Cramer could lose NASA voice, Huntsville Times
“”Clearly some people will lose clout when they do this. There is no way around that when you’re talking about slashing the number of subcommittees,” Cowing said. “Who will (lose clout) remains to be seen.” Cowing predicted the funding process will change if NASA is lumped together with similar science-type agencies. “They’ll have to show some results and actually answer questions to knowledgeable people then,” he said, “instead of relying on emotion to carry the day when it comes to a budget and accountability.”
Editor’s note:To clarify: if budget deliberations for NASA are lumped in together with those for DOE, NSF, NIST etc. then the arguments of relative merit for tax dollars will now be conducted on an ‘apples to apples’ basis – one wherein similar metrics are used. Indeed, one would expect that these metrics would be much more logical and less emotional – as opposed to the total mismatch that currently drives discussions wherein space exploration is pitted against Veteran’s benefits and other unrelated items. This new committee structure may not necessarily be beneficial to NASA – only time will tell.
