New York Times Weighs In on Potential Augustine Committee Impact

The New York Times has a story today about the possible results of the Augustine committee report, which it says will not be released until mid-September. Among others quoted in the story are Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) and Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ):

“‘Unless the president is willing to step up and take a bold step like President Kennedy did, the manned spaceflight program is going to go in the ditch,’ said Senator Bill Nelson, Democrat of Florida.”

“The first decision is a stark one: whether to increase the money for the human space program to at least $130 billion over the next decade, the level the panel said would be needed, or to pull back the grander ambitions and keep astronauts to low-Earth orbit for the next couple of decades.

‘That is not a choice the White House wanted,’ Ms. Giffords said.”