Legislative Update

The Future of NASA - February 2010

On Sunday, February 14, 2010, the Houston Chronicle published a letter from Chris Kraft, Jr., former Director of JSC and Tom Moses, former NASA Program Director. Since their words are far better than mine, here is the letter: “President Barack Obama’s 2011 NASA budget puts the U.S. leadership in space at risk. It will have just the opposite results of President Kennedy’s space initiatives. Under President Kennedy, the U.S. developed technologies and capabilities that benefit every human in the U.S. every day, e.g., weather, navigation and communication satellites. The lunar exploration program with astronauts and robots was not the sole reason for these capabilities but was the spark plug. The President’s proposed budget cancels the Constellation program – the follow-on to the lunar program which would develop the technologies and systems to explore the moon and Mars. We were not smart enough to realize the benefits from the Kennedy initiatives, and we are not smart enough to envision the new benefits. To cancel the Constellation program, which is making good progress, and focus on climate change, developing an undefined new rocket, and relying on the Russians and concepts by the private sector for human space transportation does not make sense. NASA should be allowed to continue with the Constellation program and should encourage and enable the private sector to provide transportation services in parallel with the government systems.” Those of us who live in the Clear Lake area are painfully aware of the potential consequences to our community of the cancellation of the Constellation program. Our freshman Texas Congressman, Pete Olson, is leading the fight to save the Constellation program, but we must help him any way possible. Congressman Olson has written a letter to NASA Director Charles Bolden, a letter that has been signed by 26 of his colleagues, including Democrats from Texas, Florida and Alabama, the states most affected by the cancellation of the Constellation program. Please go to Congressman Olson’s website at olson.house.gov to read this letter. If you want to fight to save the Constellation program, write or phone the Congressmen who signed this letter, along with Senators Richard Shelby, Republican from Alabama (shelby.senate.gov or 202-224-5744) and Senator Bill Nelson, Democrat from Florida (billnelson.senate.gov or 202-224-5274), Senators representing states with NASA space flight centers. Congressman Olson so aptly stated: “We need to take this fight national to make sure the American people understand that we are giving up our leadership in human space flight.”

Patience Myers

Legislative Chair

Contact Congress - January 2010

Events in Washington are moving so quickly and being pushed to conclusions before we have had time to act, that I have hesitated to produce a Legislative Update. As I write this, we are eagerly awaiting the results of the Massachusetts Senator to replace the late Edward Kennedy; we are waiting for a vote on some form of a health care reform bill; we are praying for the people of Haiti. For this reason, I am choosing to provide contact information for those government officials we may wish to contact this year. To contact President Obama, go to www.whitehouse.gov/contact or phone 202-456-6213. At this web site you can send an email giving a message, a policy comment or a non-policy comment. There is also a box to check if you wish to receive a response.

Do you want to pay more for electricity? Do you want your retail and service providers to pay more? Where do you think this money will come from?

To contact our US Senators:

Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison - www.hutchison.senate.gov or 202-224-5922

Senator John Cornyn - www.cornyn.senate.gov or 202-224-2934

To contact your Congressman, find out your Congressional District by looking on your voter registration card. Then go to www.house.gov, then to the Member Directory, then to the State (Texas), where you will find a list of all the Congressmen by District.

Many of us are in District #22, Pete Olson’s district:

Congressman Pete Olson www.Olson.house.gov or 202-225-5951; local office: 281-486-1095

Here is information on Congressmen from neighboring districts:

Congressman Chet Edwards D District #17 - 202-225-6105

Congressman Michael T. McCaul R District #10 - 202-225-2401

Congressman Ron Paul R District #14- 202-225-2931

Congressman Ted Poe R District #2 -202-225-6565

Most Congressmen have an already-laid-out format on their websites for you to use to send a message.

Patience Myers

Legislative Chair

Proposed Constitutional Amendments - October 2009

In 2009, the Texas State Legislature passed a number of proposed constitutional amendments that will appear on the ballot in the November 3 election. These propositions will be presented at the October 28th meeting of BARW, along with a brief description of what each proposition entails.

If you are unable to attend the meeting, please email me and I will send you this information.

Patience Myers

Legislation Chair