Congress « Space Politics

“A travesty of incredible proportions”

By Jeff Foust on 2010 September 22 at 1:18 pm ET

You have to hand it to the Institute for Liberty (IFL), a conservative think tank: they don’t mince words when it somes to their assessment of the House version of the NASA authorization bill. “The bill is worse than a sham,” said Andrew Langer, president of the organization, in a press release. “It is a […]

Still playing the waiting game

By Jeff Foust on 2010 September 22 at 7:59 am ET

Three debate about NASA in Congress revolves around three procedural issues: when will the House take up a NASA authorization bill (and what it will look like), when will appropriators follow suit with funding, and since a final FY11 funding bill won’t be done until after October 1, will any policy changes be incorporated into […]

The ongoing “politically topsy-turvy battle” for NASA

By Jeff Foust on 2010 September 19 at 12:40 pm ET

NASA, in particular its human spaceflight program, “has become the focus of a brutal, potentially crippling and politically topsy-turvy battle for control that is likely to come to a head next week,” the Washington Post reports in Sunday’s edition. The article provides a review of the current situation the agency finds itself in on Capitol […]

What will the House vote on, and when?

By Jeff Foust on 2010 September 17 at 7:05 am ET

Yesterday’s Huntsville Times has its own take on the current NASA legislation situation from the perspective of how the various bills would affect the Marshall Space Flight Center and the city. In the article, one area congressman, Robert Aderholt (R-AL), said there was “behind-the-scenes lobbying by special interest groups” to get the House to vote […]

Augustine’s “lukewarm endorsement” of Senate NASA bill, and more

By Jeff Foust on 2010 September 16 at 7:04 am ET

What does the head of the committee that proposed options for the future of human spaceflight think of the legislation currently making its way through Congress? Space News put the question to Norm Augustine, and got a “lukewarm endorsement” of the Senate bill. “I am of course prepared to address â€˜facts,â€™ and I believe it […]

More opposition to House NASA authorization bill

By Jeff Foust on 2010 September 15 at 7:13 am ET

If there are supporters of the House’s version of the NASA authorization bill, they’re not nearly as vocal as the opponents of the legislation, as a couple more recent examples illustrate. Yesterday the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW), the lobbying arm of Citizens Against Government Waste, decried the bill as “sole source space […]

Briefly: standing up for ULA, SpaceX and India, and decolonizing NASA

By Jeff Foust on 2010 September 14 at 7:22 am ET

In an editorial Monday, the Decatur (Ala.) Daily opposes provisions of the Senate NASA authorization bill and accompanying report that define what a heavy-lift launch vehicle should look like. The editorial is a followup to an article Sunday that described how “the overly prescriptive legislation”, which mandates a shuttle-derived design, would rule out a role […]

Where not everybody knows your name

By Jeff Foust on 2010 September 12 at 2:23 pm ET

Let’s say you’re a major aerospace company. You have a significant presence in a state, employing hundreds of people. Your work plays a critical role in both national security and civil space activities. You might assume that political leaders in that state would be familiar with your company’s work, or have, at least, heard of […]

Crafting an ideal (for some) authorization bill

By Jeff Foust on 2010 September 10 at 6:27 am ET

As some space advocates seek to block the House’s version of a NASA authorization bill, others have expressed support for at least key elements of the legislation. At a roundtable on Capitol Hill Thursday organized by the Space Transportation Association, former NASA administrator Mike Griffin offered his ideas of what he would like to see […]

More lobbying against House NASA bill

By Jeff Foust on 2010 September 9 at 8:40 pm ET

With the House set to return from an extended summer recess next week, and presumably try to pick up where they left off on issues such as HR 5781, its version of a NASA authorization bill, opponents of the legislation are stepping up their efforts. The Space Access Society, which had not been actively involved […]

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