Speaker Pelosi Skeptical of Manned Space Funding

FYI,

"Top US Lawmaker Skeptical of New Space Funding"
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jj8HatReJgeIoHl88c48JICxGKSQ

: Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she was personally
: skeptical of manned space missions and warned that NASA's future
: funding could depend on whether it was likely to create jobs.

: Pelosi vowed "harsh scrutiny" of all spending requests and said she
: would be asking "what is the mission? How will the money
: effectively be spent, in what period of time, to create jobs,
: compared to what?"

: "I, myself, if you are asking me personally, I have not been a big
: fan of manned expeditions to outer space, in terms of safety and
: cost. But people could make the case; technology is always
: changing," she told reporters.

: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Constellation
: program aims to send astronauts back to the moon by 2020, and then
: perhaps to Mars and other destinations in the solar system.

: Asked whether she had misgivings about a moon mission, Pelosi
: replied "the moon would be fine" and said she was "not against the
: Mars exploration" but added she was skeptical about a manned trip
: to the red planet.

: "There is a debate in the scientific community about the investment
: that it takes to have those flights be manned -- and I guess we say
: 'personned' now -- but manned and what the safety of it is," said
: Pelosi.

: Her comments came after US President Barack Obama met with NASA
: chief Charles Bolden behind closed doors at the White House,
: reportedly to discuss the space agency's future funding -- which
: the US Congress controls.

: "Everything is in competition for the dollar, and a judgment will
: be made as to what it does in terms of job creation, because this
: is what we are doing now," said Pelosi.

: The speaker paid tribute to the US moon landing, saying it was
: "like magic" and underlining "our economy benefited enormously."

: "But, again, we have to see dollars well spent creating jobs,
: accomplishing the mission," said Pelosi.

Mark Reiff