Okla. Rep. Frank Lucas 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, Okla. Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK3) is now chair of the Science, Space and Technology committee.

“I tell my new members, this is the fun committee,” Lucas 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 said, 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 on 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 said 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."

What he expects to unfold, Lucas said, is critically important work on legislation 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," Lucas said, "so we’re going to work very intensely to get those programs authorized."

Lucas said 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 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 said, 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.”