Congress « Space Politics

Congressional reaction to the budget request

By Jeff Foust on 2011 February 14 at 9:49 pm ET

Before NASA can “win the future”, they’ll first need to win over members of Congress. And given the reactions from some members of Congress, they’ll have their work cut out for them. Several members of Congress criticized aspects of the budget proposal, primarily because it doesn’t follow the funding levels set forth in the authorization […]

How will NASA plan to “win the future” in its budget request?

By Jeff Foust on 2011 February 14 at 5:51 am ET

Later today the Obama Administration will release its fiscal year 2012 budget proposal, with NASA planning a press conference this afternoon to discuss details of its proposed budget, adopting the “win the future” theme that the president rolled out in his State of the Union address last month. The atmosphere this year is very different […]

House appropriators cut deeper at NASA

By Jeff Foust on 2011 February 12 at 8:27 am ET

Late Friday the House Appropriations Committee released its proposed continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government through the rest of FY 2011. As the committee indicated Thursday, it would make deeper cuts than what it released earlier in the week, when it announced $379 million in cuts to NASA relative to the administration FY11 request. […]

House hearings on NASA and its budget challenges

By Jeff Foust on 2011 February 11 at 7:04 am ET

Two hearings on Capitol Hill yesterday covered, or at least referred to, NASA’s current budget situation, although neither appeared to make any breakthroughs, and other developments suggested that, if anything, the agency’s budget prospects may be worsening.

The Commerce, Justice, and Science subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee conducted a hearing on oversight of NASA […]

House appropriators plan a budget cut for NASA

By Jeff Foust on 2011 February 10 at 4:54 am ET

House appropriators announced Wednesday a list of proposed spending cuts they are planning in a continuing resolution they plan to introduce soon to fund the federal government for the remainder of FY2011. The list includes a cut of $379 million for NASA (relative to the administration’s FY11 proposal), which would bring NASA down to $18.621 […]

Human spaceflight versus Earth sciences?

By Jeff Foust on 2011 February 9 at 7:04 am ET

A letter signed by several members of Congress is the latest evidence that a new battle line is forming over NASA funding: human spaceflight versus Earth sciences. In a letter to House Appropriations committee chairman Rep. Hal Rogers and CJS subcommittee chairman Frank Wolf, six Republican members of Congress asked the appropriators to prioritize NASA […]

March Storm 2011 starts to take shape

By Jeff Foust on 2011 February 8 at 6:57 am ET

March Storm, the annual citizens space lobby effort by ProSpace, has released its plans for the 2011 event scheduled for March 13-15. This year’s effort will support one major initiative, “The Zero-Gravity, Zero-Tax Act of 2011″. Specific details of the proposed legislation are not included in the announcement beyond “creating a tax holiday on the […]

Briefs: letters, amendments, and agreements

By Jeff Foust on 2011 February 8 at 6:48 am ET

In a letter to President Obama, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) asks the president to follow the guidance of last year’s NASA authorization act when requesting funding the space agency. “As we approach the rollout of your FY 2012 budget request, I look forward to a plan that is consistent with the NASA Authorization […]

House appropriations committee to review NASA this week

By Jeff Foust on 2011 February 6 at 3:17 pm ET

On the schedule this week for the Commerce, Justice, and Science subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee is a hearing on the oversight of NASA and the NSF, featuring the inspectors general of the two agencies. According to The Hill, this hearing is one of “hundreds” planned by House appropriators to look for places to […]

Briefs: Security strategy, Stadd’s sentence starts, Sino Sputnik

By Jeff Foust on 2011 February 4 at 6:15 am ET

Republican senators are concerned about US support for an outer space “code of conduct”, the Washington Times reported Friday. The article says that 37 Republican senators have sent a letter to Secretary of State Clinton, claiming that the code could restrict development of systems to protect satellites from ASAT weapons. The article also reports that […]

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