Washington, DC April 16, 1998 – President Clinton journeyed to NASA’s
Johnson Space Center near Houston Tuesday to wrap himself in the glow of
the U.S. astronaut corps and say some supporting words for the embattled
space program. But Clinton’s three-hour world wind tour of JSC failed to
convince some critics on Capitol Hill seeking Clinton’s support for
increases to NASA’s Fiscal year 1999 budget.
Florida Republican Rep. Dave Weldon, who represents the Kennedy Space
Center, praised Clinton’s decision to visit JSC, his first since the 1996
Presidential campaign, but pointed out that Clinton had slashed NASA’s
budget again this spring for the seventh consecutive time.
“If the space program is such a high priority for him, why did the President propose a budget cut for NASA. ..while proposing increases to every other federal science R&D account?”, Weldon asked Tuesday before the Clinton visit. Weldon also hit Clinton’s failure to bolster the space station by boosting its budget to cover cost overruns on the station’s common module contract without the need to raid other NASA programs.
For the White House, Clinton dodged any critical questions about NASA’s
future while the chief executive hobnobbed with astronauts and NASA JSC
chief George Abbey. But Weldon’s remarks served again to remind the
administration that even administrator Dan Goldin’s magic touch with
lawmakers may be wearing thin as the space station faces its crucial May
16th decision on slippage of the Russian service module.
