Week in Review 7.22.22
Welcome to this week’s edition of the Science, Space, and Technology Committee newsletter! The SST Newsletter highlights the goings on of the Committee, the hard work of our Members, and a look ahead.
Senate Agrees to Motion to Proceed on Semiconductor Chips and R&D Priorities
On Tuesday, the Senate agreed to a motion to proceed on science and innovation legislation that includes provisions on semiconductor chips and research and development priorities.
“The legislation that moved forward in the Senate last night, H.R. 4346, represents months of bipartisan and bicameral negotiations. The majority of this bill is made up of bipartisan provisions that started in the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology — which I am privileged to lead. They were built with rigorous input from the scientific community, industry, academia, and other stakeholders on what they need most to succeed in the 21st century. I am grateful to Ranking Member Frank Lucas and his colleagues for their constructive collaboration on those provisions.
“In this bill we are putting forth strong initiatives at NSF, NIST, NOAA, DOE, and NASA. We’re building a diverse STEM workforce ready to tackle the challenges we face, we’re strengthening our manufacturing capabilities, we’re revitalizing American science and innovation, we’re fighting the climate crisis, and so much more. And we’re doing it all with the needs of each and every American in mind.”
- Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX)
Paper Mills and Research Misconduct
On Wednesday, the Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight held a hearing to discuss the current and future challenges in securing scientific literature from fraudulent academic papers. Members and Witnesses examined strategies for identifying fraud, the increasing number of fraudulent papers produced and sold by paper mills, and the impact of new technologies such as AI on both the perpetration and the detection of research misconduct.
“Hundreds of papers with signs of fraud are indeed a serious concern. However, according to NSF, a whopping 2.9 million papers were published last year alone. The number of cases of fraud must be viewed within that context. Creating and maintaining a body of scientific literature without flaws of any kind is a quixotic quest. But published scientific literature remains the greatest body of human knowledge about the world, and it is our responsibility to look after its integrity.”
- Chairman Bill Foster (D-IL) of the Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight
Coming up in Committee
Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics Hearing
Subject: “Exploring Cyber Space: Cybersecurity Issues for Civil and Commercial Space Systems”
Date: Thursday, July 28, 2022
Time: 10:00 a.m. ET
Place: 2318 Rayburn House Office Building and Online via Zoom
Witnesses:
- Dr. Theresa Suloway, Space Cybersecurity Engineer, The MITRE Corporation
- Mr. Matthew Scholl, Chief, Computer Security Division, Information Technology Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology
- Mr. Brandon Bailey, Senior Project Leader, Cyber Assessments and Research Department, The Aerospace Corporation
