Washington Updates

On July 17, the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee approved its version of the fiscal year funding legislation for the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies bill, which includes funding for NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) weather satellite programs. The bill would appropriate a topline budget of $16.6 billion dollars…

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…

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 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.…