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Today, Congressman Bill Posey (R-Rockledge) voted against passage of the Commerce Justice Science Appropriation bill, which included a $566 million cut to NASA’s next generation human space flight vehicle – Constellation. Congressman Posey had proposed an amendment which would have restored the funding, but House Democrat leaders shut down the amendment process, preventing over 90 amendments – including Posey’s NASA amendment – from being offered on the House floor.

“A $566 million cut to NASA’s human space flight program deals a devastating blow to our human space flight program,” said Congressman Posey. “To have a $566 million cut for NASA in a bill that increases spending in other accounts by $6.7 billion sends a clear message that NASA is not a priority with the current leadership in Congress. I am committed to doing all that I can to restore this funding between now and when this bill makes it to the President’s desk.”

The overall spending level in the Commerce Justice Science Appropriation bill represents a 12% increase over the current year but the funding for NASA was $566 million short of NASA budget request for the Constellation program.

Below is Congressman Posey’s floor statement delivered during debate on this legislation:
(See Congressman Posey deliver his speech on his YouTube Page) 

“Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my serious concerns about the bill before us today and about the lack of sufficient funding for NASA's next-generation human space flight.

“Mr. Speaker, the bill before us has a $6.7 billion increase in spending over last year. That's a 12 percent increase over last year's spending. And while the overall NASA budget gets a slight increase from last year, the budget for our Nation's next generation-human space flight vehicle constellation is cut by $566 million.

“While lawmakers can talk about supporting space exploration, the bottom line is that the United States will soon yield its preeminence in space to Russia after the last shuttle flight, currently scheduled for 2010. This legislation does nothing to avert America's human space flight gap.

“Those who follow our Nation's space budget realize what's at risk. Soaring rhetoric and good intentions of playing financial catch-up later with space funding can easily surrender to other competing initiatives. Delays and studies are the road to the graveyard for many legislative proposals.

“The bill's $566 million cut for our next generation human spaceflight vehicle sends the wrong message to the hardworking men and women who are developing Constellation now. It sends the wrong message to college students who are seeking advanced engineering and science degrees. It tells them that human spaceflight is not really a priority in this country. This message will not go unnoticed in Beijing or in Moscow.

“This Congress passed the stimulus bill in February, including an additional $400 million for the Constellation program. Yet, today, the bill before us essentially takes all of that funding back and then some--poof--like a shell game. If the inadequate funding level for NASA that is contained in this bill is allowed to stand as it is, then our Nation's human spaceflight program will be dealt a very, very serious blow.

“For a comparison, let's look at several of the spending items in the bill. The bill would increase funds for the COPS program by $252 million over 2009, and this is on top of over $1 billion in the stimulus bill. The bill spends $7.4 billion on the census, an increase of $4.2 billion over last year. The bill increases funding for the National Science Foundation by $446 million over 2009 to promote scientific research by students. Yet it cuts funding for human spaceflight, a fountainhead of patents and scientific discovery.

“I would say to the chairman of the subcommittee, I appreciate the work that you do and the challenges before you. Without a robust manned space program, the United States cannot maintain our leadership in space nor can we carry crews beyond low Earth orbit. It is for this reason that we must work to restore the funding that was cut from this program.

“I look forward to working with you and with my colleagues over the next several months to restore the funding so that we can get our Nation's next human spaceflight vehicle back on track. A cut of this magnitude at this critical stage cannot and absolutely must not be allowed to stand.”