Anyone who thought Capitol Hill would be chastened by public dismay over the brinksmanship that characterized the debt limit debate may have to think again.

One may cast blame on whichever party one chooses, but the two sides are again at odds, this time using a possible government shutdown on October 1 as hostage.

Republicans, who castigated Democrats during the election last year for being unable to pass the appropriations bills that fund the government in a timely manner, have not been able to achieve that goal either. Fiscal Year 2012 begins on October 1 and none of the 12 appropriations bills has cleared Congress (six have passed the House; one has passed the Senate).

Washington finds itself once more in need of a Continuing Resolution (CR) to keep the government operating until action can be completed on those bills. Both the House and Senate plan to be in recess next week as some members observe Rosh Hashanah, which means a CR must be passed this week.

The House Appropriations Committee proposed a CR last week that would fund the government through November 18, with a 1.5 percent cut in spending during that period.

That part is not controversial. But the two parties and two chambers are at odds over funds for disaster relief for recovering from tornados, floods, Hurricane Irene, Tropical Storm Lee, the east coast earthquake, wildfires in Texas and other natural disasters that have afflicted the United States this year.

The Senate passed legislation last week providing $6.9 billion for disaster relief (H. J. Res 66, as amended). Historically, disaster relief funds are treated as emergency spending for which budget offsets are not immediately required.

House Republicans instead want to include the disaster relief funds in the CR, are proposing only half that amount ($3.5 billion), and are demanding a $1.5 billion spending cut to clean-energy loans in return. According to The Washington Post blog, that is a program created by the Bush Administration for “loans to auto companies for developing electric cars and other fuel efficiency innovations.”

House and Senate Democrats are opposed to the Republican proposal both generally because disaster funds should not require offsets and specifically because cutting the loans would put tens of thousands of jobs at risk, they say.

The House is expected to pass its bill, but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has vowed to amend the bill with the legislation that already passed the Senate providing $6.9 billion in disaster relief and no offset. If that passes the Senate, the two sides would have to reach a compromise before the CR could be enacted.

Republican leaders are saying there will be no government shutdown, but Reid said today that “I’m not so sure” and “We’re not going to cave on this,” according to The Hill. Reid indicated that the Senate could change its schedule to be in session next week if necessary.

Today’s update on NASA’s website about the impending reentry of the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) retains the prediction that it will come back to Earth on Friday, plus or minus a day. The prediction has been the same for the past several days.

Exactly when it will reenter remains uncertain. NASA says predictions will become more refined in the next two days. Where it reenters depends on when it reenters, so stay tuned.

The Weather Channel’s space weather twitter channel (@twcspacewx) tweeted some interesting statistics about the chances of a particular individual being hit by the debris. NASA’s assessment that there is a one in 3,200 chance of “a” human casualty does not mean that a particular individual — you — will be hit. TWC calculates that any single individual on Earth has about a one in 20 million chance. Check out their math on Twitter!

The following events may be of interest in the coming week. For more information, check our calendar on the right menu or click the links below. All times are EDT unless otherwise specified. Times, dates and witnesses for congressional hearings or other actions are subject to change; check the relevant committee’s website for up to date information.

During the Week

FY2011 ends in two weeks, which means that Congress should pass the 12 appropriations bills to fund the government for FY2012 before then. Not likely, especially considering that the House and Senate will be in recess the last week of September as some members observe Rosh Hashanah. To date, six of the 12 appropriations bills have passed the House and one has passed the Senate.

Thus, Congress needs to pass a Continuing Resolution (CR) this week to fund the government after October 1. The House Appropriations Committee introduced a CR that would last until November 18 and calls for a 1.5 percent cut in spending during that time. This is “must pass” legislation for Congress this week unless they change their schedule to be in session next week.

Monday-Wednesday, September 19-21

• Air Force Association Air & Space Conference, Gaylord National Resort and Conference Center, National Harbor, MD (outside Washington DC).

Tuesday, September 20

• Senate Appropriations Committee markup of the Transportation-HUD bill (including the FAA’s space office), 124 Dirksen Senate Office Building, 10:30 am EDT (listed in National Journal’s Daybook, but not yet on the committee’s website)
• NASA media teleconference on Development of Composite Cryogenic Propellant Tanks, 1:00 pm EDT, virtual (listen at http://www.nasa.gov/newsaudio)

Wednesday, September 21

• Space Telescope Science Institute webinar in support of the James Webb Space Telescope, 2:00 pm EDT, virtual (register at http://www.stsci.edu/jwst/meetings/webinar2011)

Thursday, September 22

• HSS&T hearing on human spaceflight, 2318 Rayburn House Office Building, 10:00 am EDT

Friday, September 23

• HSS&T hearing on NOAA’s Joint Polar Satellite System, 2318 Rayburn House Office Building, 10:00 AM EDT

MIT’s Maria Zuber has been added to the list of witnesses for the House Science, Space and Technology (HSS&T) Committee hearing on human spaceflight next week. The geophysicist is the principal investigator of the GRAIL robotic mission to the Moon launched earlier this month.

The other witnesses are well known advocates of human spaceflight: Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong, Apollo 17 commander Gene Cernan, and former NASA Administrator Mike Griffin. They are expected to argue that human exploration of the Moon should be a national priority.

The hearing is on Thursday, September 22, in 2318 Rayburn House Office Building at 10:00 am EDT.

The House Science, Space and Technology (HSS&T) Committee has released the names of the witnesses who will testify about the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) next Friday.

The September 23 hearing will feature Kathy Sullivan, Deputy Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); Christopher Scolese, Associate Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); and David Powner, Director, Information Technology Management Issues, Government Accountability Office (GAO).

The topic is “From NPOESS to JPSS: An Update on the Nation’s Restructured Polar Weather Satellite Program.” NPOESS was a joint Department of Defense(DOD)-NOAA-NASA program to build a single U.S. weather satellite system to service both the civil and military sectors. After many years of cost overruns and schedule delays, the Obama White House restructured the program last year, restoring the historical arrangement of separate civil and military systems.

NOAA has been struggling to build support for its new system, JPSS. (NASA is NOAA’s acquisition agent for the program.) The House and Senate Appropriations Committees have each recommended almost, but not quite, as much as NOAA requested for FY2012 ($1.07 billion) after a significant shortfall in FY2011.

DOD also is struggling to build support for its new system, the Defense Weather Satellite System (DWSS). The Senate Appropriations Committee just recommended terminating DWSS and starting all over again with a new competition to build the system. The House Appropriations Committee cut DOD’s request ($445 million) in half.

Many in Congress are skeptical of the agencies’ abilities to manage these programs after years of problems with NPOESS.

NASA has updated its projection of when the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) will reenter.

The UARS website reports that reentry is now expected on September 23 — this coming Friday — plus or minus a day. The previous projection was September 24.

It is still far too early to estimate where pieces of the satellite might land. The Earth is 70 percent covered with water, so there is a good chance the pieces will not hit land at all, but there is a possibility. NASA’s risk assessment concluded that there is a 1 in 3,200 chance of a human casualty.