Space Community Mourns Loss of DeLay’s Budget Influence

space.com ^ | 04/05/06 | Brian Berger

[KevinDavis]

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- The unexpected resignation of U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas), NASA’s most powerful ally in Congress, sent shockwaves through the space community.

DeLay, who stepped down as House majority leader last fall after being indicted in Texas, announced April 3 that he would not seek reelection this November and would be leaving Congress some time this year.

DeLay is credited with almost single handedly securing NASA’s congressional budget victories of the past two years and had vowed during a March 30 appropriations hearing to fight to get NASA more funding for 2007 than the $16.792 billion requested by the White House.

[KevinDavis]

[Altair333]

This is good news as far as I'm concerned. The notion of spending billions to go collect some more moon rocks seems like extravagance in this era of budget deficits.

[thoughtomator]

Bush's fault.

/needling

[Pyro7480]

More extravagent than a bridge to nowhere?

[KevinDavis]

Right.. Somehow getting rid of NASA is sure going to save us a lot of money.. Right... When the money is diverted from NASA, guess where the money will go.

[Names Ash Housewares]

NASA is not extravagance. Entitlements are.

[Zeppo]

The unexpected resignation of U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas), NASA’s most powerful ally in Congress, sent shockwaves through the space community.

So where were they when the Demo/Commies were spewing their filth and lies about him on a daily basis?

[P-40]

More extravagent than a bridge to nowhere?

Or to fight AIDS, supposedly, in Africa?

[KevinDavis]

That is a good question...

[KevinDavis]

or spend billions on a failed education system...

[RadioAstronomer]

The notion of spending billions to go collect some more moon rocks seems like extravagance in this era of budget deficits.

And all the engineers, scientists, machinists, IT guys, programmers, companies, innovation, schools, professors, ideas, spin-offs, inventions, tax revenue, leadership, etc. can be now converted to "fries with that"?

[Galveston Grl]

Somehow, I missed the big NASA space community of sciencists standing up for Delay or any Republican. All I have heard politically from scientists is a leftist wacko whining about the Republicans "hiding" his nutty research about global warming and the fruitcakes melting down over anyone daring to question the evolution THEORY. Scientists are purely democrat activists these days.

[KevinDavis]

That is true..

[LadyNavyVet]

There are some very important military uses of space. In another major war (think China) space will be the high ground. And in war, he who holds the high ground usually wins. The Chinese, not coincidentally, are very, very interested in space these days.

[P-40]

Scientists are purely democrat activists these days.

The ones you see most often in the MSM tend to fit that description. If they didn't, they would not be in the MSM.

[RightWhale]

$15 billion seems like a lot, but they sneeze bigger than that every day in DC. Anybody who doesn't think in $trillions is easy to ignore.

[RightWhale]

This is where the problem is. There are still a few who think about what gov't should or should not spend rather than about dropping the Treaty.

[RadioAstronomer]

Scientists are purely democrat activists these days.

Pretty clueless I see.

[King Prout]

drop the treaty.
let banks and other backers fund private venture corporations for for-profit exploration, ownership, and exploitation of extra-terrestrial resources.
we'd be up and away in less than a decade.