Bush Creative on NASA Aid
nytimes.com
By KENNETH CHANG
Published: January 15, 2004
ASHINGTON, Jan. 14 — While NASA employees applauded heartily as President Bush announced a new push to the Moon and human space exploration, some left the auditorium at headquarters with their enthusiasm tempered by nervousness.
"Let's see $11 billion reprogrammed," said one.
Mr. Bush said that his proposals would cost $12 billion over the next five years, and of that, $11 billion would come from $86 billion NASA had previously budgeted for the 2005 through 2009 fiscal years. He said that he would ask for only $1 billion in new money.
But Senator Bill Nelson, Democrat of Florida, said, "The question is the $11 billion," adding, "The devil is in the details."
Under the new plan, NASA would largely lay aside the space station and shuttle programs in 2010, but until then it must keep spending a large share of its budget on them. That has scientists worried about NASA's wide array of other science programs, which include the Hubble Space Telescope, earth monitoring systems and robotic space probes.
"It is unclear whether science will benefit by or be destroyed by this new proposal," said John Bahcall, a physicist at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton and an adviser to NASA. "That will depend upon the wisdom and the commitment of the NASA senior leadership. Either scenario is possible in my view. I am optimistic."
At a news conference after Mr. Bush's speech, the NASA administrator, Sean O'Keefe, did not specify which programs might be trimmed, saying that a budget would be presented in early February.
"Organizationally, this will require a different way of doing business," Mr. O'Keefe said.
Some of the $11 billion in savings may simply be made by keeping spending flat on certain programs, rather than proceeding with projected increases. (NASA's budget for the 2004 fiscal year is $15.4 billion. If NASA's budget remained flat for the next five years, the spending would total $77 billion. Thus, the $86 billion figure already includes $9 billion in increases.)
Some of the $11 billion might also come from reclassifying current programs into the new initiative, like the development of next-generation propulsion systems. |
