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Planetary News: Space Policy (2005)Winners and Losers in Proposed 2006 NASA Budget; Planetary Society Presents to CongressReport from Capitol Hill
NASA Budget Proposal Submitted to CongressPresident Bush continued to support NASA and the Vision for Space Exploration in the 2006 budget request, delivered to Congress on February 7. NASA's 2006 budget is proposed at $16.45 billion -- a 2.4 percent increase over 2005. While the White House had projected an increase of 3.1 percent, NASA is one of the few non-defense related agencies to see an increase. Winners in the proposed 2006 budget include exploration activities such as the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) -- which has small cuts, but remains on schedule; the Space Shuttle -- which has increased to $5 billion including increases for Return to Flight, the International Space Station -- receiving $1.8 billion and a stable Space Science Budget. The biggest losers in budget submission include the Hubble Servicing Mission -- which was cancelled, the JIMO Mission -- which has been deferred in favor of nearer term technology demonstrations of nuclear reactor technology and Aeronautics -- which is seeing a 25% decrease over the next 4 years. The Congress has only been back a few weeks and already there is significant activity related to NASA and the space program. The House and Senate Committees that oversee NASA's Authorization and Appropriations legislation have some new leadership. Perhaps even more significantly, both the House and Senate are contemplating moving NASA's budget to new Committees. While some of these decisions have been made, we could still be weeks away from a final decision. The Chair of the Senate Authorization Sub-Committee that oversees NASA will now be Senator Kay-Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), the ranking member of the Sub-Committee will be Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL). The House Authorization Sub-Committee that oversees NASA will be chaired by Congressman Ken Calvert (R-CA), with the Democratic leadership of Congressman Mark Udall (C-CO). While Congress has not passed an Authorization Bill for several years, Committee Members from both the House and Senate are already saying they fully intend to pass such legislation in this Congress. The proposed changes to the Appropriations Committees are not yet final, but it appears that the House is poised to move NASA from the VA-HUD and Independent Agencies Sub-Committee, to a newly created Appropriations Sub-Committee on Commerce, State and Science. The Republicans have announced that Congressman Frank Wolfe (R-VA) will Chair this newly created Sub-Committee. The Democrats have not yet announced their new Committee leadership. Meanwhile, Senate Appropriators have not agreed to a similar new structure for Appropriations. Without a similar change in the Senate, it will be extremely difficult to align the separate spending bills at the end of the year. If this is the ultimate outcome, it makes it more and more likely that Congress will continue to pass an omni-bus spending bill each year, instead of the 13 separate spending bills. The key issues facing Congress in relation to NASA this year include: Servicing the Hubble Space Telescope, planning for the retirement of the Space Shuttle, severe cut-backs to aeronautics, and delay of the JIMO Mission. Already, the full House Science Committee held their first Hearing on the NASA Budget. Overwhelming concern over the fate of the Hubble Space Telescope was top on the list of questions. Acting NASA Administrator Fred Gregory appeared at the hearing, along with the Associate Administrators of all four NASA Mission Directorates and the NASA Comptroller. The 3-hour hearing allowed members of the Science Committee from both sides of the aisle to question the NASA witnesses on their significant concerns. Summing up some of the key issues and the general frustrations of the Congress, Chairman of the Committee, Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) stated: "There are a lot of fundamental questions that NASA still isn't ready to answer. That's not a criticism of the Agency. That's just a description of where they are in the planning process, and we have to keep it in mind. What are some examples? They can't tell us what research will be done aboard the Station. They can't tell us how many more Shuttle flights will be scheduled. They can't tell us how they're going to get around the Iran Non-Proliferation Act. They can't tell us how many people the CEV will carry or whether it will go to the Space Station. They can't tell us what we might do when we get to the moon. They obviously can't tell us whether the Shuttle will once again fly successfully." NASA will have the opportunity to clarify these questions and many others as the Congress debates the future of the space agency. Planetary Society Presents to CongressOn February 10, 2005, The Planetary Society made a presentation in Washington DC for members of Congress, their staff and their families. "Mars: A New World for Humankind" featured Steven Squyres, principal investigator for the Mars Exploration Rovers; Bill Nye the Science Guy, the Society’s Vice President; and Louis Friedman, the Society's Executive Director, as moderator. Never in over 20 years working in the Washington DC space community have I seen so many Congressional Staff gather for an event as they did for this one. Over 40 Congressional staffers sat listening intently to Squyres and Nye for an hour and a half. Plus another 15 or so space community and industry representatives came as well. Squyres and Nye did a brilliant job conveying the wonder and excitement of Mars exploration, with Squyres outlining so many new discoveries from Spirit and Opportunity, it made heads spin. Then Nye wowed them with his charismatic description of the Mars Sun Dial and other ways in which The Planetary Society has been involved in Mars exploration. Both speakers emphasized the message that robots are the precursor to human missions and, most importantly, that exploring Mars is one of the most significant endeavors humanity can undertake. The audience asked such excellent questions, we could easily have spent another 30 minutes on Q&A alone. After the event, people lined up to have Nye sign their issue of The Planetary Report. A typical "talk" on Capitol Hill attracts 4 or 5 staffers at most. The turnout and enthusiasm for our event was a huge success for The Planetary Society and for space exploration.Lori Garver is an aerospace consultant in Washington, D.C. Until January, 2001 Ms. Garver was the Associate Administrator for Policy and Plans at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), where she oversaw the analysis, development, and integration of NASA policies and long-range plans, the NASA Strategic Management System, the NASA Advisory Council, and History Division. Prior to this appointment, Ms. Garver served as a Senior Policy Analyst for the Office of Policy and Plans and as Special Assistant to the NASA Administrator. Before joining NASA, Ms. Garver was Executive Director of the National Space Society, a space advocacy organization dedicated to the creation of a spacefaring civilization. In her position she served as the organizations' primary spokesperson, appearing on national television and regularly testifying on Capitol Hill. Ms. Garver began her career in Washington, D.C. working for Senator John Glenn from 1983-1984. She is a recipient of both the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal and the NASA Distinguished Service Medal as well as the National Space Society's Space Pioneer Award. Ms. Garver received an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from Colorado College in 2000. She holds a Masters degree in Science, Technology and Public Policy from the George Washington University and her Bachelors degree in Political Science and Economics from Colorado College. |
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