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Projects: Space Advocacy

Budgeting for a New Year, Preparing for a New Administration

by Louis Friedman

June 3, 2008

NASA's budget for fiscal year 2009 is currently making its way through the legislative process on Capitol Hill, and The Planetary Society is keeping a close watch over the proceedings. We seek sufficient funds that will allow NASA to pursue a balanced program of exploring space and observing Earth.

Back in February the Administration unveiled its NASA budget for 2009, and the proposed funding levels are now under consideration by the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. The Planetary Society has taken a generally favorable position on the President's proposal, which includes the restoration of several Earth-observing missions, a new "flagship" mission to the outer planets, and additional funding for the human exploration system that will succeed the shuttle. At the same time the Society strongly opposes the severe cutbacks to the Mars exploration program that were outlined in the President's budget. We have already written to Congress and made public statements on the issue, making our position known.

Congress is also discussing an "authorization bill" for NASA, which proposes nonbinding funding levels for the agency's activities. The House Science & Technology Committee has now passed a version of this bill, adding $2 billion to NASA's 2009 budget beyond the President's proposal, restoring some of the funds cut from Mars exploration, and providing strong support for international cooperation in Exploration and in Earth Science. The Planetary Society supports this bill, and has provided detailed comments about its provisions to the House Committee. In fact, parts of the bill seem to respond directly to recommendations we have made.

Unfortunately the authorization bill's prospects do not seem as promising on the Senate side of the Hill. While the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee has held hearings on the issue, it has not so far followed up with a bill of its own. Then, if the committee does ultimately produce its version of the bill, it will still need to bring it before the full Senate, and then mediate the differences between the House and Senate versions. Finally, even if all this preparatory work is completed successfully it is far from certain that Congress will then adopt the bill. Congress does not always pass authorization bills, and while it did so  for the fiscal years 2007-8 it does not necessarily mean that it will do so again for FY 2009.  We, nevertheless, remain hopeful, and have written to both the House and Senate asking them to pass an Authorization Bill similar to the one outlined by the House Science & Technology Committee.

With the Presidential campaign in full swing, all three remaining candidates have made some reference to space policy, with Senator Clinton issuing the strongest and most detailed endorsement of space science and exploration goals. The Planetary Society is in communication with members of all the campaigns, but has deliberately refrained from making the space program a campaign issue. Support for space exploration has traditionally been a non-partisan issue, and we believe it should remain that way. In preparation for the incoming administration, we have, over the past few months, taken the following steps:

• Convened a Workshop of Experts at Stanford University in cooperation with the Stanford Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Results from this workshop have been widely reported in the press and to Congress.
  
  
• Organized a series of Town Hall meetings seeking public comment on space exploration plans and possibilities.   Two meetings have been held in Boston and Atlanta, and the next one will take place in June in Palo Alto.Other meetings will be planned, and a “virtual” town hall will be hosted on our web site.
  
  
• Engaged NASA and other space agency officials involved in developing the “global exploration strategy” seeking more international cooperation and planning for both robotic and human missions ot the Moon and Mars. An article on the global strategy appeared in the September/October 2007 issue of The Planetary Report.
  
  
• Holding a special presentation for Congress on PLANET EARTH, in conjunction with a special issue of The Planetary Report planned for July/August.
  
  
• Preparing a “white paper” on space exploration that will be presented to Congress and the next administration. The paper will integrate the views of the Society, the results of the Workshop, and the views expressed at the Town Hall meetings.

These initiatives, we believe, will position us to take part in shaping the next administration's space policy.