Oklahoma Rep. Optimistic About Work Of Science Committee

In a year when divided government and bitter partisanship are expected to keep Congress, as a whole, from getting much done, one Oklahoma congressman is predicting just the opposite for the committee he now chairs.

With Republicans gaining the majority in the House, Oklahoma’s Frank Lucas is now chair of the Science, Space and Technology committee.

“I tell my new members, this is the fun committee,” Rep. Lucas (R-OK3) said in an interview last week. “It’s not screaming about what happened yesterday or last week, or 160 days ago, it’s what we do to put the pieces in place to make, through research, a dramatic difference in peoples’ lives five years, 50 years, 150 years from now.”

Lucas says, for the most part, the issues the committee takes on are nonpartisan and thus often are seen by members, especially during periods of bitter partisanship, as a rare opportunity to be productive.

One of the new members assigned to the committee is the controversial new congressman from New York, Rep. George Santos, who is being called on by Democrats in Congress and Republicans in his home state to resign for lying during the campaign about critical aspects of his life and his family. Lucas says there's nothing he can do about it -- he was lawfully elected and the steering committee placed him on Science.

"I’ve worked with interesting, challenging, sometimes complicated members before on my various committees," Lucas observed, "we’ll see how this unfolds."

Tuesday morning, Rep. Santos informed his GOP colleagues he is temporarily stepping down from his two congressional committees, including Science. The announcement comes after a meeting Monday evening with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. 

According to the Associated Press, Oklahoma Congressman Tom Cole (R-OK4) said the decision was well-received from the GOP conference, saying “I think it was the appropriate thing to do and I was proud of him for getting up and doing this.”

Whether Santos is on or not on the committee doesn’t change what Lucas says will be critically important legislation the committee needs to pass to reauthorize NOAA, the agency with jurisdiction over the National Weather Service, and to reauthorize NASA as it moves closer to returning to the Moon.

"I want to continue the space program, I want the National Weather Service to continue to protect us," Rep. Lucas said, "so we’re going to work very intensely to get those programs authorized."

Lucas says the committee also has important oversight responsibility, in particular, for the implementation of the $280 billion Chips and Science Act that he helped put together and which was passed into law in 2022.

"A lot of money was appropriated, so we’re going to make sure, through oversight, that that money was correctly and wisely spent," Lucas stated.

While other committees potentially focus on political agendas the next two years, Lucas says, Science will stick to…science.

“This is going to be a rancorous, loud, shrill session of Congress,” Lucas said, “but the Science committee, where we don’t fight by political label…don’t be surprised if we’re not one of the most productive committees."