UPDATE: New House Committee Version of NASA Authorization

UPDATE: This is updated to reflect House Science and Technology Committee Chairman Bart Gordon’s comments.

The House Science and Technology Committee reportedly has reached agreement on a new version of the FY2011-2013 NASA authorization bill. Here are the text of the “amendment in the nature of a substitute,” which means a replacement for what was introduced earlier that will be taken up by the House as an amendment to the original bill, and a short summary provided to SpacePolicyOnline.com.

House Science and Technology Committee Chairman Bart Gordon (D-TN) said the following:

“This is House compromise language, with bipartisan support. It reflects months of discussions and input from many Members. As a result, we believe we have a bill that both builds on and improves on H.R. 5781, the NASA Authorization Act that was marked up by the Science and Technology Committee earlier this year. Moreover, we believe this compromise helps move the discussion about the future of NASA closer to a final product.

This is a good, bipartisan, and fiscally responsible bill. For too long, NASA has not been given the resources to complete the many missions the nation has asked of it. NASA is too important to the nation to continue on that path. This will provide a clear and sustainable direction for NASA, in light of the current fiscal environment.”

As reported earlier, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer included the NASA authorization bill on the list of legislation he plans to bring to the floor before the House leaves for the mid-term elections (likely the end of next week). If it passes the House, it would still have be voted on in the Senate. If the Senate were to agree without any changes, it could then go the President for signature. If the President agreed, it would become law. Those are a lot of “ifs,” but this is at least a step forward in the process.