Washington Updates

by Jillianne Pierce, Space Foundation Government Affairs AssociateDuring the month of July, members of Congress held meetings in an attempt to reconcile differences and get budgets passed in advanced of the August recess. The federal budget is comprised of 12 separate spending bills, each with nuances on which the political parties and chambers have differing…

During June, space-related bills continued to move on Capitol Hill. On the civil side, on June 3, the House adopted an amendment sponsored by Jim Bridenstine (R-OK) and co-sponsored by Bill Posey (R-FL) and Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), which added $250,000 to the FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST) in the FY2016 Transportation-Housing and Urban…

Space Foundation Chief Executive Officer Elliot Pulham visited Washington, D.C., during the first week of June, attending meetings with various government leaders, including: Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), and Congressmen Doug Lamborn (R-CO) and Adam Schiff (D-CA), co-chairs of the House Space Power Caucus. Pulham and the…

The month of May was a transformative time for many pieces of space legislation. Legislative proposals for civil, commercial and national security space were introduced, marked up and voted on. Here’s a top-line view of where they stand at present. Civil Space: On May 20, the House Appropriations Committee approved the FY16 Commerce-Justice-Science (CJS) appropriations…

While our entire Space Foundation team was focused on executing the 31st Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, significant developments were taking place throughout the month here in Washington. After a unanimous vote on April 27, Dava Newman was confirmed by the Senate as Deputy Administrator of NASA. Newman will succeed Lori Garver, who departed NASA…

Wanda Austin, Ph.D., Aerospace Corporation president and CEO, has been selected by President Barack Obama to serve on President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Austin also serves on the Space Foundation Board of Directors. PCAST is an advisory group of the nation’s leading scientists and engineers who directly advise the President and the…