Source: The Huntsville Times
Will Congress and the Obama administration be able to resolve the standoff over NASA’s FY 2011 budget this year? And what happens if they can’t?
Aviation Week speculates in a new article that the budget standoff won’t be solved and the answer is “a continuing resolution” and a new round of headaches.
“Continuing opposition in Congress to the ‘game-changing’ policy shift is making it more likely that NASA funding will be handled as a ‘continuing resolution’ this year, instead of an appropriations bill reflecting the changes Obama wants,’ the magazine says in a May 4 article on its website. ‘That would add to the confusion, because it would leave NASA to continue working on the Constellation Program that is killed in the agency’s Fiscal 2011 budget request.’
And what would that mean? Jonathan Graffeo, spokesman for U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Tuscaloosa, says it means a need “to remain vigilant.”
“We are hopeful that the FY 11 appropriations process will move forward in a timely manner. Should a continuing resolution of any length occur, NASA would be required to fund Constellation and also follow the language inserted by Sen. Shelby that does not allow changes to the current exploration program without the consent of Congress,” Graffeo said. “However, with NASA quietly putting pressure on contractors to self-terminate their existing Constellation contracts to circumvent current law, we need to remain vigilant that NASA does not move forward unlawfully.”
To read more: http://blog.al.com/space-news/2010/05/nasa_observers_speculate_no_an.html