Comparing the two authorization bills

This morning the space subcommittee of the House Science Committee will markup its proposed NASA authorization act. There’s the potential for debate as the bill proposed by the committee’s Republican leadership clashes with one introduced earlier this week by Rep. Donna Edwards (D-MD), the ranking member of the space subcommittee. Both the updated “committee print” […]

House appropriators propose $16.6 billion for NASA

The House Appropriations Committee released Tuesday night its proposed Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) appropriations bill, scheduled to be marked up by the CJS subcommittee Wednesday morning. The bill offers just under $16.6 billion overall for NASA, compared to $17.7 billion in the administration’s fiscal year 2014 budget request. A comparison of the House bill […]

Edwards introduces alternative NASA authorization bill

Rep. Donna Edwards (D-MD), ranking member of the space subcommittee of the House Science Committee, announced Monday that she is introducing an alternative version of a NASA authorization bill that would approve additional funding for the space agency while giving it the goal of sending humans to Mars by 2030.

The text of the legislation, […]

House committees to take up NASA authorization, appropriations bills this week

Wednesday will be a big day for NASA in the House, and two key subcommittees markup legislation to both authorize and fund the space agency. At 10 am Wednesday, the space subcommittee of the House Science Committee will hold a hearing to markup the NASA Authorization Act of 2013. It’s not clear if this “committee […]

What NASA wants in an authorization bill

With the House considering a draft authorization bill that contains provisions the space agency and the White House are unlikely to agree with, NASA is offering some helpful suggestions to those working on a Senate version of such legislation. Space News reports NASA provided Senate staffers with a 35-page “legislative proposal” that features a number […]

Differences in FAA/AST funding presage NASA funding battle

The Senate Appropriations Committee passed a pair of fiscal year 2014 appropriations bills on Thursday, including one that funds the FAA. The Senate bill includes $17.011 million for the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation. That’s significantly more than what the House’s version of the same appropriations bill provided for the office: $14.16 million, a […]

Nelson warns of partisan “chaos” regarding NASA authorization

Immediately after the House Science Committee’s space subcommittee wrapped up its hearing on a draft NASA authorization bill Wednesday morning, Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) offered his views on the subject at a Space Transportation Association luncheon on the other side of Capitol Hill. Nelson, chairman of the space subcommittee of the Senate Commerce Committee, said […]

House hearing reveals concerns about proposed NASA authorization

When Wednesday’s hearing by the House Science Committee’s space subcommittee on a proposed 2013 NASA authorization act appeared on the calendar last week, many observers speculated the hearing might be the official introduction of the bill, setting the stage for a markup of the bill by the full committee and then consideration by the House […]

Asteroid mission plans in the House’s crosshairs

Members of the House of Representatives will discuss, and likely make plans to formally introduce, a NASA authorization bill later today in a hearing by the House Science Committee’s space subcommittee. A key element of that discussion will be a provision in a draft of the bill that has been circulating in the space community […]

House hearing next week on new NASA authorization bill

The House Science Committee’s space subcommittee has scheduled a hearing for the morning of Wednesday, June 19, titled “NASA Authorization Act of 2013.” The two scheduled witnesses are familiar faces for the committee: retired Lockheed Martin executive Tom Young and Cornell University planetary scientist Steve Squyres, who also chairs the NASA Advisory Council. The House […]