Washington Updates

Space Foundation Research Analyst Dr. Mariel Borowitz was a featured panelist at the Secure World Foundation event on July 15, Earth Observation Satellite Data-Sharing: Policies and Partnerships.About 70 people attended the discussion, held at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, D.C., including academics and representatives from the Canadian and French embassies and from the…

In June, the Space Foundation Washington, D.C. office, in coordination with USAF Legislative Affairs and the Air Force Association, hosted a “lunch and learn” session focused on USAF space programs for congressional staffers on Capitol Hill. Nearly 60 staffers participated and speakers included: Gil Klinger, deputy assistant secretary of defense for space and intelligence, Office of…

The House Space Subcommittee introduced draft legislation to reauthorize programs at NASA for two years, including a topline budget of more than $16.8 billion dollars for NASA. The draft legislation comes after the Subcommittee held several hearings this year to gather information that would be used to help inform their bill, including testimony by Space…

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…

This summer, the Space Foundation is pleased to welcome three interns who will provide valuable assistance to team members at both our World Headquarters and our Washington, D.C., office. Carolyn Belle (pictured, top right) joins us for a 10-week summer internship in the D.C. office. She will be conducting research for the Space Foundation’s research…

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.…

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.…

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…

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…

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…