Thread: Senate rejects raid on NASA budget

Senate rejects raid on NASA budget

Proposal called for using funds to help states defray costs to jail illegal immigrants

By MICHELLE MITTELSTADT
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — The Senate fended off an effort Tuesday to raid $150 million from NASA's budget, rejecting a Republican senator's effort to shift funds to a program that reimburses Texas and other states for incarcerating illegal immigrants.

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and other NASA defenders argued vigorously that the space agency already is suffering from inadequate budgets and that its missions would be compromised if the cuts were enacted.

"The cut to NASA is not a benign cut," said Sen. Barbara Mikulski, the Maryland Democrat who chairs the appropriations subcommittee that controls the space agency's budget. "It would have a devastating blow to NASA and would be a major setback to the exploration programs and a devastating blow to the science programs."

But Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., described the $150 million shift as essential to provide more reimbursements to states under the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, which helps defray the costs of jailing illegal immigrants. Texas received $25 million under the program in 2006, with $2.2 million of that directed to Harris County.

"This is to help especially the Southwest states and the local law enforcement be able to combat criminals who are illegal aliens," Ensign said.

Ensign's amendment was rebuffed on a 70-23 vote, with Hutchison and fellow Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn opposing shifting funds to the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program. It already is budgeted to receive $400 million under the Senate spending bill.

Ensign's effort to cut the NASA funds came less than two weeks after the Senate voted to add $1 billion to the space agency, which would give it $18.5 billion this year. The amount would fund current operations and begin to reimburse NASA for the financial losses that resulted after the 2003 shuttle Columbia disaster.

President Bush has threatened to veto the $56 billion spending bill funding NASA, other science programs and the Justice and Commerce departments if it remains at the proposed Senate level. The House this summer approved a $17.8 billion NASA budget, which also exceeded the president's $17.3 billion request for the agency. Differences between the House and Senate bills — including the extra NASA funding — will need to be worked out in a conference committee.

With the shuttle fleet to retire in 2010 and a crew exploration vehicle not scheduled to be ready until 2015, Hutchison argued cuts to NASA's budget would be tremendously harmful. Extending the five-year gap when the U.S. will not have the ability to put astronauts into space "is a security risk for the United States," Hutchison said.

"If we adopt this amendment, we are going to lengthen the time that America cannot put anyone in space. Russia can. China probably will be able to. India may be able to. But not America," she said. "That is a security risk I am not ready to take."

michelle.mittelstadt@chron.com

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/space/5220145.html

But taking all the funding from the border is NOT a security risk for the US????? My hatred for this woman grows by the day. OBL traitor. Didn't she get a pay raise last week in spite of the fact we are supposedly out of money for the border fence?