Alan Boyle (who has been following the HR 3752/5382 debate as closely as anyone outside those directly involved in the process) offers an update on the status of the bill in his Cosmic Log weblog. Supporters of HR 5382 tried to get the bill passed by unanimous consent on the House floor Friday afternoon but, as expected, Rep. James Oberstar (D-MN) objected; an attempt for a roll-call vote failed because a quorum was not present. There was, though, a 40-minute debate on the bill that Jim Muncy summarizes in this message posted at NASA Watch. (The transcript of the debate has not shown up yet in the Congressional Record.) The issue with the bill, Muncy notes, is the argument by Oberstar and Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR), ranking member of the House Transportation Committee’s aviation subcommittee, “that we need to regulate spaceflight as if it were just another approach to Aviation.” Muncy also noted that, ironically, both DeFazio and Oberstar voted for HR 3752 in March.
It appears the last chance for the bill in the House will come Saturday morning, when the House reconvenes to handle outstanding legislation, including the omnibus budget bill. The Senate still has to take up the legislation as well; they are scheduled to reconvene late Saturday morning.
According to CSPAN, 5382 just passed the House with 2/3 concurring.