Post by Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe on Oct 27, 2004 13:15:10 GMT -6
Does Kerry have what it takes to move the United States Space Program forward and address the incompetence of NASA? I don't know, but here we begin to address the matter...
More here at space.com: www.space.com/news/kerry_space_041026.html
Kerry Promises 'A More Balanced' NASA
By Brian Berger
Space News Staff Writer
posted: 26 October 2004
09:21 pm ET
WASHINGTON -- One week before the U.S. elections, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) is blasting President George W. Bush’s space exploration vision as a “purely political stunt” that threatens to gut other NASA programs.
But Kerry’s critique of Bush space policy is not likely to take center stage in the candidate’s stump speeches between now and November 2. For now, at least, Kerry is airing his space views only on the Internet.
The one-page position paper, posted to the Kerry campaign’s Web site Oct. 25, criticizes the Bush administration for putting forward a plan for sending humans to the moon and Mars without backing it up with the necessary funding. The Massachusetts Democrat said he would raise NASA’s budget and focus the space agency on aeronautic and space research promising the greatest public benefit.
“Unfortunately, the Bush administration has undermined America’s efforts to move forward on space and the next generation of innovative ideas,” the Kerry paper reads. “The record budget deficits created by the Bush administration over the past four years will short change NASA and other research funding. The Bush administration’s push for the moon/Mars mission is designed as a purely political stunt, without being backed up by the necessary funding. If we went forward with the Bush agenda, other NASA programs would be gutted.”
By Brian Berger
Space News Staff Writer
posted: 26 October 2004
09:21 pm ET
WASHINGTON -- One week before the U.S. elections, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) is blasting President George W. Bush’s space exploration vision as a “purely political stunt” that threatens to gut other NASA programs.
But Kerry’s critique of Bush space policy is not likely to take center stage in the candidate’s stump speeches between now and November 2. For now, at least, Kerry is airing his space views only on the Internet.
The one-page position paper, posted to the Kerry campaign’s Web site Oct. 25, criticizes the Bush administration for putting forward a plan for sending humans to the moon and Mars without backing it up with the necessary funding. The Massachusetts Democrat said he would raise NASA’s budget and focus the space agency on aeronautic and space research promising the greatest public benefit.
“Unfortunately, the Bush administration has undermined America’s efforts to move forward on space and the next generation of innovative ideas,” the Kerry paper reads. “The record budget deficits created by the Bush administration over the past four years will short change NASA and other research funding. The Bush administration’s push for the moon/Mars mission is designed as a purely political stunt, without being backed up by the necessary funding. If we went forward with the Bush agenda, other NASA programs would be gutted.”
More here at space.com: www.space.com/news/kerry_space_041026.html