Report from Washington, D.C.

Report from Washington

Written by: developer

by Charles A. Harris, Space Foundation Manager – Washington Operations

With a new Congress and new Administration in place, 2017 is off to a fast start. While legislation, executive actions and other initiatives are cropping up each day, there is very little activity on the space side. Several members of the Trump Administration’s NASA landing team have stayed on past the inauguration to serve at NASA headquarters, but it could be several more months before a new NASA administrator is confirmed.

Space-related priorities at the Department of Defense may begin to take shape a little quicker. General James Mattis was confirmed as Secretary of Defense on Inauguration Day, and on Jan. 23, the Trump Administration announced it has selected former U.S. Representative Heather Wilson as Secretary of the Air Force.

The space community is on the lookout for a NASA authorization bill to be introduced soon. Such a bill will likely mirror the NASA Transition Authorization Act of 2016, which the Senate passed under unanimous consent in the final hours of the 114th Congress, when the House had already adjourned for the year.

This article is part of Space Watch: February 2017 (Volume: 16, Issue: 2).


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