Congress Gives NASA Plenty of Post-Budget Homework

摘要

The massive spending package that cleared Congress Nov. 20 contains more than just a healthy budget increase for NASA. It also contains a number of homework assignments certain to keep NASA busy writing reports well into the spring. President George W. Bush has not yet signed the 2005 omnibus appropriations bill — he's waiting for legislators to strip a provision that would give Congress access to individuals' income tax returns — but once the revised bill reaches his desk, the clock starts ticking on a half-dozen or so report deadlines for NASA that are contained in the bill. Calls for reports are a common feature of spending bills approved by Congress each year. Congressional aides said they are an important tool for obtaining information from federal agencies needed in advance to help legislators make future appropriation decisions. While reports requested in conference reports — as opposed to those contained in the actual bills — do not carry the force of law, federal agencies ignore such directives at the risk of angering lawmakers who must approve their budgets each year, one congressional source said.