Jun 26, 2009 01:00 PM in Space | Post a comment
NASA gains Senate support over budget cuts proposed by House
By John Matson
The budgetary committee of the U.S. Senate yesterday approved a bill that would give NASA all the money President Obama requested for the agency for fiscal year 2010, undoing a proposed House cut of roughly half a billion dollars.
The House bill slashed funds from the space agency's programs for human exploration, with the chair of the appropriations subcommittee, West Virginia Democrat Alan Mollohan, calling it "a pause, a time-out" while a White House–convened panel chaired by former aerospace executive Norman Augustine reviews NASA's human spaceflight program.
In a statement of policy issued last week, the Obama administration praised in broad terms the House bill, which covers numerous federal agencies, but expressed concern "with the reduction of $670 million from the president's...request for Exploration Systems" at NASA. Such a reduction, the administration cautioned, would actually impede the implementation of the Augustine panel's recommendations.
"We do not agree with the House strategy," said Sen. Barbara Mikulski, a Maryland Democrat who chairs the Senate appropriations subcommittee responsible for science, as reported by Florida Today. "We agree with the president's budget."
If the full Senate version passes as written, the two legislative houses will have to hammer out a compromise.
Photo of test hardware at Kennedy Space Center in Florida for next-generation Ares rockets, whose future is uncertain pending a review of NASA's human spaceflight plans: NASA
You Might Also Like
-
Deep Space 1 Cruises Past Comet Borrelly with Ease
-
NO SPACE SEX?
-
Human evolution appears to be associated with a trend toward greater
intelligence. Is there a discernible trend toward greater intelligence in other
species as well? And if cognitive ability confers an evolutionary advantage, why
are humans (apparently) so unique in this trait?
-
To Mars by Way of Its Moons
Discuss This Article
Subscription Center
Most Popular Blog Posts
9,000-year-old brew hitting the shelves this summer
New solar-cell efficiency record set
AIDS vaccine surprises scientists, proves partially successful
Is birth control the answer to environmental ills?
Editor's Pick
-
Adapting to the Freshwater CrisisForward-thinking experts are getting a better handle on the growing global water shortage and coming up with innovative approaches to ensuring the security, safety and sustainability of this resource
Space Newsletter
Get weekly coverage delivered to your inboxPodcasts
-
60-Second Earth
RSS ·
iTunes
The Jellyfish Menace
click to enable
-
60-Second Science
RSS ·
iTunes
Plants Share Light If Neighbor Is Related
click to enable
Slideshows
Fight to protect California condors from lead ammunition moves to Arizona
Circulation of LHC Beams Could Resume in Earnest over the Weekend
Measuring Up: New NIST Director, Plus Big Budget Put Measurement Science in Public Eye
How Long Can a Nuclear Reactor Last?
What to Do About Endocrine Disruptors? A Q&A with Linda Birnbaum



