Congress Facing Multitude of NASA Issues This Year Says CRS

Congress has a full plate of NASA-related issues to confront this year according to a new report from the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS specialist Daniel Morgan lays out the panoply of issues ranging from broad — “is there a national consensus for human exploration beyond low Earth orbit, despite the inherent risks and the substantial cost” — to narrow — “Are the currently planned Orion and Ares vehicles the best choices for delivering astronauts and cargo into space.”

CRS does not make recommendations. Instead, its job is to provide non-partisan, objective research and analysis exclusively for Members and committee of Congress. It identifies issues, provides context, and analyzes possible solutions. By law, its reports are available only to Members of Congress and their staffs and not to the public, though Members may distribute them to anyone. Many CRS reports make their way onto the Web. This one is available via the Federation of American Scientists website.