Washington Updates

On July 13, the House Committee on Appropriations passed its FY 2012 Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies (CJS) bill, which includes funds for NASA and NOAA. The CJS bill would appropriate $16.8 billion in spending for NASA, which is $1.9 billion less than the President requested for FY 2012. In formulating the budget decrease, the…

Last month, the Space Foundation and the Washington, D.C., consulting group GS3 hosted a lunch and discussion session on space acquisition. The keynote speaker was Under Secretary of the Air Force Erin Conaton, who spoke about administration efforts to address acquisition and industrial base efforts and conducted a lively Q&A session. Conaton was followed by two in-depth panels…

The growing importance of cyberspace in our everyday lives was highlighted when the Department of Defense (DoD) unveiled its first strategy for operating in cyberspace. The opening phrase, “Cyberspace is a defining feature of modern life,” ties together the military, economic and social aspects of cyberspace in this new roadmap. During his announcement of this new…

In July, the White House proposed comprehensive revisions to the U.S. Export Administration Regulations (EAR). The Department of Commerce (DOC) published in the Federal Register a new regulatory construct to deal with the transfer of items from the United States Munitions List (USML) that the President determines no longer warrant control under the Arms Export…

The House of Representatives has passed its FY 2012 defense appropriations bill, H.R. 2219, which includes $530 billion in spending – $9 billion less than the President requested for fiscal year 2012. Despite the decrease, the legislation increases funding for the Department of Defense (DoD) by $17 billion over the FY 2011 budget. The Senate Appropriations Committee…

On June 22, the Senate confirmed former CIA director Leon Panetta to replace Robert Gates as Secretary of Defense. Also in June, the Senate Armed Services Committee passed S. 1254, the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2012. In total, the bill authorizes $547 billion in base funding for the Department of Defense, $5.9 billion…