What's Happening in Space Policy May 19-25, 2014
Here is our list of upcoming space policy events for the week of May 19-25, 2014 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in the session this week.
During the Week
As the country gets ready to celebrate Memorial Day and honor those who gave their lives defending our country, Congress will be acting on the authorization bill for the Department of Defense (DOD). The FY2015 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) will go before the House Rules Committee on Monday and Tuesday, with floor action expected later in the week. Meanwhile the Senate Armed Services Committee (and its subcommittees) will be busy marking up its version of the bill. The DOD authorization bill is the only authorization bill that reliably gets passed year after year despite the many controversies therein. A big issue this year, of course, is what to do about Russia’s threat to stop providing RD-180 engines for the Atlas V rocket. The House wants to add about $200 million to start a U.S. program to build a new liquid rocket engine to replace it. The Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) will be debating it during markups this week.
Also on tap in the House this week is the FY2015 Commerce-Justice-Science (CJS) appropriations bill, which cleared committee on May 8. It includes funding for NASA and NOAA. NASA is slated to get a significant increase ($435 million) compared to the President’s request. Appropriations being a zero sum game, that means other agencies in the CJS bill got less than the President requested. Time will tell whether champions of the activities that were cut offer amendments to take money from what is recommended for NASA and restore it to the other programs. NOAA’s satellite programs did comparatively well, though not its strategy for launching three sensors that do not fit on the JPSS spacecraft. Last year Congress zeroed the “Polar Free Flyer” program and told NOAA to try again. This year, it is the SIDAR program and House Appropriations zeroed it, too.
Other big events are — in the United States — the Space Foundation’s annual Space Symposium (formerly the National Space Symposium) in Colorado Springs, CO, and — In Europe — the Berlin Air Show in Berlin, Germany.
Lots of other interesting activities as well. Here is the list of what we know about as of Sunday afternoon.
Monday, May 19
- House Rules Committee meets to formulate rule for the FY2015 CJS appropriations bill, H-313 Capitol 5:00 pm ET
Monday-Tuesday, May 19-20
- House Rules Committee meets to formulate rule for the FY2015 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), H-313 Capitol
- Monday (general debate), 5:00 pm ET
- Tuesday (amendments), 3:00 pm ET
Monday-Thursday, May 19-22
Tuesday-Wednesday, May 20-21
- Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) subcommittee markups FY2015 NDAA (Strategic Forces is on May 20 at 2:00), various times and rooms, all meetings are CLOSED
- NASA Advisory Council (NAC) Planetary Protection Subcommittee, NASA HQ, Washington, DC
Tuesday-Sunday, May 20-25
- ILA Berlin Air Show, Berlin, Germany
Wednesday, May 21
- House Appropriations Committee full committee markup FY2015 Transportation-HUD bill (includes FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation), 2359 Rayburn House Office Building, 10:00 am ET
- House Science, Space and Technology Committee hearing on Astrobiology and the Search for Life in the Universe, 2318 Rayburn House Office Building, 10:00 am ET
Wednesday-Friday, May 21-23
- SASC full committee markup FY2015 NDAA, 222 Russell, various times, all meetings are CLOSED
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