PRESS RELEASE
House Forms NASA Caucus To Educate Members
Oct. 17, 2017 (EIRNS)—Representatives Steve Knight (R-Calif.) and Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) announced the creation of a House NASA Caucus last week, with 26 members signing on in support. The purpose according to Knight, is to
"strengthen policymaker awareness of NASA’s many connections to our national security and economic interests, provide a bipartisan forum to discuss the scientific and technological challenges to American flight and space exploration endeavors, and serve as a focal point for public and private sector air and space expertise."
A major focus will be education for Members, to address "a lack of representation in the educational activities on Capitol Hill for many of NASA’s most important programs," Knight explained.
Knight, who is the son of William Knight, an Air Force officer and former astronaut, in his Oct. 10 statement, recalled, "NASA has been a part of my life since I was a child." He continued, that NASA and its predecessor agency "have always been able to inspire a nation to go above and beyond what is currently known and take leaps todiscovery in science."
"NASA’s storied history has led America to discovery and innovation unparalleled in history, " said Kaptur. "Its future possibilities are endless."
In fact, Congress has played a crucial role in keeping administrations from crippling the nation’s space programs, most recently, preserving at least some crucial projects of the Constellation program, which was cancelled by President Obama. Congress has repeatedly added funds to paltry and inadequate White House NASA budget requests.
The other members so far of the House NASA Caucus are Brian Babin, Mo Brooks, Andre Carson, Kathy Castor, Jim Costa, Barbara Comstock, Ro Khanna, Charlie Crist, Debbie Dingell, Anna Eshoo, Al Hastings, Bill Johnson, David Joyce, Blaine Luetkemeyer, Zoe Lofgren, Ralph Norman, Pete Olson, Steven Palazzo, Ed Perlmutter, Bill Posey, Jamie Raskin, Dana Rohrbacher, Linda Sanchez, Scott Taylor, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and Randy Weber.
