Privatizing Space
A bill designed to encourage the privatization of the space
industry rocketed through the House Science Committee by voice
vote Wednesday, but its future in the waning days of the 104th
Congress is cloudy, LEGI-SLATE News Service reported.
"It is
certainly a long shot," Science Chairman Walker, the bill's
sponsor, told the committee. "But if they can put a man on the
moon, then we ought to be able to pass a straight-forward piece
of legislation in time to be sent to the president before the end
of the session."
The Space Commercialization Promotion Act should
be approved on the House floor under suspension of the rules this
month, Walker said, but he indicated getting Senate attention for
the measure could be a problem. If the whole bill cannot get
passed there, he said some provisions could still be passed
separately.
Science ranking member George Brown, D-Calif., said
the bill is "relatively modest in scope," but "will continue the
bipartisan effort to help ensure the health and growth of the
nation's commercial space sector."
Some major bill provisions
include: directing NASA to conduct a market survey that examines
the potential participation of commercial ventures in the
international space center; creating a regulatory framework for
licensing spaceports; allowing exceptions to rules that restrict
NASA employees from working for private contractors; and
requiring the U.S. government to procure launch service from U.S.
commercial providers and to use competitive bidding for the
acquisition of space transportation services.
Meanwhile, The Washington Post reports today that testimony by GAO official Thomas Schultz yesterday before the House Government Reform and Oversight subcommittee on national security concluded that NASA may not be able to cut back quickly or efficiently enough without outside help. What is being considered is a commission like the military base closing commission that would help decide which facilities are unnecessary. Such a commission would in large part
be an acknowledgment that Congressional political pressures and internal turf battles are making agency downsizing efforts difficult.
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