Comments on: New NASA authorization bill makes only minor changes to last year’s version

By: Neil Shipley

Neil Shipley — Thu, 10 Apr 2014 01:14:29 +0000

You are kidding aren’t you? Congress, decisive?

By: Hiram

Hiram — Wed, 09 Apr 2014 21:25:30 +0000

NASA authorization has been on a three year cycle, so the schedule has never been governed by change of congress. But yes, the committee has tried hard to make sure the appropriators always have current FY authorization in their pocket (if just, in this case, as an after-the-fact matter of record), so yes, it makes a lot of sense that another bill will come along shortly.

Now, on the schedule set out in this bill, in another year, Congress will have a formal Mars-forward planning report to sink their teeth into. That ought to permit them to be more decisive.

By: Andrew Swallow

Andrew Swallow — Wed, 09 Apr 2014 18:51:12 +0000

Since this bill only authorises NASA for a single year I assume that a second bill will be introduced to cover future years, possibly after the elections in November.

By: Coastal Ron

Coastal Ron — Wed, 09 Apr 2014 14:22:04 +0000

Yes, this bill certainly shows that at least the House is not interested in new grand plans for human space exploration. Unless “grand plans” means waiting for a report on what to name potential plans (but not detail out said plans).

This must be pretty frustrating for SLS supporters, since no attempt to fund future SLS missions means that the reckoning point for the SLS program will have very clear choices – if there are no missions, then the SLS should be cancelled, and if Congress doesn’t want to do that then they have to find lots of extra $Billions somewhere, and for a sustained basis.

Oh course the Senate may surprise us and propose something that the House will go along with. Anyone know when the Senate appropriation bill comes out?

By: Hiram

Hiram — Wed, 09 Apr 2014 13:28:01 +0000

An authorization bill that authorizes spending already appropriated is sad. It basically gives retroactive permission to the appropriators to do what they already did. This is a recipe for irrelevance. Authorization bills, which usually provide congressional guidance for several years, even into the next congress, set long term congressional policy. While in many respects, this expression of congressional intent doesn’t expire, this bill shows little effort to develop that intent. Just keep doin’ what y’all are doin’, hear? Of course, with respect to human deep space flight, Congress is unhappy that NASA hasn’t put together entirely credible plans, so Congress just waves it’s arms giving blanket approval to very general actions, such as report generation, pointing generally at Mars and the Moon.