Republicans Seize Control of Senate, Add to House Majority

The results of some congressional races are still not final, but as of 6:00 am ET November 5, it is clear that Republicans will control the Senate in the 114th Congress and added to their majority in the House.

With Senate races in three states (Alaska, Louisiana, and Virginia) still not over, Republicans have at least 52 seats in the Senate, one more than needed to control the chamber.  Democrats have 43 and there are 2 Independents.  In the House, Republicans will have at least 242 seats, a gain of 13, and there will be at least 174 Democrats.  Results from the remaining districts are pending.

For space policy and programs, the biggest impact likely will be in funding.  Republicans have been pressing for cutbacks in government spending to reduce the deficit, while Democrats have argued for a combination of spending cuts and tax increases.   Republicans oppose tax increases. 

Congress returns to work next Tuesday (November 12).  Little legislation is likely to be passed in the lame duck session knowing that party control of the Senate will change in January.  

The one must-pass piece of legislation is FY2015 appropriations.  FY2015 began on October 1 and the government is operating under a Continuing Resolution that expires on December 11. 

Whether a bill will pass to cover the rest of FY2015 (through September 30, 2015) or only for a few weeks or months to provide funding through the beginning of the next Congress when Republicans will have more power to shape its contents is an open question.  NASA was poised to receive a significant increase over the President’s request for FY2015 in bills that passed the House and cleared the Senate Appropriations Committee on a bipartisan basis, so it is possible that the increase will survive, but if reducing the deficit becomes the driving force, it could be endangered.   NOAA’s satellite programs similarly fared reasonably well in FY2015 budget action so far.  A major issue in the DOD space policy and budget realm is whether to add money to begin development of a U.S. rocket engine to replace Russia’s RD-180, used for the Atlas V, which is a very complex issue and it is difficult to assess how much that will be affected by the Republican gains.