What Effect will the US Elections Have on NASA?
Should Mr. Gore win, NASA Administrator Dan Goldin will most likely be asked to stay on for a while and do a victory lap, helping to select, and then groom, an acceptable successor in the process. Should Mr. Bush win, speculation is rather uniform that Mr. Goldin’s services would not be required after 20 January 2001 (although Mr. Goldin does have the respect of many members of Congress from both parties). Whether Goldin would stay on or leave before that date is not certain (although it would be fun to see what he says and does if he stays on until January knowing that he won’t have a job). In Congress, should the Republicans retain the majority in the House (now more or less a certainty), speculation puts House Science Committee Chair James Sensenbrenner over at the House Judiciary Committee. While no formal succession plan is in place, informed sources suggest that Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, (R- NY) is a likely choice to chair the Science Committee. In the off chance that Democrats regain majority in the House, it is almost certain that ranking minority member Ralph Hall (D-TX) would be first choice for Chairmanship. Hall is widely respected by both Democrats and Republicans and would almost certainly enjoy the same bipartisan support the late George Brown received during his chairmanship of the Science Committee.
Editor’s note: While the presidential election is still undecided, it is possible to understand a little bit of what effect a Gore or Bush victory would have on NASA. The Republican Party seems to have retained control of both houses of Congress albeit with a much thinner margin. As such, everyone is going to have to start cooperating a bit more if things are going to get done.
