RELEASE: Bipartisan Committee Approval for NASA Authorization
Washington, D.C. – The Committee on Science, Space, and Technology today approved Space Subcommittee Chairman Steven Palazzo’s (R-MS) NASA Authorization Act of 2014 (H.R. 4412) with unanimous bipartisan support. The bill, which includes a bipartisan Manager’s Amendment offered with Space Subcommittee Ranking Member Donna Edwards (D-MD), reaffirms Congress’s commitment to space exploration, and makes clear that human spaceflight is NASA’s primary goal.
Subcommittee Chairman Palazzo: “I would like to thank Chairman Smith, Ms. Edwards, and Ms. Johnson for their efforts in pulling together this agreement, as well as all of our staff who labored over this bill. I look forward to continuing our work to pass this bill on the House floor. I am proud that we are able to put our names on a bipartisan bill for the sake of our nation’s space program, national pride, and our national security.”
The NASA Authorization Act of 2014 continues the guidance Congress has given to NASA for nearly a decade by reaffirming a stepping stone approach to exploration in a go-as-you-can-afford-to-pay manner by developing an exploration roadmap. It supports the development on the Space Launch System and the Orion Crew Vehicle to push the boundaries of human exploration. It also asks NASA to better focus its efforts to end reliance on Russian rockets for access to the International Space Station and once more launch American astronauts on American rockets from American soil.
Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX): “Today’s bill ensures that NASA will continue to innovate and inspire. The scientists, engineers and astronauts who find creative and new solutions to the challenges of exploring the universe serve as role models for our students. NASA has accomplished some of the most awe-inspiring and technologically advanced space initiatives in the history of humankind. There is strong, bipartisan support for NASA’s unique role, and the Manager’s Amendment offered today reflects this.”
The bill also supports a science directorate that reflects the input from the scientific community and an aeronautics research directorate that contributes to our nation’s aerospace economy.
4/29/14
Magnolia Tribune
