Statement of Space Subcommittee Chairman Steven Palazzo Hearing on NASA’s FY2016 Budget Request
Statement of Space Subcommittee Chairman Steven Palazzo (R-Miss.)
NASA’s FY2016 Budget Request
Chairman Palazzo: The first and perhaps most important point I want to make today is that I believe the taxpayer’s investment in NASA is generally well spent, and that I support increasing NASA’s budget. Discretionary spending such as research and development investments at NASA are the seed corn of future economic growth. In order to preserve these activities, we must address the larger economic problems we face as a Nation.This involves either complying with the President’s Budget Control Act which caps discretionary spending, or figuring out how to repeal, replace, or amend it.
Unfortunately, the President’s budget proposal does not comply with his own Budget Control Act. Because the President failed to provide any constructive or workable guidance, Congress must now bear that burden. I had hoped that the Administration would have demonstrated leadership by proposing a realistic budget, but instead we were presented with a list of unfunded priorities.
At NASA alone, the President’s request exceeds the budget caps by $519 million. This isn’t to say that this is an unreasonable request. After all, the increase just keeps up with inflation. The concern that I have is that the Administration did not propose off-sets to account for the increase; did not propose a workable solution to repeal, replace, or amend the President’s Budget Control Act; and once again reorganizes priorities in previous bipartisan NASA funding bills that the President signed.
SpaceRef
4/16/15
Magnolia Tribune
