Public Policy and Government Affairs
House Passes Cyber Bill
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA)on April 18, directing the federal government to conduct cybersecurity activities to provide shared situational awareness in real time between all designated federal cyber operations centers and the appropriately approved private sector entities. The bill has been referred to the Senate. However,…
Senate Armed Services Subcommittee Hearing Report
The Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces held a hearing on April 24, “Military Space Programs and Views on Department of Defense Usage of the Electromagnetic Spectrum.” Senators in attendance included: Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE) Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), ranking member, Strategic Forces Subcommittee Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO) Hearing witnesses were: Douglas Loverro, deputy assistant secretary…
President Signs Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act
Last month, President Obama signed the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2013 into law to avoid a government shutdown and fund the Federal government through the final six months of the 2013 fiscal year. While the bill provides the Department of Defense and NASA with an updated budget for FY 2013, rather than have…
Summary of March Oversight Hearings
A number of oversight hearings affecting space and cyberspace were held during March in Washington, D.C. The following is an overview of those hearings: Senate Armed Services Committee “U.S. Strategic Command and U.S. Cyber Command in review of the Defense Authorization Request for Fiscal Year 2014 and the Future Years Defense Program” March 12 Testimony at…
Pulham Talks Pioneering with Subcommittee on Space
Space Foundation Chief Executive Officer Elliot Pulham heavily cited the Space Foundation’s recent publication, PIONEERING: Sustaining U.S. Leadership in Space, when he testified before the Subcommittee on Space Feb. 27 in Washington, D.C. The Subcommittee, which is part of the U.S. House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, held the hearing to review The Space…
Congressional Committee and Subcommittee Assignment Update Available
The Space Foundation has updated our document that outlines committee and subcommittee assignments for the 113th Congress. The update includes recent action by several key committees to assign members to subcommittees with direct oversight for space and cybersecurity policy matters. The Senate Strategic Forces Subcommittee announced its leadership and membership roster for the 113th Congress:…
Hearing Examines Impact of Sequestration
The Senate Armed Services Committee held an oversight hearing in February on “Impacts of Sequestration and/or a full-year Continuing Resolution (CR) on the Department of Defense.” Testimony made at the hearing indicated that sequestration and the full-year Continuing Resolution will have a deleterious impact on the DoD’s future readiness and ability to transition away from…
Space Foundation Participates in Space Sustainability Conference
The Space Foundation, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and Secure World Foundation (SWF) teamed up to host a luncheon and panel discussion on Capitol Hill on Feb. 20 to address the importance of sustainability in outer space. The briefing was a reminder for policy makers that the United States relies upon space…
MIT Interns Assist with The Space Report 2013
Two students from the MIT Externship Program spent their winter Independent Activity Period between fall and spring semesters as interns at the Space Foundation’s Washington, D.C., office. In addition to exposure to government affairs and space policy activities, they assisted with the production of the soon-to-be-published The Space Report 2013. The two interns are: Claire…
Baker Panel Discusses Space Policy
When the Space Shuttle program ended in July 2011, the United States lost its capacity to launch humans into space. U.S. astronauts are now flying to space in Russian spacecraft, and if the nation does regain such a capability, it may be provided by commercial companies. In the interim, NASA has initiated the development of…