House to vote on Senate's "flawed" NASA bill

The U.S. House will likely vote Wednesday on the Senate's version of a NASA authorization act, potentially clarifying the agency's direction before the 2011 fiscal year starts Friday.

In a statement, Rep. Bart Gordon, chairman of the House Science and Technology committee, listed several concerns with the Senate bill but said there was not enough time before mid-term elections to pass a compromise bill.

"For the sake of providing certainty, stability, and clarity to the NASA workforce and larger space community, I felt it was better to consider a flawed bill than no bill at all as the new fiscal year begins," he said.

Even with the authorization bill's passage in the House, increased funding might not kick in until appropriators return after the elections for a lame duck session.

Gordon said he hoped appropriators would adopt some of the compromises his bill sought, including a development of a government vehicle in case commercial companies fall short in efforts to fly astronauts to the International Space Station.