House passes wrong NASA authorization bill

When the House took up the NASA Authorization Act of 2000 last week, it actually voted on-and passed-the wrong bill. But officials say the goof is nothing that can't be fixed by a few technical corrections.

Late in the drafting process, members involved with the bill had agreed to make some small changes to the bill's language- "nitpicky" stuff, an aide said, on the magnitude of changing one section's title from "Space Station Management" to "Space Station Research, Utilization and Commercialization Management."

But 40 minutes before the bill was slated to hit the floor, aides realized that the bill being offered was an earlier version that didn't account for the late-breaking changes. After huddling on the floor as the minutes ticked away, the bill's backers decided to stick with the incorrect legislation and attempt to fix it later, the aide said.

The space agency isn't overly worried about the bill being in limbo, a NASA official said. "I think there are some very, very minor differences, but essentially it doesn't amount to anything," the official said.

A House aide said that technical fixes would be on the way "soon."