The Capitol Hill newspaper The Hill reports on the maneuvering former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay is performing to get a seat on a choice appropriations subcommittee, a move that could have ramifications down the road for NASA. After saying earlier this month that he would not seek to regain the majority leadership post, DeLay announced that he would reclaim the seat he held on the House Appropriations Committee that he gave up when he became majority leader in 2003. According to The Hill, DeLay is reportedly seeking the seat on the defense subcommittee vacated by Rep. Randy Cunningham when he resigned. DeLay may face some opposition to that seat, although Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA), who chairs the space subcommittee of the House Science Committee and had reportedly been promised the appropriations post before DeLay returned to the committee, now says that he will not oppose DeLay’s request for that vacancy. The article also notes that “if Republicans maintain the majority this November, DeLay could become the subcommittee chairman for the panel that oversees NASA, a major employer in his district, or for the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee.”
