Report from Washington, D.C.


Major Reviews Readied as Congress Takes Break

Written by: developer

Major Reviews Readied as Congress Takes Break August is traditionally a very quiet time in Washington, D.C., when Congress goes out of session for the month to spend time in their home states to meet with constituents. Therefore, the various NASA and the Department of Defense spending bills are paused until Congress reconvenes.

There are several space policy reviews that have been working through the summer; the most public of which is the work being done by the Review of U.S. Human Space Flight Committee (often referred to as the Augustine Commission).

The Committee has held a number of public hearings and is now preparing the options to be presented to the President and pre-briefing the appropriate officials. The House and Senate will hold public hearings in mid-September on the Committee’s findings.

Concurrently, there is a Department of Defense Space Posture Review and a White House Space Policy Review being led by the National Security Council. All these reviews will help shape the next major decisions the Obama administration makes on all aspects of U.S. space programs and policies.
 

This article is part of Space Watch: September 2009 (Volume: 8, Issue: 9).


Posted in Report from Washington, D.C.