Nelson: Don't Look to the CR to Fix Anything

Extra NASA Funding on Hold Until Lame-Duck Session, Sen. Nelson Says, CQ
“Sen. Bill Nelson a leading champion of the nation’s space program, said Tuesday that increased funding for NASA would have to wait until the lame-duck session after the Nov. 2 elections. Nelson, D-Fla., had hoped to insert language into the continuing resolution, or CR, that Congress must pass to keep the government running after the end of the current fiscal year on Sept. 30. “For us to be able to change the CR right now I don’t think is realistic,” Nelson said. Republicans have been demanding a “clean” CR, without extra funding or policy changes. Democrats will need at least one GOP vote to move the CR through the Senate.”
Keith’s note: According to Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation staffer Jeff Bingham, posting as “51D Mascot” at at NASAspaceflight,com: “The CR will NOT contain any new money or new language guiding NASA. Without an enacted authorization/policy bill, signed by the President, things will continue JUST as they have been, with the Constellation funding restricted, impounded, whatever you want to call it, but held back from the contractors, just as it has been for the past six months. That means even longer delays in ending the uncertainty, more unnecessary layoffs and disruption of lives and careers, and I just don’t see that as a viable option …”