White House « Space Politics

A NASA budget veto threat?

By Jeff Foust on 2004 July 23 at 3:13 pm ET

SPACE.com reports that the White House has threatened to consider vetoing the NASA budget bill unless the agency’s requested funding levels are restored. Specifically, Josh Bolten, director of the Office of Management and Budget, wrote to House Appropriations Committee chairman Rep. C. W. Bill Young (R-FL), telling him the cuts made earlier in the week […]

Apollo 11, the President, and Barney

By Jeff Foust on 2004 July 22 at 10:44 pm ET

While many people were anticipating some sort of statement by the President this week to coincide with the 35th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing, Unfortunately, no such statement was released. Bush did meet privately Wednesday morning with the Apollo 11 crew (who had been feted the night before at the National Air and Space […]

Space policy is no political stunt

By Jeff Foust on 2004 July 18 at 10:47 am ET

In his keynote speech at the Return to the Moon conference Friday, Paul Spudis, a lunar scientist and one of the members of the Aldridge Commission, made some insightful comments about the relationship of space policy and presidential politics while talking about the reaction to President Bush’s January 14th speech:

Basically, he’s gotten a lot […]

An Apollo anniversary announcement?

By Jeff Foust on 2004 July 14 at 12:36 pm ET

That’s the suggestion made in a UPI article by Frank Sietzen published late Monday. He notes that the Apollo 11 crew is scheduled to meet with President Bush on July 21—one day after the 35th anniversary of the historic lunar landing—and that this private meeting might be followed by some kind of public statement by […]

Another Bush space speech in the works

By Jeff Foust on 2004 May 11 at 1:02 pm ET

That’s the claim of a UPI article by Frank Sietzen published Monday. Sietzen writes that, according to a “senior administration source”, Bush will make an address about his new space policy in early summer, which would be his first public statement on the policy since his January 14 speech announcing it (assuming he doesn’t say […]

Space exploration, immigration reform, and gay marriage

By Jeff Foust on 2004 April 5 at 1:16 pm ET

Those are topics you normally don’t associate with one another, but a front-page article in Monday’s Washington Post has found a common thread: all are subjects of highly-publicized Bush Administration initiatives (in favor of or against) that have since languished in Congress because of a perceived lack of a concerted follow-through by the White House:

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Karen Hughes and the State of the Union

By Jeff Foust on 2004 March 28 at 12:55 pm ET

Much has been made of the omission of the President’s new space initiative from his State of the Union address in January. On at least one occasion NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe defended the omission because the President had devoted an entire speech to the plan less than a week earlier and because the address is […]

Bush and the Kennedy moment

By Jeff Foust on 2004 February 24 at 9:54 am ET

Tuesday’s Washington Times has an op-ed piece by Jim Muncy on the Bush space policy. For those who weren’t able to attend the Georgetown Law School panel session on the policy that included Muncy, this commentary is very similar to his remarks there, although he spoke in much greater detail during the panel. Towards the […]

Ten myths about the Bush space plan

By Jeff Foust on 2004 February 20 at 10:00 am ET

At a panel discussion Tuesday night at Georgetown Law School, Jim Muncy of PoliSpace provided a top ten list of myths about the Bush space plan, provided below in a slightly-paraphrased form from my notes:

10) The Bush agenda is responsible for killing Hubble. 9) It leaves us dependent on the Russians. 8) It’s a […]

Bush backs Aldridge

By Jeff Foust on 2004 February 11 at 6:13 am ET

The White House went on the record Tuesday in its support for Pete Aldridge, chairman of the commission reviewing the implementation of the new space policy, Reuters reports. A White House spokesperson said that the President “is supportive of Mr. Aldridge and is grateful to him for accepting this position to serve.” A couple weeks […]

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