And it's arguably even worse than the Senate version, gutting commercial space and preserving remnants of a program that will never fly. Background: there was a fight between proponents and critics of Constellation, the centerpiece of Bush's space policy. But the funding never materialized, no surprise since it could have topped $50 billion, and a panel of experts recommended not wasting resources on it unless the funding levels were greatly increased. That fight is over, Constellation isn't going to be funded. The fight now is between preserving a handful of jobs at NASA related to Constellation even though it will never fly, or using that money for other projects.
Obviously jobs are important, but only a few lucky NASA jobs would be preserved by token funding of parts of the defunct program -- naturally favored by giant aerospace contractors -- and everyone else is SOL. Even then it would come at the price of other, viable projects that might actually further space exploration and which also represent jobs. Guess which path the House bill takes?
The bill (H.R. 5781), approved by the House Science and Technology Committee July 22, fully funds NASA’s $19 billion request for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1, but guts a White House proposal to spend $5.9 billion over the next five years fostering development of commercial vehicles to ferry astronauts to and from Earth orbit. Although the measure includes $150 million for privately developed space taxis through 2013 and another $300 million in the form of government-backed loans or loan guarantees, it would also continue much of the work being done under NASA’s Constellation program ...
If Congress continues in this manner it virtually guarantees the US won't have a manned rocket to replace the shuttle for years to come, if ever. And in the event one is developed before 2020 it will cost tens of billions when there are already commercial alternatives available at a fraction of that cost. Crazy.
Update: Take Action: To give Speaker Pelosi the backing she needs to fix NASA, please call her office (202.225.0100) tonight or tomorrow morning to say, "Please don't rush the NASA bill for a vote Friday, we need time for a real debate." It is also effective to call Majority Leader Steny Hoyer's office at 202.225.3130. Every phone call counts before Friday afternoon.