“The president proposes and the Congress disposes,” is a phrase Democratic party senator for Florida Bill Nelson has been using a lot since the 1 February publication of president Barack Obama’s fiscal year 2011 NASA budget
With such a contentious ongoing debate about the Obama space plan and one bill already put forward to radically change it, it is no surprise that someone like Nelson would add to the NASA budget
The Houston Chronicle reports that the $746 million, or $1 billion depending on what you read, that was voted through by the Senate on Wednesday 21 April was achieved with an argument about defence and not exploration. In the Youtube video above hear Nelson talk about the solid rocket booster technology needs of US defence and possible future Ares I-Xs; there is a lot of background noise on the video
NASAWatch has an interesting perspective here from an alleged Congressional staffer explaining that Congress can basically force its own space programme on Obama
