Clinton Introduces Bill to Fund Aricebo Telescope

In a move some call driven to gain votes in the Puerto Rican democratic primaries, Hillary Clinton introduced a bill to provide funding to the Arecibo Observatory, similar to a stalled bill released in the house last year.

The Arecibo budget is 12.5 million a year. The NSF, the other major federal science agency, is squeezed for cash as well as NASA. They have announced that they are planning on cutting funding for the telescope in 2010.

Read Hillary's Press release and the text of the bill.

Then Email, Fax, Call, and Visit your Representative and Senator and tell them to vote in support of Senate Resolution 2862 or House Resolution 3737.

Representative Weldon of Space Coast Not Running Again

Representative Dave Weldon, of the 15th district which includes the "Space Coast" region, has announced today that he will not be running for another term after being in congress since 1994.

Representative Weldon is currently sponsoring the recently introduced bill H.R.4837 "To authorize the Space Shuttle to be flown from 2010 through 2015, and to authorize appropriations for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for this purpose."

He also was a co-sponsor of the successful H.R.758 "To establish an interagency aerospace revitalization task force to develop a national strategy for aerospace workforce recruitment, training, and cultivation," That was signed by President Bush in December of 2006.

While Weldon's announcement should'nt necessarily impact the course of H.R.4837, it does present an important opportunity to secure a strong advocate for the space industry when he leaves.

Many are planning on running for his spot already. Actionforspace.com will keep you posted on those candidates and other developments as they occur closer to the congressional elections.

Export Control Reform to Help Spaceflight Industry

President Bush has announced a reform to government policies and practices, making it easier for US companies to buy and sell launcher and satellited components, among other things, with other countries around the world.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the issue, ITAR and other restrictions are laws our government has put in place which make it difficult or impossible for US companies to sell things like satellite parts to other countries. This has crushed the US dominance in the world market over things like satellite components. The new reform deals with how licences are granted for import or export of said components. Educate yourself on the issue here, here, here, and here.

A relevant bill relating to licensing imports and exports of items on the munitions list can be read here.