George E. Brown Jr.
George was genuinely interested in, and curious
about, all of the complex issues and debates
that have swirled around the development
of modern science and technology. His
palpable excitement belied his position as the
oldest Member of the House in the 106th Congress.
... and George leaves us with the distinction
of representing California longer than any
other member of Congress. His influence and
legacy will continue to define the work of this body.
-- from the Congressional Record
Representative George E. Brown Jr. was Chairman of the House Science Committee during the 102nd and 103rd Congresses and was probably best known in the Congress for his work on science and technology issues. He was a recognized leader in forming the institutional framework for science and technology in the Federal government. In the mid-1960s and again in the 1980s, he led an effort to restructure and strengthen the National Science Foundation, moving the agency into a much more active roles in engineering, science education, and development of advanced technologies. He developed legislation shaping the permanent science advisory mechanism in the Executive Office of the President, which was established in 1976 as the Office of Science and Technology Policy. As an energetic proponent of environmental preservation and of science and technology in the service of society, Brown championed the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Office of Technology Assessment in the early 1970s.
Brown was known as an advocate of strategic planning and Congressional foresight. Ahead of the mainstream agenda, he recognized early on the environmental hazards of burning fossil fuels, the destructive effect of freons on the ozone layer, the importance of keeping space development under civilian control, and the necessity of monitoring global climate change. In due course, Congress adopted provisions in the Clean Air Act to protect the ozone layer from freons; passed a national climate monitoring program; funded research and development programs in hydrogen, hydrothermal, geothermal, photovoltaics, and wind energy; and developed a global change research program. Brown also helped direct the Congress toward initiatives for energy and resource conservation, sustainable agriculture, national information systems, advanced technology development, and the integration of technology in education. Throughout his career, Brown enthusiastically supported both manned and unmanned space exploration. He also developed plans to improve U.S. manufacturing capability, maintain the Landsat remote-sensing system, and restructure the national weapons laboratories in a peacetime economy. Late in his career, he was active in promoting international scientific cooperation, authoring legislation establishing joint research programs between U.S. researchers and their counterparts in Mexico and Russia.
Brown also had a long and rich history on non-science issues spanning many important events and eras of modern American political life. Raised during the Depression in Holtville, in the Imperial Valley agricultural area of California near the Mexican border, Brown was a graduate of the University of California at Los Angeles, where he helped break the racial color barrier by organizing the first integrated campus housing in the late 1930′s. A pacifist Quaker, Brown had initially registered as a conscientious objector during World War II and worked in a Civilian Conservation Corps camp in Oregon. In 1942, however, Brown decided to join the military, and served as a Second Lieutenant in the Army for four years. After the war, and armed with his degree in Industrial Physics, Brown began his career in the civil service department of the City of Los Angeles, where he helped in organizing both city workers and veterans housing projects. During this period, he also mobilized public opposition to the incarceration of Japanese-Americans, a cause which led senior city workers to try to block his career path.
In 1954, Brown won his first election as city councilman in the Los Angeles suburb of Monterey Park and became its mayor in 1955. He also became a full-time union business manager for the Engineers and Architects Association at the City of Los Angeles. In 1958 Brown was elected to the California State Assembly and served there until 1962. As an assemblyman, Brown authored legislation providing public employees with the right to bargain collectively and, foreshadowing his many environmental efforts, introduced the first bill in the nation to ban lead in gasoline. He successfully ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1962 in a district that included much of Latino East Los Angeles and its nearby suburbs.
Brown returned to the House in 1972 after the post-1970 census reapportionment created a new seat in San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, close to his childhood home in Imperial Valley. Brown prided himself on working hard for his District. One of his priorities was to bring new educational technology and inspiration for scientific learning to his local schools. Brown's reputation in science helped him bring NASA participation and support for local schools and business. Brown was also deeply involved in the defense conversion of the former Norton Air Force Base in San Bernardino and in helping to expand non-violent conflict resolution programs in schools, such as the PeaceLeaders program. To help the entire Inland Empire region of California, including his home area of Imperial Valley, Brown used his scientific background and associations with national leaders to draw attention to the environmental demise of the Salton Sea, the largest lake in California, which is becoming too salty to support normal fish and bird life. Brown worked with the late Rep. Sonny Bono (R-Palm Springs), his widow, Rep. Mary Bono (R-Palm Springs), and others to fund a federal research project that will recommend solutions for the Salton Sea.
