Chairman of House appropriations subcommittee that funds NASA to retire

WASHINGTON — As a Home appropriations subcommittee gears up for a sequence of hearings this week on funds requests for science companies, together with NASA, the chairman of that subcommittee stated he is not going to run for reelection due to well being points.

In a March 25 assertion, Rep. José Serrano (D-N.Y.), chairman of the commerce, justice and science (CJS) subcommittee of the Home Appropriations Committee, stated he’ll serve out his present time period however not search reelection in 2020 after being recognized with Parkinson’s illness.

“Though this illness has not affected my work in Congress, over the previous few months I’ve come to the conclusion that Parkinson’s will finally take a toll, and that I can not predict its price of development,” he stated. “Due to this uncertainty, I don’t intend to hunt re-election in 2020. I do intend to serve the rest of my time period within the 116th Congress.”

Serrano stated that he’ll use his chairmanship of the CJS appropriations subcommittee in his closing time period in workplace to assist work reminiscent of local weather change analysis, the subject of the primary listening to of that subcommittee he chaired this yr.

Serrano, 75, has served in Congress since 1990. He turned chairman of the CJS subcommittee after Democrats took management of Congress within the 2018 elections. He beforehand was the rating member of the subcommittee when Republicans managed the Home. Throughout that point, he was not lively on area points aside from to talk out towards proposed cuts to NASA schooling and Earth science packages in current funds proposals by the administration.

Serrano introduced his retirement plans as his subcommittee was gearing up for a sequence of hearings this week on fiscal yr 2020 funds proposals. That features a March 27 listening to on NASA’s funds proposal, with Administrator Jim Bridenstine scheduled to testify.

Earlier March 27, Serrano’s subcommittee will maintain a listening to on NOAA’s funds request, with performing administrator Neil Jacobs scheduled to testify. A March 26 listening to will cowl the funds request of the Nationwide Science Basis with that company’s director, France Córdova, scheduled to testify. The subcommittee may even take testimony from different members of the Home in a “Member’s Day” listening to March 26, the place some are anticipated to request further funding for NASA’s Area Launch System and Orion packages.

The identical day as Serrano introduced his intent to retire, the previous chairman of the CJS subcommittee began a brand new job. The legislation agency Clark Hill introduced March 25 that it employed former Rep. John Culberson (R-Texas) to its authorities and public affairs apply, supporting work in areas reminiscent of aerospace and protection.

Culberson, who served for practically 20 years within the Home, spent the final two phrases as chairman of the CJS subcommittee, the place he was a significant supporter of NASA, together with each its human spaceflight packages and robotic exploration, notably missions to Jupiter’s moon Europa. Culberson misplaced reelection final November.

Per week earlier, Culberson attended the 50th Lunar and Planetary Science Convention in Houston, sitting in on science shows in addition to a NASA city corridor assembly. He stated in an interview that, whereas not in place to immediately affect funding for key company packages like Europa Clipper and a follow-on lander, he was carefully following them. “I’m going to must preserve my hand in this system in some kind or style,” he stated.