While the House is grappling with a potential reorganization of appropriations subcommittees, the Senate Commerce Committee has quietly completed a reorganization of its own. Of note is that the former “Subcommittee on Science, Technology, and Space” is now the “Subcommittee on Science and Space”; technology gets its own subcommittee where it is coupled with “innovation and competitiveness”. Although I have not seen a formal announcement, it’s my understanding that Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) will chair the science and space subcommittee. Given that Hutchison is considering a run for Texas governor, it’s not clear yet how much attention she will be able to devote to the subcommittee.
It strikes me as odd, and probably not good, that spaceflight is classed with science, not technology. The latter is clearly more appropriate for our goals.
— Donald