Wolf, Culberson Introduce Space Leadership Act

Rep. John Culberson (R-TX), Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) and four other Republicans introduced the Space Leadership Act today.

The bill, co-sponosred by Reps. Pete Olson (R-TX), Bill Posey (R-FL), Lamar Smith (R-TX) and James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) would create a Board of Directors chosen by the administration, the House and the Senate made up of former astronauts and eminent scientists.  The board would -- 

• prepare a budget request that is submitted concurrently to the President and Congress
• recommend three candidates for NASA administrator, deputy administrator and chief financial officer -- the president would be encouraged to select one of them who would then be approved by the Senate and
• prepare a quadrennial review of space programs and other reports

Board terms would be for three years and board members could not work for any company that does business with NASA.  The administrator would be selected for a 10-year term.

The bill stands little chance of clearing the 112th Congress if for no other reason than the short amount of time remaining, but could provide an opportunity for more debate on how to help NASA move forward.