A UPI article by Frank Sietzen reports that there is modest but growing support for the new space initiative in Congress. The article says that Sean O’Keefe met recently with a group of conservative “Blue Dog” Democrats in the House and managed to win them over to the plan, at least to the point where the agreed to sponsor an amendment to the House budget resolution that would give NASA its full request in 2005. NASA has also won support from the fiscally-conservative Republican Study Committee.
The article also notes the lack of public comment about the plan by the President. O’Keefe told the Democratic Congressmen that Bush was “trying to avoid further politicization.” Another source told Sietzen that “Bush would ‘keep his powder dry until the myths, legends, and political barbs on this strategy subside,’ and the president probably would speak again about his space plan sometime late in his re-election campaign.” This aligns with a discussion I had earlier today with someone, who noted that Bush was in a bit of a quandary: by saying nothing about the plan his silence is criticized, but if he spoke out more about the plan he ran the risk of further politicizing it.
Well let me know when their wallets thaw out so that we may see if they have the bucks for the vision. Or are they just pulling out a change purse instead. I got a feeling that until the commission report is published, fully read and understood that probably nothing is going to happen.