DeLay moves on to key NASA panel

The embattled former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay is going to have a lot more say in what goes on at NASA in the future. Wednesday, the Texas Republican reclaimed a seat on the powerful House Appropriations Committee and was assigned to the subcommittee on Science, State, Justice and Homeland Security. This is the panel that determines NASA's spending levels each year and is the source of controversial earmarks for pet projects back home. DeLay is battling a criminal charge in Texas stemming from a campaign finance investigation. If he defeats the charge and wins re-election this fall - a lot of ifs, but not out of the question by any means - he is in a position to become chairman of the appropriations subcommittee that controls NASA funding in 2007. The current chairman, Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., must relinquish his seat after this year to honor term limit restrictions the House has on committee leaders. DeLay's congressional district is home to Johnson Space Center. He has been an outspoken advocate for the center and for NASA's human spaceflight program.