Space Station Authorization Bill Heads to House Science Committee

In what House space subcommittee chair James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) called “an extremely healthy sign” for the space station, the subcommittee on Wednesday voted down, by 18-3, an amendment to cancel the program. The amendment was offered during the mark-up of H.R. 1601, a multi-year authorization bill for the program. The bill (if it makes its way through the rest of the legislative process) would authorize the space station program through completion of its assembly. Authorizing legislation, while providing congressional approval and spending ceilings for a project, does not provide the actual funding. That is done through the appropriations process.

The bill would authorize a total of $13.141 billion for completion of the station, with the limitation that the program not exceed $2.121 billion in any one fiscal year. While several subcommittee Democrats expressed reservations that the multi-year authorization would eliminate congressional oversight, Sensenbrenner made it clear that the bill mandated strict reporting requirements and NASA’s staying on time and on budget.

While this is only the first phase in the authorization process (or, as more than one subcommittee member noted, “one small step,”) Sensenbrenner said that it sends a signal of support for the station, both to the appropriators and to the project’s international partners. The bill now goes to the full House Science Committee, then to the House floor. It would then need to be reconciled with a Senate-passed version, but the Senate often does not draft authorizing legislation. Stating that the space station would not “stand or fall depending on whether this bill gets to the President’s desk,” Sensenbrenner seemed content at getting his subcommittee’s support for the project on record.

However, among some Democrats, that support was qualified. George Brown (D-CA), former chair of the full House science committee, has always been a supporter of the space station, but not at the expense of the rest of NASA’s programs. As in previous years, he raised concerns that NASA’s shrinking budget might force the agency to sacrifice other major programs. Brown noted that NASA’s draft response to H.R. 1601 was support for the multi-year space station authorization “within the context of” an overall stable, balanced multi-year NASA budget. He warned that he might not support the bill in full committee if it was not amended to protect the balance of NASA’s programs.

The defeated vote to cancel the station was offered by Rep. Tim Roemer (D-IN), a station foe who has unsuccessfully tried such amendments in past years. Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA) succeeded in getting an amendment passed stating that the station “represents an important component of an adequately funded civil space program which balances human space flight with science, aeronautics, and technology.” With Brown’s support, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) tried to insert an amendment specifying that if NASA’s total budget dropped below $14 billion annually, the station program would not be funded. Sensenbrenner and others argued that even the President’s projected budgets for FY 1997 and beyond show NASA receiving below $14 billion. The amendment was defeated, but Brown and Jackson Lee hope to try a similar amendment in the full committee. No date has yet been set for the full committee mark-up.

Even though the station has a long way to go in the authorization and appropriations processes, so far things look promising. Although avid budget hawks will most likely try to kill it in floor votes, it is of note that the House Budget Resolution provides full funding for the station’s completion. House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) is a station fan, as are House Budget Committee Chair John Kasich (R-OH) and Vice Chair Robert Walker (R-PA). Walker also chairs the House Science Committee.

While the chair of the station’s authorizing committee in the Senate, Larry Pressler (R-SD), has expressed second thoughts about his support, the VA/HUD appropriations subcommittee chairs in both the House and Senate are space station advocates. Mark-up of the House VA/HUD appropriations bill will occur on June 22. The full House Appropriations Committee is scheduled to mark-up the bill on July 11, and it will go to the House floor on July 19. The Senate mark-ups will then follow.