will swap titles.

Conclusion

Overall, the next two years have the potential for progress on two of OSA’s most critical issues – innovation and math & science education.  Because of this, OSA’s efforts to bring these issues to the forefront through CVD, district visits and letter writing will be more critical, and conceivably more successful, than ever.

Provided by the OSA Government Relations Team

For questions or comments, please contact Laura Kolton, director of government relations, 202.416.1499 or lkolto@osa.org, or Angela Stark, public and government relations coordinator, 202.416.1443 or astark@osa.org.