U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) and U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) are going to play major roles in the next phase of the American space program as the respective majority and minority leaders of the Senate Appropriations Committee commerce, justice and science subcommittee that oversees NASA spending. The first of what may prove to be several hearings on the NASA FY 11 space budget will begin on Thursday, March 25, 2010 - three weeks prior to President Obama's April 15 space conference.
Mikulski and Shelby were the subject of space policy discussion this past weekend in Baltimore and Huntsville newspapers. Both Senators will be critical in finding the political balance for America's space program to advance on Capitol Hill. Finding the balance between the President and the Congress and between government-sponsored and a commercial-driven national space program will be critical in the weeks, months, and even years ahead.
The Maryland Senator has a soft spot in her legislative heart for the spaceport at Wallops Island, Virginia (just across the state line) while Shelby will be focused on keeping the rocket engineers in Huntsville, Alabama busy building boosters designed to fly from Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
Meanwhile, the Congressional legislative in-box is beginning to *PING* with new legislation being offered by members of Congress, reports The Christan Science Monitor. Democrats and Republicans in favor of the planned Constellation moon landing are developing a coordinated effort to deliver speeches on the House floor in the coming weeks. But how the balance sheet plays out will be a delicate balance of the interests in which the good Senator from Maryland will be in the center of all the action.
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