Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Science, Technology, and Space

In the Senate, most authorizing legislation for physics-related programs is drafted in the Subcommittee on Science, Technology, and Space. It is a subcommittee of the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee. While in the Senate, this subcommittee has jurisdiction over most of the federal civilian science and technology programs, its counterpart in the House is a full committee, the Science Committee. The House Science Committee has four separate subcommittees to oversee different areas of science and technology (see FYIs #25, 26.)

Congress deals primarily with two types of legislation, authorization and appropriations. Authorizing legislation gives a federal department or agency permission to spend money and sets policy direction; appropriations provide the actual money. In theory, major agencies and programs should be authorized before having funds appropriated for them, but in reality, many programs receive funding that have not been authorized.

The subcommittee roster follows:

SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION SUBCOMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SPACE
SH-428 Hart Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, D.C. 20510
202-224-8172

Republicans:

Conrad Burns (MT), Chair
Larry Pressler (SD), chair of the full Commerce Committee
Kay Bailey Hutchison (TX)
Ted Stevens (AK)
Trent Lott (MS)

Democrats:

John D. Rockefeller (WV), Ranking
John Kerry (MA)
Richard Bryan (NV)
Byron Dorgan (ND)