Posted on 02/01/2007 9:45:45 AM PST by Fitzcarraldo
PRESS RELEASE
Date Released: Wednesday, January 31, 2007
< Source: Rep. Dave Weldon
If Enacted, Would Be Worst Cuts to Space Exploration Since 1993
Urges Senate to Reverse Irresponsible Choice by House Dems
In a fiscal year 2007 budget released today, the new Democrat majority proposed sweeping cuts to NASA's budget that could jeopardized the future of space exploration. U.S. Rep. Dave Weldon, M.D. (R-FL), who represents many workers from NASA and Kennedy Space Center, called the cuts draconian, saying the Democrat leadership is using NASA and our nation's space program as a piggy bank for other liberal spending priorities.
"The raid on NASA's budget has begun in earnest. The cuts announced today by House Democrat leaders, if approved by Congress, would be nearly $400 million less than NASA's current budget," said Weldon.
"Clearly, the new Democrat leadership in the House isn't interested in space exploration. Their omnibus proposal lists hundreds of new increases, including a $1.3 billion increase‹over 40% for a Global AIDS fund, all at the expense of NASA."
Much of the proposed cuts would come from NASA's Exploration budget, which includes funding for the new Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV), the future replacement for the current shuttle fleet. According to Weldon, these particular cuts would jeopardize thousands of jobs in Florida, Alabama, and Texas.
Weldon today led a bi-partisan group of colleagues, including Reps. Ralph Hall (D-TX), and Tom Feeney (R-FL), in offering two amendments to the bill that would restore NASA's funding.
"Rank-and-file Democrats and Republicans alike are aghast at the treatment the Democrat Leadership has shown to NASA. To gut the exploration account in particular is clearly meant to be a stick in the eye to the President and the initiative he announced three years ago."
Speaker Pelosi is not expected to allow any amendments to today's omnibus bill, continuing the closed legislative process that has plagued the current Congress since its opening day. Consequently, Weldon said the future of NASA funding will likely hinge on the Senate.
"The Senate leadership, including Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), has yet to speak to the draconian cuts being proposed. I hope they're alerted to the message the House sent today and will propose funding in line with NASA's overall mission and the President's original request to ensure a smooth transition to the new launch vehicle."
Keep in mind as well - Democrats tend to be "settlers", whereas once upon a time we were a nation of pioneers. They'd rather focus on the past or plow money into failing programs that don't work, time and again, rather than looking towards the future (or our descendants' future for that matter).
That is incorrect. As you know, the Treaty is the main impediment to space development.
Dems - soooooooo short sighted.
Right there is a problem. It is not necessary to do any more science in space at all, if indeed any science has yet been done in space. Repeal the Treaty and get the Socialists out of our way.
It was a NASA "scientist" who started the whole Global Warming scam.
You really don't get this, do you?
If they rule up there, they will, ipso facto, rule down here.
It's as simple as that.
CA....
No, my wording stunk and I misspelled a key word to boot. I believe is a funded (fully I might add) agency and thus exempted from the bidding process.
There-in lies one of the major sources of Nasa's inefficiency. No reason what-so-ever to continue to allow Nasa to hemorage money because everything they do is on a defacto no-bid contract. And one where they only have to be accountable to some congressional committee; a committee which can easily be bought off with a tiny fraction of the money Nasa has already been given.
That or park statues of congresscritters. Those pretty statues do a lot for the pigeon population.
Are you really that uninformed?
Wow.
I am just a realistic person.
Heinlein fan?
The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress is a classic.
The U.S.A needs Nasa to exist as much as it needs the UAW to exist.
Ever notice how the anti-NASA folks don't know jack sh*! about science? I'm not qualified to offer an opinion on how well a heart/lung transplant surgeon does his job, so I don't.
"Watch China swarm outer space"
Democrats have benn OUTFORCING American jobs to China for decades, why should NOW be any different??
No. Just woefully uninformed. This thread has fully demonstrated your ignorance on the subject. We may well agree on other things, but on this subject, I'm glad someone else is making policy.
Me too...
Absolutely untrue. The contract I won and worked on was done on a competitive bid basis. So was much of the Apollo program. North American won the CSM contract. Grumman won the lunar module contract. Other contractors built parts of the Saturn V. The contract I bid on and won was a competitive process. I think there were six bidders in all. The selection criterion was the usual "lowest and best".
Please be careful playing fast and loose, posting opinions and speculation rather than facts. A good resource on FR is people who have actually done this kind of work. We know the process and how it is done.
Sounds like a plan. As far as I am concerned, space truly is the new frontier and whoever gets someplace first and claims it, owns it. I never did like that treaty.
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