Happy Holidays!   Except for the hard working astronauts aboard the International Space Station, and the need for Congress to officially adjourn for the year, everyone can take a well deserved break for the rest of 2013.

The astronauts completed the first of two or three spacewalks to fix a coolant loop problem yesterday.  A second is scheduled for Christmas Eve day (7:10 am ET) and a third could be scheduled if needed.   The second was delayed by a day so the astronauts can get a backup spacesuit ready for Rick Mastracchio to wear because something went awry with the one he wore yesterday.  Details are pending.

The House and Senate have completed their legislative work for the year, but both chambers are scheduled to meet in “pro forma” sessions this coming week, the House tomorrow and the Senate on Tuesday.  The Senate meeting will take place only if the House has not approved an adjournment resolution by then.  Chances are that’s what the House will do tomorrow, so the Senate session is tentative.

Things will get hopping very quickly in the New Year with the winter meeting of the American Astronomical Society on January 5-10, NASA’s Small Bodies Assessment Group (SBAG) on January 8-9,  the International Space Exploration Forum with ministers of more than 30 space-faring countries on January 9, and the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) Heads of Agencies Summit on Exploration on January 9-10.   All of those meetings will take place in the Washington, D.C. area.  

Oh, and Congress is expected to return to work that week, too; the Senate on January 6 and the House on January 7.

So enjoy the holiday break — it’s busy, busy, busy after that.

The final version of the FY2014 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that just cleared Congress includes language prohibiting the President from allowing Russia to put GLONASS monitor stations on U.S. soil without the approval of the Secretary of Defense (SecDef) and Director of National Intelligence (DNI).

The State Department has been considering a Russian request to place monitor stations within the United States for Russia’s GLONASS navigation satellite system, its equivalent of the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS).   The stations would increase the accuracy of GLONASS.   GLONASS and GPS are elements of a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and U.S. objectives with regard to GNSS are to ensure compatibility, achieve interoperability, and promote fair competition in the marketplace.

No agreement has been struck to allow GLONASS stations in the United States, but the possibility raised concerns in the Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community that became public in an article in the New York Times last month.

The language in the NDAA (sec. 1602(b)) prohibits the President from authorizing or permitting “the construction of a global navigation satellite system ground monitoring station directly or indirectly controlled by a foreign government” on U.S. territory unless the SecDef and DNI “jointly certify” to Congress that any such ground station “will not possess the capability or potential to be for the purpose of gathering intelligence in the United States or improving any foreign weapon system.”  The SecDef and DNI may jointly grant a waiver to that requirement if certain conditions are met, however.   The section includes a 5-year sunset clause so will be in effect for only 5 years from the date the President signs the bill into law.

The National Space-Based Positioning, Navigation and Timing Advisory Board advises the government on issues concerning GPS and GNSS.  It was briefed on Russia’s proposal at its May 7-8, 2013 meeting and expressed no concerns according to the meeting’s minutes.  It received another briefing at its December 3-4, 2013 meeting.  The minutes of that meeting are not available yet, but the presentation by Ken Hodgkins, Director of the State Department’s Office of Space and Advanced Technology, points out that “no final decisions have been made” and Russia’s proposal has “evolved” based on discussions that have taken place already.

The FY2014 NDAA cleared its final congressional hurdle on Thursday, passing the Senate by a vote of 84-15.  The President is expected to sign it.

The Senate passed the Ryan-Murray budget today in a 64-36 bipartisan vote.   The budget sets top line spending levels for FY2014 and FY2015, allowing House and Senate appropriators to finalize the FY2014 appropriations bills that actually fund the government.

This budget compromise (H. J. Res. 59), crafted by House and Senate Budget Committee chairs Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), sets FY2014 government spending at $1.012 trillion, halfway between what the House wanted and what the Senate wanted.  It also provides $63 billion in sequester relief split evenly between defense and non-defense spending.    Some Republicans opposed the measure because it does not cut spending enough, and some Democrats opposed it because it does not extend unemployment benefits, but in the end, all 53 Senate Democrats, 2 Independents who usually vote with Democrats, and nine Republicans decided that it was better than no agreement and continued gridlock in Washington.

Passage of the budget compromise does not ensure that a government shutdown can be averted when the current FY2014 Continuing Resolution (CR) expires on January 15.  The budget agreement sets limits on how much can be spent, but only appropriations bills actually provide money for departments and agencies to spend.  Still, expectations are high that House and Senate appropriators will indeed be able to reach a bipartisan compromise on the 12 regular appropriations bills by that date.  They likely will be combined into a single package called an Omnibus Appropriations bill for consideration by both chambers. 

The Senate agreed this morning to a procedural measure that clears the way for a vote on the compromise budget deal approved by the House last week.   Separately, a vote on the FY2014 National Defense Authorization Act could occur as early as tomorrow.  They are the last two major pieces of legislation expected to clear Congress this year.

The budget deal negotiated by House and Senate Budget Committee chairs Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) sets overall federal spending for FY2014 at $1.012 trillion, half way between what the House and Senate each passed earlier in the year, and eases cuts required under the sequester.   Members of both parties oppose the compromise — Republicans because it does not cut spending enough, Democrats because it does not extend unemployment benefits — but there was a sufficient number of Senators to surpass the 60-vote threshold needed to bring the bill to the floor for debate:  all 53 Democrats, two Independents who typically vote with Democrats, and 12 Republicans, for a 67-33 vote.    Thirty hours of debate are allowed for the bill, but it is expected to pass easily, since only 51 votes are required for passage, and the final vote could come much earlier.

Once the budget is approved by both chambers (it does not need to be signed by the President although he signaled that he supports it), the appropriations committees still must craft the 12 regular appropriations bills so they fit under that limit.   The hope is for those bills, probably merged into a single Omnibus Appropriations measure for consideration by the House and Senate, to be approved by January 15 when the current Continuing Resolution (CR) expires.

The other major bill many members hope to finish this year is the FY2014 National Defense Authorization Act, maintaining a 51-year streak of passing the defense bill despite whatever political situation exists in Washington.    House and Senate Armed Services Committee chairs Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon (R-CA) and Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) worked out a compromise last week that passed the House.  Senate agreement is expected.

The budget and NDAA agreements were negotiated by the relevant committees and brought to the House and Senate on a take-it-or-leave-it basis.    With time running out on 2013, no amendments were permitted on the House floor and none will be permitted in the Senate, since any changes would require the bill to return to the other chamber for approval.  The House already has left for the year, so the Senate needs to adopt the bills as is or delay action until 2014.  Weary of fighting and the “do-nothing Congress” label, enough members are willing to accept less than perfect bills to move legislation forward.