National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Sustained federal funding for the aerospace R&D, administered by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

Issue Before Congress

The major news for NASA in 1997 is the lack of severe budget cuts in the Administration's FY 1998 budget that were present in NASA's budget as recently as last year. For FY 1998, the Administration proposed a budget for NASA of $13.5 billion, which is approximately 1.5 percent less than what Congress appropriated in FY 1997. Under the plan, the NASA budget would be reduced to $13.2 billion in the year 2000, a level that would remain through 2002. NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin referred to the proposed budget as being "back and stable".

Funding for the Space Station remains an important issue for Congress due to a lack of progress on Russian components for the station. House Science Committee Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) traveled to Russia in February to see first hand how the project is progressing and intends to hold hearings on the Space Station this year.

Another pressing NASA-related issue for Congress is space commercialization. The House Science Committee led the way in the last Congress on this issue and passed the "Space Commercialization Promotion Act of 1996" to open up space to the private sector. The House passed the bill by voice vote late in the session, but the bill was not addressed in the Senate. Considerable support for the bill remains in the House, and it will likely be debated in the House later this year.

Champions and Players

Due to former Science Committee Chairman Bob Walker's (R-PA) retirement, Representative Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) now chairs the House Science Committee. Chairman Sensenbrenner chaired the Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics during the 104th Congress and is an ardent supporter of space commercialization legislation. Representative Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), former Chair of the Subcommittee on Energy and Environment, is currently the Chair of the Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics and has consistently opposed the Mission to Planet Earth (MTPE) program. On the minority side, Representative George Brown (D-CA) remains the Science Committee's Ranking Member, which assures a strong voice for the importance of federal investment in basic and applied research.

In the Senate, the MTPE program lost a chief proponent in former Commerce Committee Chairman Larry Pressler (R-SD). Senator John McCain (R-AZ) now chairs the committee and has spent a number of years working on aviation issues as a member and former Chair of the Subcommittee on Aviation. Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Ranking Member of the VA, HUD and Independent Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee, remains the strongest voice for NASA and the Goddard Space Flight Center, which is the center for all Earth science programs, including MTPE.

Supporting Arguments

Well-balanced and vigorous civil aeronautics and space programs are critical for advancing science and technology, and to improving economic competitiveness. Investments in civil aerospace R&D help to maintain our scientific, political and economic leadership in the modern world. Support for basic scientific research has stretched the vistas of imagination, expanding our knowledge of the solar system and the universe -- answering questions and creating new ones. Support for Earth Science programs has allowed us to turn our focus inward and begin the process of understanding our own planet.

The federal government's investment in long-term, high-risk, technology development and demonstration have paved the way for advancements in commercial aviation and satellite communications, and catalyzed industry products for a large, waiting market. Since its creation, NASA programs have symbolized U.S. preeminence in aerospace, setting the stage for international cooperation and the peaceful use of outer space.

Posted: December 31, 1997