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.

[RightWhale]

Should we wait for the other signatories to the Treaty to get their space developers interested? They'll be ready to go in a couple more centuries. It wouldn't be fair to go out ahead of these sluggards. Would it? Besides, we can make movies about how it would be to have a galactic economy and then we won't need to actually have a galactic economy. We can sit and watch our space movies by candlelight and eat treebark bread when our earth economy hits the dead end.

At least we'll still have our dreams.
--Don Quixote

[The_Victor]

More extravagent than a bridge to nowhere?

More extravagant than ~$800 bil spent on social entitlements?

[LibLieSlayer]

Many of us will be pro-active in our support of NASA. Cut out welfare, not the spirit which founded this country!

LLS

[RightWingAtheist]

If anti-science types like you weren't giving conservatism a bad name, the Republican party would get far more support from the scientific community

[RightWingAtheist]

Sometimes, it seems like the only conservative scientists left are on FR. :( Allan Bromley, why did you have to go so soon :(.

[RightWingAtheist]

Here's a hint: with both Gramm and Gingrich gone, what happened to both basic science funding, and government spending in general? Here's another hint: exactly the opposite of what they should be.

[KevinDavis]

We are going after the wrong targets..

[SunkenCiv]

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.

Less than $17 billion? That's all? ;')

[P-40]

Less than $17 billion?

Reminds me of a figure regarding supposedly fighting AIDS in Africa...

[napscoordinator]

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.


Me too!! I have always thought NASA was a waste.

[napscoordinator]

or spend billions on a failed education system...


From the looks of the chart was a surprise to me that the education department was decreased. That truly was a surprise.

[P-40]

I have always thought NASA was a waste.

You would find life rather different had there never been a NASA.

[napscoordinator]

You would find life rather different had there never been a NASA.

Could be true. I know satellites were part of it, so no TV. etc.

[P-40]

There is a fun site at NASA for Spinoff technology at:

http://www.sti.nasa.gov/tto/

[napscoordinator]

Thank you!! I am going to go lurk.

[Galveston Grl]

**If anti-science types like you weren't giving conservatism a bad name, the Republican party would get far more support from the scientific community**

I have a family full of scientists and I am not anti-science. I am anti socialist and as such, I don't much care for "scientists" acting as the mindless attack dogs
for the far Left's agenda. Science education is dominated by the far left these days and that there is a go along to get along fear among scientists. Science/Medical ethics is in deep trouble and it is going to undermine progress.

[RightWingAtheist]

Which members of your family are scientists, and what type of research do they do? And if you aren't anti-science, than why did you so vehemently attack scientific facts which don't jibe with your beliefs in your first post?

[Galveston Grl]

Prove to me you are a scientist. How do we know you are not just some leftist crackpot cause you sure act like one.

[RightWingAtheist]

Prove to me you are a scientist. How do we know you are not just some leftist crackpot cause you sure act like one.

I'm not a scientist, just a concerned citizen who considers it his duty to be scientific literate, just as it is my duty to stay informed and active about the political, economic and social affairs of this country. If I weren't, I never would have signed up here. I am committed not just to preserving the values and virtues which this country was built on, and helped to make it great, but to allowing them to flourish, and protecting them from all enemies. Science is one of those great pillars of American society, and I, and many others, will guard them to the inch of our lives against those who will try to smash them and pull them down. That is the essence of true conservatism.

[Dashing Dasher]

Psstttt... Over here.