Report from Washington, D.C.
FY 2014 National Defense Authorization Act Status
The U.S. House of Representatives passed its version of the FY 2014 National Defense Authorization Act on June 14. The bill provides policy guidance to the Department of Defense (DoD), and authorizes funds to be appropriated for various defense programs, including space. The bill would fully authorize funds for major military space programs outlined in…
Committees with Space Jurisdiction Change Leadership
The opening of the 113th Congress welcomed 84 new members to the House of Representatives and 14 to the Senate. Several committees with jurisdiction over space saw changes to their leadership: Congressman Lamar Smith (R-TX) replaced Congressman Ralph Hall (R-TX) as the chairman of the House Science, Space, & Technology Committee due to term limits.…
White House Update: Budget, Sequestration, Space Sustainability
In January, the White House confirmed it would not submit its FY 2014 budget request to Congress in early February as required by law. The delay is due, in part, to the continued threat of sequestration to the FY 2013 and FY 2014 budgets. Currently sequestration is scheduled to go into effect on March 1.…
1248 Report Unveiled at the National Space Symposium
Ambassador Gregory L. Schulte, deputy assistant secretary of defense for space policy, U.S. Department of Defense, took advantage of the prestigious gathering of top space policymakers at the 28th National Space Symposium to announce a major report on space export control policy. Congress had requested the report from the Secretary of Defense and State in Section 1248…
Bills Affecting NASA, NOAA Budgets Released
On April 19, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) Appropriations bill, which funds several agencies, including NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The Senate bill would provide NASA with $19.399 billion in FY 2013, $1.6 billion above the President’s request. However, the increase is…
Committee Looks at JWST Future
Congress continues to discuss funding for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). On Dec. 6, the House Science, Space and Technology Committee held a hearing entitled The Next Great Observatory: Assessing the James Webb Space Telescope, where Committee Chair Rep. Ralph Hall (R-TX) stated his support for the JWST, adding that “NASA’s latest replan for…
December Brings Changes, Approvals, Funding
At the end of December, several key events took place affecting the future of the U.S. space program. On Dec. 20, NASA announced it was taking a modified approach to supporting commercial crew capability, saying it will “competitively award Space Act agreements for the next phase of the Commercial Crew Program,” rather than award contracts.…
NASA Budget Analysis Available
Despite a very contentious year between Congress and the White House, President Barack Obama signed a spending bill in November that sets the 2012 budget for NASA, bringing to an end several years of operation under restrictive Continuing Resolutions that underfunded the agency. According to Space Foundation Vice President – Washington Operations Brendan Curry, “This…
China is Topic of Hearing
The House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation held a hearing on Nov. 2 on Efforts to Transfer America’s Leading Edge Science to China. Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., warned against U.S. engagement with China on matters of technology. Ranking Member of the Subcommittee Rep. Russ Carnahan, D-Mo., expressed a different view, saying…
What's Next for U.S. Planetary Science?
In mid-November, the House Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics held a hearing on Exploring Mars and Beyond: What’s Next for U.S. Planetary Science. Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Steven Palazzo, R-Miss., called the Mars Sample Return Mission a “very expensive undertaking” and suggested an “obvious option would be to engage with the European…