NASA: Bickering for Dollars

» Chron: Contractors invested in NASA funding fight (Chase Davis)

I wonder if this is the sort of thing that was meant to inspire schoolkids to take more math & science classes ...

Our folks in Washington reported today that a contingent of 30 U.S. Representatives led by Stafford Democrat Nick Lampson has asked Congress to boost NASA's funding by $2 billion to help close the five-year gap between the retirement of the space shuttle and NASA's return to manned spaceflight.

Lampson, whose district includes Johnson Space Center, has been crusading on NASA's behalf for months, even arranging trips for fellow congressmen to take in a space shuttle launch in Florida earlier this year.

As part of his push, Lampson wrote a letter, signed by 29 other representatives, urging House leadership to get behind the NASA budget boost.

A quick look at federal contracting records shows that of the 30 members who signed the letter - Lampson included - 26 represent districts that received NASA-related contract business in 2007. Of those, 14 did at least $1 million in contracting work for the space agency. Lampson's district leads the way with more than $2 billion.

Four of the congressmen also represent districts that received NASA grant funding in 2006.

House leadership has its investment too. Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat, represents a district that took in more than $402 million in NASA contracts last year.

If all NASA is these days is a bureaucratic special interest clamoring for more tax dollars to put private sector satellites in space, reading things like this only convince me more that the agency needs to be retired off to the private sector where they can fight for dollars in the real world instead.