Today Congressman Mo Brooks (AL-05) introduced legislation to fund the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for Fiscal Year 2014. This legislation is consistent with Congressman Brooks’ efforts to return furloughed personnel to work following the government shutdown. On September 30, Congress passed andPresident Obama signed into law the Pay our Military Act, which expressly prohibits furloughing members of our Armed Forces and DOD civilian personnel who provide support to members of the Armed Services. The bill introduced today will fully fund NASA through the end of the fiscal year, thus ending the furlough of the agency’s workforce.

Congressman Brooks said, “Today I introduced a bill to protect NASA’s workforce, which is important to both America’s economic well-being and its national security.”

Brooks added, “While I do not generally support continuing resolutions as the best way to fund the government, the current shutdown has forced us to propose alternative solutions until responsible funding bills have passed both houses of Congress and have been signed into law by the President. This bill provides the stability necessary to continue working on important NASA programs.”

Brooks concluded, “I appreciate the support of my fellow Members of Congress in protecting America’s space program. Current cosponsors include Science Space and Technology (SST) Committee ViceChairman Dana Rohrabacher (CA-48), SST Space Subcommittee Chairman Steven Palazzo (MS-04), former SST Chairman Ralph Hall (TX-04), and Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (CA-22), among others.”

Congressman Brooks serves as Vice-Chair of the Space Subcommittee on the Science, Space, and Technology Committee.