Presidential science advisor John Marburger appeared before the science, state, justice, and commerce subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee last week to discuss the proposed overall FY2007 science and technology budget. According to a summary of the hearing provided by the American Institute of Physics, the topic of the American Competitiveness Initiative (ACI) and NASA’s exclusion from it came up:
When [Rep. Bud] Cramer asked why NASA was not included in the ACI, Marburger replied that historically NASA funding has been “much closer to what it needs.” Additionally, while NASA funding enables important scientific discoveries, they are “not as impactful on competitiveness.”
The summary goes on to state that Rep. Dave Weldon “somewhat disputed Marburger’s characterization of NASA’s research, pointing out that many children identify human space flight as a motivator for their interest in science.” Nevertheless, there doesn’t appear to be any sign that ACI will be expanded to include NASA, thus qualifying the agency for larger budget increases.
