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Shuttle tragedy prompts new look at NASA budget
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Amid questions over past funding, NASA's budget and its priorities are coming under fresh scrutiny in light of the loss of the space shuttle Columbia and its seven-member crew. Congressional hearings are planned to investigate both the shuttle tragedy and probe the broader question of funding for the space agency. "There has been an ignoring and a starving of NASA for funds by the administration, and this isn't a partisan comment" Sen. Bill Nelson, a former astronaut, told CNN Monday. "It goes back to the previous administration. They have delayed as a result of that the safety upgrades to the space shuttle." At the same time, Nelson -- a crew member of the 24th shuttle flight in 1986 -- said he doesn't think the "NASA family" ignored safety problems and said that he doesn't believe "this accident was the result of the lagging safety updgrades on the space shuttle." Still, the Florida Democrat's assessment of NASA's budget, coupled with previous reports that warned of staffing shortages and funding cuts, is likely to have resonance as investigators try to determine what led to Saturday's deadly breakup of Columbia as it re-entered Earth's atmosphere after a 16-day mission. Another area of scrutiny will likely be the agency's priorities. For example, the future of the international space station, which has exceeded its original estimated cost by billions of dollars, may be re-examined, according to some congressional aides. President Bush released his proposed 2004 budget Monday. Prepared before the Columbia tragedy, Bush calls for increasing the NASA budget by roughly $500 million to $15.47 billion, about a 3 percent increase. Funding for the space shuttle program itself would rise from $3.2 billion to $3.9 billion under Bush's proposal. "The funding for the last decade was flat," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said Monday, explaining the administration's decision to increase NASA's budget. But, he added, "This administration is making no conclusions about whether the funding over the last decade or the increase in funding has anything to do with what took place in the Columbia. It would be premature and unwise to make any judgments about that at this time." In the Bush budget, the administration faults the space shuttle program for "inadequate planning and poor cost management." The proposed increase for 2004, according to the White House, is meant to cover cost overruns for ongoing projects. Senate committee hearingSen. John McCain, chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, said the panel would hold a hearing next week and hear from NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe. McCain, R-Arizona, warned against drawing a connection between the accident and NASA's budget. "All of this needs to be sorted out, but I wouldn't immediately jump to the conclusion that we have cut back on safety," McCain told CNN. "That is a serious issue that needs to be looked at." McCain said an initial comparison of administration budget requests and congressional appropriations found the two to be "basically" in line. He said it remains to be seen "whether or not enough was requested" and cited as one focus of the upcoming hearings whether safety programs were reduced for budgetary reasons. "That's going to be a key and fundamental question," McCain said. Over the weekend, several lawmakers promised to give the agency whatever it needs to recover from this shuttle disaster and ensure the safety of future missions. A former NASA administrator, Alan Ladwig, told CNN, "NASA has been somewhat underfunded over the past decade -- the budget had been either declining or fairly steady. "It becomes a question: How much can they do with these limited resources?" Budget decisions, he noted, take place "in a dynamic environment where tradeoffs are made." "We may well find that we made the wrong tradeoffs over the past several years and that's what these various investigative committees will look into in the future," he said. More than two years ago, a report from the General Accounting Office -- the investigative arms of Congress -- warned that staff cuts could affect NASA's shuttle operations. "Work force reductions are jeopardizing NASA's ability to safely support the shuttle's planned flight rate," read one line in the 2000 GAO report.
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