Longtime Science Champion Eddie Bernice Johnson Enters Final Year in Congress

Late last year, House Science Committee Chair Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) announced that she would retire from Congress at the end of her term. Johnson, who receive the COSSA Distinguished Service Award in 2016, has been one of the social science enterprise’s fiercest champions throughout her tenure on the Science Committee. She defended social and behavioral science grants from unwarranted attacks and championed legislation to advance the nation’s scientific enterprise as a whole. It is unclear who will succeed Johnson as the top Democrat on the Science Committee in the next Congress. Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) has seniority, but shakeups in committee membership are likely, particularly if the Democrats fail to maintain control of the House.