Senate NASA bill harms Glenn
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
U.S. Rep. Steven C. LaTourette (R-Bainbridge Township) will vote
against a Senate-passed version of the NASA reauthorization bill
because NASA Glenn and Plum Brook Station fare poorly in the bill,
it puts a nail in the coffin of manned space travel, and it
outsources our national security.
LaTourette asked Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-Cleveland) to
help circulate a letter to members of the Ohio delegation to oppose
the Senate version of the bill, arguing the House version is more
protective of NASA Glenn and Plum Brook Station research and
jobs. The letter is circulating now.
The Senate version of the bill is opposed by the Greater
Cleveland Partnership and former NASA administrator Mike
Griffin. The former NASA head yesterday urged House members
to oppose the bill, calling it a "poor authorization bill."
Griffin added: "….it is time once again to ask ourselves
whether we want to have a real space program, or not. If we do,
then the Senate Bill won't get us there."
LaTourette said he cannot in good conscience support the Senate
bill because it will lead to job losses at NASA Glenn and will
reduce its funding for research. It will also force
NASA to be completely dependent on the commercial sector for crew
and cargo transportation to the International Space Station
(ISS).
"This Administration seems to believe our astronauts will soon
be able to catch a ride on a private sector rocket to the space
station, but no such vehicle exists. Under this bill, we'll
be dependent on Russia or China to get our astronauts to the space
station, threatening our national security," LaTourette said.
Hitching a ride will not be cheap, LaTourette added, noting that
NASA in April signed a contract to pay nearly $56 million per
astronaut for six Americans to fly to the space station on a
Russian rocket in 2013-2014. Each astronaut will be able to
bring just 110 pounds of cargo, and can return with just 37 pounds
of cargo, plus trash.
LaTourette said it will be a sad day for NASA if S. 3729
passes.
"This is a bad bill, and I will not hold my nose and vote for
it. You can't be a supporter of NASA, manned space travel and
NASA Glenn and support this Senate-authored bill," LaTourette
said.
S. 3729 will be voted on in the House later today.
Here is the text of the letter by LaTourette and Kucinich that
was sent to Ohio members yesterday:
Dear Ohio Colleague:
We write in support of the 2010 National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) Authorization compromise legislation as
proposed by the House Science and Technology Committee and in
opposition of the Senate NASA Authorization. We believe the House
compromise bill has substantial benefits to the Glenn Research
Center (NASA Glenn) and Plum Brook Station, and that the bill is
the best path forward for NASA and the United States' human space
flight program.
The House Authorization contains a rededication of significant
resources toward aeronautics and space research and development
(R&D) programs that is critical for sustaining in-house
intellectual competencies necessary for future mission success and
for developing a fiscally realistic and sustainable, yet ambitious
human space flight program. It contains a total of $1.70 billion in
Aeronautics funding over the next three years and is authorized at
$580 million for Fiscal Year (FY) 2011. This is a vital $73 million
increase over FY2010 enacted funding levels for the aeronautics
sector which is fundamental to the economy. The Space
Technology account is funded at $600 million for FY2011 and over $1
billion for FY2012 and FY2013, providing research centers like NASA
Glenn with the necessary resources to perform more R&D research
that is critical for development of next generation technologies to
support future key NASA missions over the next decade such as
Solar-Electric Propulsion and High Efficiency Space Power
Systems. Furthermore, we believe NASA Glenn could play an
important leadership role in the new Exploration Technology
Development (EDT). The House bill allocates a total of $1.19
billion to EDT with $300 million for FY2011, $437 million for
FY2012 and $449 million in FY2013. Although EDT has not been
assigned to a NASA Center, we believe that in the coming months
with the delegation's effort, NASA Glenn has the infrastructure and
expertise to operate this program like no other center.
The House Authorization bill also includes necessary workforce
protections for civil servants during NASA's transition to the new
programs. Workforce protections are important to prevent
knowledge gaps in the agency's aging workforce and to mitigate
other negative impacts on the workforce and the long-term
implications on the industrial base.
We further believe that it is in our national security interest
to have the ability to send astronauts into space. The House
Authorization bill provides for a Crew Launch Vehicle (CLV) that
ensures that the US will have government access to space without
having to rely on China and Russia if the United States commercial
space sector is unable to provide access. Furthermore, the
House Authorization bill provides important protections for U.S.
taxpayers by mandating that a commercial space sector company
provide 50 percent of company money to match the government's
contribution toward capital received under the commercial
crew/cargo transportation program. It also calls for NASA to
begin work immediately on a Heavy Lift Vehicle (HLV) that will
enable us to explore beyond Low Earth Orbit.
These significant investments in Aeronautics, Space Technology
and EDT, combined with work NASA Glenn will receive from the next
CLV and HLV, will ensure that NASA Research Centers such as NASA
Glenn will receive as much, if not more, work than they were
originally planned to have.
The Senate bill, in contrast, could cause over 250 contractors
to lose their jobs and up to 250 civil servants will not be used to
their capacity. The State of Ohio cannot afford the loss of
these jobs. The Senate bill requires NASA to be completely
dependent on the commercial sector for crew and cargo
transportation to the International Space Station (ISS), provides
no government-vehicle back up, and levees a severely reduced Space
Technology program. Additionally, it requires no minimum
investment of funds by companies that submit proposals to receive
taxpayer funds. The capability of the commercial space
industry to provide a fully reliable cargo transportation service
has yet to be demonstrated and as such, we cannot support
legislation that provides the government with no other option than
to rely exclusively on the commercial sector.
As stalwart supporters of NASA Glenn and its unparalleled
workers, we support the Gordon compromise and oppose the Senate
bill. We encourage you to do the same and work with us in
requesting to House leadership that we bring Chairman Gordon's
compromise bill to the floor for consideration.