Two Pro-NASA House Members Lose Primaries

Rep. Donna Edwards (D-MD) and Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-PA) lost Democratic primary contests yesterday.  Both have been strong NASA supporters holding top Democratic positions on key subcommittees.

Edwards lost to Rep. Chris Van Hollen in a bid to replace Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), who is retiring at the end of the year.  In Maryland, politicians can run in only one race, so Edwards and Van Hollen both were precluded from running for their current House seats once they decided to enter the Senate contest.   Edwards once worked for Lockheed at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.  She is the top Democrat on the Space Subcommittee of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee where she is an enthusiastic NASA supporter, especially of its plans to send humans to Mars.  She makes no secret of her desire to be one of those to make the trip.

Van Hollen’s views on the space program — civil, military or commercial — are not well known.  Like Edwards, he represents a district close to Washington, DC, but has been in the House much longer (since 2002) and rose through the Democratic ranks into the House leadership.  He will face Republican Kathy Szeliga in November.   In his victory speech, Van Hollen praised Milkulski and her focus on not only big national issues, but “you never forget the people back home.”   That attitude has benefitted NASA, NOAA and associated businesses throughout Mikulski’s political career, so if Van Hollen emulates it, that could be good news for those interest groups if he wins.  Maryland is a strongly Democratic state so Van Hollen is thought to have the edge, but whether voters choose him or Szeliga, the Senate system is built largely on seniority and any freshman has modest influence compared to a veteran legislator like Mikulski.  She is the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee and its Commerce-Justice-Science (CJS) subcommittee that funds NASA and NOAA (and chaired them when Democrats controlled the Senate).

Fattah was the top Democrat on the House Appropriations CJS subcommittee, but had to step down from that position last year when he was indicted on federal corruption charges.  He maintains his innocence and is still a member of the House, but gave up his CJS leadership position (now held by Rep. Mike Honda, D-CA).  Although Fattah’s Philadelphia district has little connection to the space program, he was a strong supporter of NASA on the CJS subcommittee.  His loss to Dwight Evans was attributed largely to his indictment, along with four others, in connection to his failed 2007 campaign for Mayor of Philadelphia.

NASA has many supporters on Capitol Hill and the loss of three (Mikulski, Edwards and Fattah) hardly spells doom, but it does add a layer of uncertainty to how the agency will fare in future deliberations over government spending priorities.