Technology

Last Friday (7/27/07), NASA released the findings of a review of NASA's procedures for overseeing astronauts' medical and behavioral health, commissioned in the wake of the scandal involving former astronaut Lisa Nowak.

When I got word of these findings a day before their release via the industry publication Aviation Week, I made it clear that the Committee would be looking for further explanation and details from NASA on the review's disturbing findings.

Upon review of the actual report, my mind was not eased as to the situation. Read more...

Yesterday, I announced the Senate passage of the Higher Education Act Amendments of 2007, which included an amendment that I introduced in conjunction with Senator Warner (R-Va.). The amendment, the Minority Serving Institutions Advanced Technology and Education Act, provides the infrastructure to address the technology gap that exists in this country's minority serving educational institutions.

The legislation will set up a grant program to provide funding to secure equipment upgrades, campus wiring, technology training, increased internet access and other improvements to campus technology.

Today's college students face an expanding global economy that requires a firm grasp on information technology. This legislation provides Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) the resources to effectively teach the next generation of American workers the technology skills to succeed. Read more...

In this video, Larry Sidman, a telecommunications lobbyist with Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker, discusses how Congress is preparing for the broadcasting industry's switch from analog television to digital.

In this video, Desiree Filippone, a lobbyist for the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Co., emphasizes the importance of innovation in the pharmaceutical industry. Read more about Filippone here.

The Aviation Subcommittee held a rigorous schedule of hearings this spring to examine not only the Bush administration's proposal for reauthorization of the FAA, but the state of FAA operations and our air transportation system. I said many times during that process that I believed that our current financing system could handle the transition to the next generation (NextGen) system. I also placed an emphasis on maintaining the world's safest airspace. Both of those priorities are reflected in H.R. 2881, the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2007, and we also added contracting accountability safeguards to ensure we spend this money wisely.

At the same time, we take important steps to ensure safety by restoring balance between the FAA and our air traffic controllers in current and future contract negotiations, taking them back to their prior contract for the purposes of ongoing negotiations and requiring binding arbitration when the two sides reach an impasse.

The bill also addresses the need for airlines and airports to have emergency contingency plans in place to take care of passengers that are involved in long flight delays. These plans would need to account for the provision of food, water, clean restrooms, cabin ventilation and medical care for passengers. The increasing incidence of long tarmac delays and the subsequent substandard conditions that travelers have had to endure is unacceptable, and we believe this provision will help rectify the situation.

In this video, Rep. Allyson Schwartz says in a globalized world, the United States needs to improve its biotechnologies. Read more on the subject in her op-ed here.

Yesterday the HELP Committee approved the “Wired for Health Care Quality Act, Read more...

In this video, Rep. Lee Terry advocates reforming the Universal Service Fund in order to avoid what he says is a "telecommunications crisis." Read more about the subject in his op-ed here

It’s clear that the demand for ever more data-rich services at ever higher speeds is driving the fiber, DSL, and wireless deployment that our country needs to stay competitive. In our rapidly converging communications environment, with such dizzying increase in demand, carriers have to be able to manage the increased data flow nimbly and effectively. The FCC can protect consumers’ connection rights, a principle goal of its recent notice of inquiry and still preserve service providers’ ability to provide enriched and robust services. It’s precisely such a light-touch regulatory approach that has allowed high-tech industries like wireless and Internet to thrive over the past decade.

Several core principles -- like full disclosure of providers’ broadband plans and free consumer choice of applications over any network -- are enough to ensure consumers’ rights without taking a noble goal to a pernicious end by disallowing packet management and competitive pricing. Such onerous regulation would definitely diminish quality of service and investment over the next-generation networks being deployed around the country.

In this video for The Hill's Congress Blog, Rep. Roscoe Bartlett explains that he opposed the embryonic stem cell research last bill because new technology has developed in the last six years allowing scientists to conduct embryonic stem cell research without destroying an embryo.