I voted yes on the motion to suspend the rules and pass #HR4412, National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2014. The bill reauthorizes funding for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for FY 2014 at $17.6 billion. Because these funds have already been appropriated through the omnibus appropriations bill Congress passed at the beginning of the year (which I opposed), this funding authorization has little practical effect. The primary purpose of the bill is to set and clarify NASAs goals for the year. Broadly, the bill provides that the goal of the NASA human spaceflight program is to successfully conduct a crewed mission to the surface of Mars to begin human exploration of that planet, and it requires NASA to develop an exploration roadmap to achieve that goal. It also requires NASA to prepare a report on near-Earth space objects—including an analysis of possible options to divert an object on a likely collision course with Earth—and requires NASA to maintain a strong aeronautics research portfolio, among other things. Unfortunately, under this bills direction, NASA will continue to perform some activities that are unnecessary and should be left to the private sector. However, much of NASAs work has important defense implications, and I support reauthorizing its primary space exploration and research functions. It passed 401-2.
Posted on: Sun, 22 Jun 2014 20:01:34 +0000
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