Members of Congress are starting to sound off on the FY07 NASA budget proposal, with a wide range of reactions. At one end of the spectrum is Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), who is elated that the budget includes $150 million for a shuttle servicing mission to Hubble. “After years of fighting this battle, I am thrilled to see that President Bush has finally agreed with me that a Hubble servicing mission should be a top priority for America. Hubble is a national asset and a national priority,” she said in a statement.
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) is also happy, saying “pleased” on two occasions in a press release. “I am pleased the president has recommended a 3.2 percent increase in NASA’s budget over last year, including increased funding for development of the Crew Exploration Vehicle,” she said. “Though the total amount requested is less than the levels authorized by Congress for Fiscal Year 2007, as a whole, the budget request demonstrates significant support for NASA and the Vision for Space Exploration.”
In the House, though, Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY), chairman of the House Science Committee, is far from being thrilled or pleased. “I am greatly concerned about the proposed budget for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA),” he said in a statement. “We have to be sure that we are not demonstrating that science is a ‘crown jewel’ of NASA by seeing how much we can get for it at the pawnshop. I believe the most important planet in the Universe is the one we live on.” Boehlert also said that he was concerned about NASA’s aeronautics budget, which took a big cut in the proposed budget, and added that he “personally do[es] not see any urgency for the CEV to enter service before 2014.”
Boehlert added that the full committee has scheduled a hearing on the NASA budget proposal on February 16, with Mike Griffin testifying.
