spacetoday.net: Chairman of House Science Committee to retire

Posted: Sun, Nov 5, 2017, 10:13 AM ET (1513 GMT)
The chairman of the House Science Committee announced Thursday he will retire at the end of his term. Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) said he will not run for reelection in 2018, citing "several reasons." Smith has been in Congress for more than 30 years and is in his third term as chairman of the science committee. By House rules, Smith was term-limited as chairman and would have had to step down from that post after 2018. Smith has often clashed with Democrats on the committee on issues such as the environment and climate change, but found common ground on space policy, such as the passage of a NASA authorization act this year.