Nelson touts commercial space tax credits at KSC

Sen. Bill Nelson today touted a bill he's filed that would provide tax credits for commercial space initiatives, helping the commercial market develop beyond NASA-funded missions to the International Space Station.

"How do we help that incipient new commercial rocket industry really get off the ground?" he said during a visit to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

A package of tax credits and accelerated depreciation for commercial space businesses and investors "will supercharge this little industry for people to get involved, invest, create, and therefore create jobs," Nelson said.

"If we have tax incentives for people to put money into this new business, we can start to get back some of that business that we have lost to other parts of the world."

The bill would establish five Space Commercial Enterprise Zones, to be designated by the Commerce secretary, that meet three criteria: space workers have been dislocated; there is human or capital space infrastructure; the state and local governments support commercial space.

"I have just described the location upon which we stand," hew said, "but there are other locations in the country as well."

Nelson said the proposal's cost was not yet determined, but could easily be paid for by collecting oil industry royalties or closing loopholes rewarding businesses that move jobs overseas. It could be a year or two before the bill is up for a vote as part of a broader package of tax code changes.

Regarding Congress' ongoing effort to pass a NASA reauthorization bill, Nelson said he expects the House to agree to fund commercial cargo and crew transportation programs at the Senate's proposed level of $1.6 billion over three years. House authorizors' initial version offered significantly less, in the form of guaranteed loans.

"There doesn't seem to be any protest of disagreement," Nelson said.

Nelson said negotiations now center on the timing of work on a heavy-lift vehicle. The Senate's bill would begin development next year, while the House would wait longer.

"We will soon reconcile the House and Senate versions," he said. "After Sen. (Kay Bailey) Hutchison (R-Texas) and I have had numerous conversations with House members, I think we can fairly easily resolve the differences.

Nelson, who heads the subcommittee overseeing NASA policy, said there was a slight chance that both authorization and appropriations bills could be passed before the start of the new fiscal year on Oct. 1, and inserted in a likely continuing resolution budget that would continue government spending this year's levels.

Otherwise, he's optimistic the $19 billion NASA budget for 2011 would occur during lame-duck session after the November mid-term elections.