Furthering NASA Johnson Space Center and winning the space race.
Texas Insider Report: WASHINGTON D.C. With majority
power in the U.S. Senate shifting to Republicans the leaders of key committees that determine the course of the nation has shifted as well.
Ted Cruz (R-TX) having been the highest ranking Republican on the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Science Space & Competitiveness has now taken the chairmanship position. Simply put
Senator Cruz is now in charge of NASA and its budget.
Walter Cunningham a former NASA Astronaut said
Im pleased to hear that Senator Cruz will be chairing the important Subcommittee on Science and Space. In our discussions he has always shown a strong interest in furthering the core goals of NASA and Johnson Space Center.
He wants NASA to return to the scientific and exploration standards that enabled our country to win the space race."
Other persons of note backing Senator Cruzs chairmanship include Bob Harvey President & CEO
Greater Houston Partnership and Jean Marie Kranz (right) president of K6 Strategies.
When asked recently if he supports space activities including private efforts Senator Cruz said that he supports NASAs contributions to science and discovery;
SLS and Orion are critical to our medium and long-term ability to explore space whether it is the moon Mars or beyond. Absolutely I support them.
At the same time I am deeply concerned about our inability to reach low earth orbit right now …
I am encouraged by the progress of both commercial cargo and commercial crew but we need a continued focus on the stated exploration objectives with maximum efficiency and expedition."
But at the same time the Senators posting is not without its critics. Many believe his voting record suggests Cruz does not take science seriously and some of the senators previous comments have not done him any favors.
As noted by The Washington Post earlier this year Cruz has denied that Climate Change is taking place. As NASA and the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are at the forefront of monitoring the weather those troubled by environmental issues fear the Texas Senator might negatively impact efforts to study the impacts of Climate Change.
But it is a well-known fact that Cruz is a fervent backer of NASAs new Space Launch System (SLS). While the Senator might not increase NASAs budget given the number of
NASA constituents in his home state of Texas he is not likely to take funds away from the space agency either.
In the end NASA will quickly know if Cruzs
Commerce Subcommittee on Science Space & Competitiveness appointment is a positive thing as the first NASA budget changes under his watch wind their way through the political process.
