Comments on: “Mikulski Miracle” dead in conference? http://www.spacepolitics.com/2007/11/15/mikulski-miracle-dead-in-conference/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=mikulski-miracle-dead-in-conference Because sometimes the most important orbit is the Beltway... Wed, 17 Sep 2014 13:35:41 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.0.38 By: Mike Fazan http://www.spacepolitics.com/2007/11/15/mikulski-miracle-dead-in-conference/#comment-26984 Fri, 16 Nov 2007 11:43:16 +0000 http://www.spacepolitics.com/2007/11/15/mikulski-miracle-dead-in-conference/#comment-26984 Why can’t Congress present a bill only for NASA? The extra billion is fully justified as repayment for Columbia and Katrina costs.

Because NASA is at the bottom of the list of national prioritities, and not many people outside of the small Space Geek Universe give a s**t about it. But seriously, it is in NASA’s interest to piggyback with other bills and legislative funding measures. Alone, it would be a visible and vulnerable target.

]]> By: cIclops http://www.spacepolitics.com/2007/11/15/mikulski-miracle-dead-in-conference/#comment-26973 Fri, 16 Nov 2007 11:02:31 +0000 http://www.spacepolitics.com/2007/11/15/mikulski-miracle-dead-in-conference/#comment-26973 Why can’t Congress present a bill only for NASA? The extra billion is fully justified as repayment for Columbia and Katrina costs.

]]> By: anonymous.space http://www.spacepolitics.com/2007/11/15/mikulski-miracle-dead-in-conference/#comment-26874 Thu, 15 Nov 2007 18:32:16 +0000 http://www.spacepolitics.com/2007/11/15/mikulski-miracle-dead-in-conference/#comment-26874 “Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who had been working with Sen. Barbara Mikulski on such a measure since last year, appeared to indicate that the extra billion had been dropped from the conference report: ‘Of course, you know, I, along with Sen. Mikulski, tried to put one billion into this year’s appropriation which, at this point, does not appear to be successful in the conference committee.'”

Surprise, surprise…

I’ll give Mikulski and Hutchison’s staff credit for getting the $1 billion increase into the final Senate spending bill. I didn’t think it would survive a floor vote, but they managed to find a way around that floor vote.

But the fact that they had to avoid a floor vote to get the amendment into the bill indicates that this amendment, and associated calls for a White House summit, were always a goofy and ineffective strategy for boosting NASA’s funding. It is not surprising that the House did not go along with it in conference.

“The question now is: what happens if/when the bill is vetoed? Will there be another opportunity to increase the agency’s budget, or will it have to fight to keep the money it currently has?”

Anything is possible, but logically it’s going to be the latter. Bush is threatening to veto the bill because it’s spending too much, not too little.

FWIW…

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