Pulham to Testify before Subcommittee on Space

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Feb. 26, 2013) – Space Foundation Chief Executive Officer Elliot Pulham will cite the Space Foundation’s recent publication, PIONEERING: Sustaining U.S. Leadership in Space, when he testifies before the Subcommittee on Space Feb. 27 in Washington, D.C.

The Subcommittee on Space, which is part of the U.S. House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, is reviewing The Space Leadership Preservation Act of 2013 (SPLA), a bill introduced in the 112th Congress by Rep. John Culberson (R-TX) and Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) that is intended to depoliticize NASA by making the NASA administrator a 6-year appointed position and by creating a board of directors similar to the National Science Board that governs the National Science Foundation (NSF).

The hearing will be held at 10:00 a.m. EST, Feb. 27, in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington. It will be webcast live at http://science.house.gov/hearing/subcommittee-space-review-space-leadership-preservation-act.

The other scheduled witnesses are:

• The Honorable Frank R. Wolf, chairman, House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Science, Justice and Related Agencies
• The Honorable John Culberson, member, House Appropriations Committee
• A. Thomas Young, retired executive vice president, Lockheed Martin Corporation

Pulham will Focus on Pioneering Recommendations
In his testimony, Pulham will speak about the origins and processes associated with developing the PIONEERING report and how it intersects with ideas in the SPLA. Among the points he will make are:

• Pervasive, systemic problems have created serious challenges for NASA since the end of the Apollo missions 
• NASA should leverage its core strengths by adopting pioneering – being among those who first enter a region to open it for use and development by others – as its single organizational purpose that consistently and clearly guides decision-making about America’s civil space program

He will also discuss some specific recommendations including:

• De-politicizing NASA by establishing a renewable term for the administrator
• Establishing a formal short- and long-term planning and guidance framework for the agency
• Deploying financing, appropriation and procurement tools found in other parts of government to permit NASA the flexibility it needs to succeed
• Conducting a bottoms-up review of NASA infrastructure to maximize capability
• Streamlining the Space Act to focus NASA on its purpose and eliminate non-mission-essential responsibilities

About the Subcommittee on Space
The Subcommittee on Space has legislative jurisdiction and general oversight and investigative authority on all matters relating to astronautical and aeronautical research and development including: national space policy, including access to space; sub-orbital access and applications; NASA and its contractor and government-operated labs; space commercialization, including commercial space activities relating to the Departments of Transportation and Commerce; exploration and use of outer space; international space cooperation; the National Space Council; space applications, space communications and related matters; earth remote sensing policy; civil aviation and Federal Aviation Administration research, development and demonstration; and space law. The committee is chaired by Steven Palazzo (R-MS).

About the Space Foundation
The foremost advocate for all sectors of the space industry and an expert in all aspects of space, the Space Foundation is a global, nonprofit leader in space awareness activities, educational programs that bring space into the classroom and major industry events, including the National Space Symposium, all in support of its mission “to advance space-related endeavors to inspire, enable and propel humanity.” Based in Colorado Springs, Colo., the Space Foundation publishes The Space Report: The Authoritative Guide to Global Space Activity and conducts research and analysis and government affairs activities from its Washington, D.C., office. For more information, visit www.SpaceFoundation.org.