According to the Houston Chronicle, Reps. John Culberson (R-Texas) and Frank Wolf (R-Va.), both members of the House Appropriations Committee, have begun working on legislation that would make NASA less susceptible to the vagaries of presidential politics that have created a pattern of wasteful starts and stops on big programs over the years.
“Still in draft form, the legislation would restructure NASA’s management and funding to make it more professional than political, advocates say. They envision creating a management style more like the FBI, in which the president appoints the director to a 10-year term.”
But one unidentified source in the story gives the legislation zero chance of becoming law, even if it passes in Congress. No president would sign the legislation ceding White House control over NASA’s annual budget, this source said.
