Rep. Walker won't run again

Robert Walker (R-PA), chair of the House Science Committee, has announced he will not seek re-election. He has served 10 terms and became chair of the Science Committee last year when Republicans won control of the House.

In explaining his decision to retire, Walker referred to the 200-year-old tradition that no one in the congressional seat he occupies had ever served more than 20 years. "As someone who came to office promising myself that I would not spend the rest of my working life in the Congress, this is the right time to move on and in the process help keep a little bit of history intact," he said.

Walker's tenure as Science Committee chair has been most notable for his efforts to move the R&D agenda away from what he considered inappropriate technology policy and toward an increased focus on basic research. To symbolize that effort, he removed the word "technology" from the full committee's previous name and changed the name of the Subcommittee on Science to the Subcommittee on Basic Research.

Walker also was deeply involved in the budget process and is a close confidant of House Speaker Newt Gingrich. His influence in those roles has been credited with helping protect the National Science Foundation's appropriation at a time when major cuts were being made in government programs.

Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-WI) is next in line to chair the committee after Walker departs. But the volatility of elections these days, coupled with the usual game of musical committee chairs played in any new Congress, make any predictions at this point highly speculative.