WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, R-Jackson, recently was named chairman of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee's Research and Technology Subcommittee. 

The freshman congressman will also serve on the Subcommittee on Environment.  

“As a freshman member of Congress, it’s an honor to be named chairman of the Research and Technology Subcommittee. Thank you to full committee Chairman Frank Lucas for entrusting me to lead the subcommittee in its mission to maintain American leadership in scientific research and discovery," Collins said. 

"My top goals as chairman will be to ensure taxpayers can rest assured that the research they invest in is money well-spent, and that that our nation continues to be the tip of the spear in technological innovation to counter emerging threats from foreign adversaries like Communist China,” he said.

Lucas, R-Okla., said, "There has never been a more important time to have a strong and secure American research enterprise."

"Our economic strength is directly tied to our ability to remain the world leader in innovation and technology. Foreign adversaries like the Chinese Communist Party have been trying to outpace us in scientific development by outspending us and stealing our intellectual property. 

"The Science Committee will be focusing on securing our research and technology while strengthening the public-private research enterprise that has long kept us at the cutting edge of science and technology. Chairman Collins will be a great partner in this work, and I’m looking forward to his leadership on this subcommittee.”

The Research and Technology Subcommittee has jurisdiction over all matters relating to science policy and science education, and agencies including the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the National Technical Information Service.

The Environment Subcommittee has broad jurisdiction over all matters relating to environmental research at several federal agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, and scientific issues related to environmental policy. 

Collins represents Georgia's 10th Congressional District that includes northern, eastern and southern Newton County and part or all of 17 other counties.