By Emelie Rutherford
Six pro-NASA senators are ramping up their complaints that the agency allegedly is not following the law and fully funding the ill-fated Constellation space flight program before any final approval is given to dismantle it.
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and a bi-partisan group of senators sent NASA Administrator Charles Bolden a letter last Friday charging the space agency should not be curtailing funding for Constellation this fiscal year because of language in the FY ’10 war supplemental funding bill that cleared the Senate in May.
“Throughout the debate on the future of manned space flight, you stated on multiple occasions NASA would comply with the provisions of the 2010 Consolidated Appropriations Act,” the six senators wrote to Bolden.
The legislation bans the use of funds for the “termination or elimination of any program, project or activity of the architecture for the Constellation program nor shall such funds be available to create or initiate a new program, project or activity, unless such program termination, elimination, creation, or initiation is provided in subsequent appropriations Acts.”
The intent of this law is straightforward and unequivocal,” the senators wrote. “NASA is to continue funding Project Constellation for the duration of this fiscal year.”
If NASA curtails Constellation funding before FY ’10 ends Sept. 30, they argued, “many corporations working on Project Constellation will be unable to sustain their workforces and thousands of jobs will be lost before Congress can complete the legislative process.”
The “de facto elimination” of Constellation before the end of fiscal year “violates the intent of Congress,” they said.
The letter is from Hatch and Sens. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), Bob Bennett (R-Utah), David Vitter (R-La.), George Lemieux (R-Fla.), and John Cornyn (R-Texas).
They charge NASA is incorrect in believing it is accurately following the Anti-Deficiency Act by curtailing funding. The statute prohibits spending funds beyond levels appropriated in a given year or obligating the government to pay money before funds have been appropriated.
“NASA claims Project Constellation’s contractors have created a $911 million accounting shortfall since they have not allocated funds for termination liability costs,” the letter says. “Yet, it has been NASA’s decades-long practice to instruct contractors not to set aside funds for termination. In fact, if NASA continues to use its historic accounting method and practices, there will not be a shortfall.”
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), the ranking member on the Senate Commerce Committee, also has raised concerns about NASA’s interpretation of the Anti-Deficiency Act.
NASA has said it cannot provide additional funds to cover termination liability because of the law.
The White House’s fiscal year 2011 NASA budget initially proposed eliminating the space shuttle replacement program that has included the developmental Ares I launch vehicle and Orion crew capsule and the future Ares V heavy-lift rocket. President Barack Obama, though, called in April for salvaging some work done on Orion and pledged to begin building a new heavy-lift rocket by 2015.
ATK [ATK] has been the prime contractor for the Ares I first stage, Boeing [BA] has developed the Ares I upper stage, and Lockheed Martin [LMT] has been making Orion