The 113th Congress has begun it’s first session and, as is the usual procedure at the start of a new Congress, new chairpersons have been selected for most of the House and Senate Committees. Among these new chairs is Representive Lamar S. Smith (R-TX-21st), Chair of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology. Much of the legislation that has affected nanoindustry and the nanotech community has passed before this committee.
Rep. Smith as long been a supporter of the nanotech community, co-sponsoring such legislation as the "National Nanotechnology Initiative Amendments Act of 2009". and is a senior member of the Congressional Nanotechnology Caucus.
Along with a new committee chairperson, the subcommittees have also gotten new chairs. The Subcommittee on Research and Education, which "has legislative jurisdiction and general oversight and investigative authority on all matters relating to science policy and science education including: . . . research, development, and demonstration relating to nanoscience, nanoengineering, and nanotechnology", is now chaired by Rep. Larry Bucshon (R-IN-8th). Rep. Bucshon, first elected in the 2010 midterm elections, has not sponsored or co-sponsored much legislation and his positions on nanotechnology and nanoindustry are as yet unknown.
Legislation affecting either nanoindustry or the larger nanotech community has yet to be introduced in either the House or the Senate; such legislation may benefit from having Rep. Smith as Committee Chairperson.
