The White House and Congress is having a Constitutional tussle over an effort by lawmakers to prohibit any cooperation between NASA and China on space without the the legislature’s specific approval. Science Nowexplains that the conflict pits the Obama Administration’s prerogative to conduct foreign policy vs. Congress’s power of the purse:
The ban is part of the 2011 budget approved last month to avert a government shutdown. It was crafted by Representative Frank Wolf (R-VA), a fierce critic of China who chairs a House spending committee that oversees several science agencies. The ban says that no funds can be used by NASA or the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) “to develop, design, plan, promulgate, implement or execute a bilateral policy, program, order, or contract of any kind to participate, collaborate, or coordinate bilaterally in any way with China or any Chinese-owned company.” It also prevents any NASA facility from hosting “official Chinese visitors.”
Appearing today before that panel to defend the Administration’s 2012 budget request for science, presidential advisor John Holdren told Wolf that, in effect, the ban doesn’t apply to the president’s ability to conduct foreign policy. That authority, Holdren explained, extends to a bilateral agreement on scientific cooperation that Holdren and China’s science minister signed in January that builds upon a 1979 pact that has spawned activities between many U.S. agencies and their Chinese counterparts.
President Obama’s plan to refocus NASA has a lot of people seeing red, not least of whom is retired NASA engineer Homer Hickam, author of the memoir “Rocket Boys” that was the subject of the film October Sky.
Last week, he wrote directly to NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver and OSTP Director John Holdren demanding that they resign. He repeated the demand in a letter to Bart Gordon, Chairman of the House Committee on Science and Technology.
Dr. John P. Holdren, director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, testified before the House Committee on Science and Technology on Thursday concerning the Obama Administration’s proposed research and development budget.
Below are excerpts of the statement covering NASA, NOAA, climate change, energy, environment and STEM education.
The Washington Post is reporting that President-Elect Obama is naming two environmental veterans to head up key science posts. It’s a nice break from the current administration, which was government of, by and for the Daniel Plainviews of the world. SEEPAGE!
“President-elect Obama will announce this weekend that he has selected physicist John Holdren, who has devoted much of his career to energy and environmental research, as his White House science adviser, according to a published report today…”
“President-elect Barack Obama has tapped Oregon State University professor Jane Lubchenco, one of the nation’s most prominent marine biologists, to head the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“Lubchenco, a conservationist who has devoted much of her career to encouraging scientists to become more engaged in public policy debates, is also a vocal proponent of curbing greenhouse gases linked to global warming. The transition team could not be reached for comment, but several sources confirmed today that Lubchenco had been picked and was headed to Chicago for the upcoming announcement.”
The White House and Congress is having a Constitutional tussle over an effort by lawmakers to prohibit any cooperation between NASA and China on space without the the legislature’s specific approval. Science Now explains that the conflict pits the Obama Administration’s prerogative to conduct foreign policy vs. Congress’s power of the purse:
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