NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe today named D. Lee Forsgren as the agency’s new Assistant Administrator for Legislative Affairs, effective immediately. Forsgren succeeds Charles T. Horner III, who will continue to serve the agency as a special assistant to the Office of NASA Administrator.
Before joining NASA, Forsgren was a partner and Special Counsel with the Government Relations Team in the Washington office of Adams and Reese LLP, a Gulf Coast-based law firm of more than 260 attorneys. Forsgren also served the Bush-Cheney transition team on the new administration’s Transportation Advisory Committee.
“We are fortunate to have someone with Lee’s impressive credentials join the NASA family during this important time for the agency,” said Administrator O’Keefe. “His working relationship extends across both parties in a bipartisan manner that will make him an effective liaison between NASA and Congress.”
Forsgren has been with Adams and Reese since 1999. He provided legal and policy guidance to an array of clients related to maritime policy, transportation policy, logistics, toxic cleanup, contaminated sediments management, natural resource management, and federal appropriations. He has represented clients before both Houses of Congress, numerous federal agencies, and the White House.
Before that, he served five years as Majority Counsel on the Water Resources Subcommittee of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and was Assistant Majority Counsel for the House on the Coast Guard Maritime Transportation Subcommittee. Forsgren also served as the Maritime Legislative Assistant in the office of Congressman Don Young of Alaska.
orsgren earned his bachelor’s degree from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, N.Y., in 1983 and a law degree from George Mason University School of Law, Arlington, Va., in 1990.
Horner joined NASA in January 2002 as Deputy Assistant Administrator for Legislative Affairs and was named Assistant Administrator in May 2002.
“Charlie has been a tireless advocate for NASA since he first joined the agency,” added Administrator O’Keefe. “He has an extensive background in resource and appropriations management and his counsel to my office will be vital in the time ahead.”
Horner is a decorated U.S. Army combat veteran, having served as a forward observer with an infantry company in Vietnam. In 1984, he served as an Army Inspector General, and in 1986 Horner was the principal liaison for the Army with the Congressional Appropriation Committees for all procurement accounts.
During his career, Horner also has served as special assistant to various comptrollers for the Department of Defense for all matters involving the budget and Congress. He was selected in 1992 by the Secretary of the Navy to serve as Special Assistant. Before joining NASA, Horner was the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Financial Management.
The Office of Legislative Affairs has responsibility for devising and implementing the legislative strategy to carry out NASA initiatives requiring congressional action. Similarly, the Office of Legislative Affairs articulates the views of the agency, including its components, on congressional legislative initiatives. The office responds to requests and inquiries from congressional committees, individual members of Congress, and their staffs.
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