With the elections turning the balance of Congressional power fully toward the Democrats, a lot of activity is taking place in Washington, D.C. December normally is a quiet time, but that will not be the case this year. The pace and tenor of the activity focuses on the public trappings of the transference of power – such as a new Speaker of the House of Representatives, a new Senate Majority Leader and the various committee chairmanships – and also on the not-so-public machinations, such as staffers departing the Hill and others coming aboard.

Some positions have been settled that could be positive for space policy. The incoming House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) has NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in his congressional district. Senator, and one-time Space Shuttle Payload Specialist, Bill Nelson (D-FL) was named a Deputy Majority Whip. All the known and active space policy congressional advocates also won re-election.

We will not know the complete makeup of the incoming Congress until sometime in January. At that point, we can determine who will be the key congressional decision makers on civil, commercial and national security space policy. Thankfully, space policy enjoys strong bipartisan support, and we expect that to continue.

A significant policy sticking point in the nation’s capital is the remainder of the FY 2007 appropriations bills, including the one that funds NASA. It appears Congress will pass what is called a “Continuing Resolution” that will lock in spending for agencies –including NASA – at a rate equal to the FY 2006 level, the House proposed FY 2007 level, or the Senate proposed FY 2007 level. It is unclear which level Congress will agree upon. It is expected that this Continuing Resolution could last into February or March 2007. Thus, the new Congress in January will have the responsibility both of finalizing the overdue appropriations bills for FY 2007 and also managing the new FY 2008 appropriations process.

In November, the Space Foundation’s Washington, D.C., office participated at the Japan-U.S. Science, Technology and Space Applications Program (JUSTAP) Conference in Hawaii. During a space policy discussion roundtable entitled “New Options and Opportunities to Engage the Space Frontier,” the Space Foundation addressed the findings of The Space Report about the size and health of the global space industry and areas for potential growth. This conference is an annual event attracting scientists, educators, government officials and business professionals from the United States and Japan. Established in 1990, this group works to identify and explore innovative opportunities for international collaboration in space exploration.