Congressman Nick Lampson (D-TX) has been named the ranking minority member of the House Science Committee’s Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics. Lampson succeeds Rep. Bart Gordon (D-TN), who became ranking minority member of the full committee after Texas Congressman Ralph Hall switched from the Democratic to the Republican party. Lampson, whose district includes JSC, is perhaps best known for his Space Exploration Act (HR 3057), a bill designed to set a series of exploration goals for NASA—legislation that has been largely superceded by the President’s own space initiative.