Congress and Media Response to NASA and Apollo

Reproduced at the Richard Nixon presidential Librarv

CONGRESSIONAL SUPPORT

Congressional support for the NASA space program for the decade of the Sixt,ies has been etrong, â‚Źrustained, and bi-partisan.

only twice ln thc perlod 196I through 1968 was the President's request for NASA cut by as much as IO percent. NASA's desire to proceed with Apollo at a faster pace was not, approved in 1-963 when Congress appropriated $5.1 billion instead of the requested $5.7 billion for the fY 1964 budget. Again in L967, in action on the F.Y 1968 budget, NASA's reguest was cut by about IO percent. The cuts were made in proposed new programs: ApolLo Applications, NERVA, and Voyager.

Final votes in House and Senate on NASA authorization ' bills for Fisca1 Years L966-L970 were.

FY '66. FY '67

FX_

'6+

House: 389-1I

349-10

voiee vote

z

voice vote

voice vote

Senate

79-4

rY '69 rY

'70

262-LA5 328-52 66-4

fn recent yearsr orr certain key votes, about 30 Senators and between 50 and IOO members of the House have appeared to want rather substantiaL reductions in the NASA space e ffort the whole it woul-d seem that sfrong Congressional support for the t\tASA program crer so many years also indicated support by the public at large, or at least by the more influential elements of the voting public.

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Reproduced at the Richard Nixon presidential Librarv

Summary

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of Congressional Actions on NASA Budget FY 1966_1969 (in billions)

FY 1966:

Requested $5.26; authorized appro_ priated $S.fZS. Final Senate$5.19, vote on authorization 7g-4; House 389_tl. Amendment to reduce appropriation by S% dofeated in Senate,16-61-

FY 1967:

Requested $5.OfZ; authorized $5.0i appropriated 94.968. Senate amendment to cut appropriation by 10% defeated 18-65.

F'Y 1968:

Requested $5.1i authorized 94.g66; appro_ priated 94.589. Although the .ppropiiarion \nas about 10% less than the amount requested, most of the cuts were in proposed new pro_ grams, and not in Apollo. Despite the Apollo fire and its repercussions, the ApoIS-o program for Fy 1969 was reduced by Congress only by l% in the authorization .id by-I""" than 2% in the appropriation. The House passed the NASA appropriation bill 3LZ to 92- A proposed anendment in senate to reduce NASA appropriation by an additional $IOO million was defeated 3O-36

r'Y 1969:

Requested 94.37; authorized 94.Ol3; appro_ priated $3.995. The final vote in the House on NASA authorization was Z6Z_LO5. A Senate amendment to cut g1 billion from the NASA authorization requested by the president was defeated, 33-38. ,

FY 1970:

Requested (president Nixon's revised budget) $3.716; House authorization bilI $3.966; authorization recommended by senate committee $3'716; further action delayed untir september.

)r

Note: Selected votes have been noted above to indicate respeetive strengths of space prograrfl proponents and opponents on certain key teets.

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Congressional- Support

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Apo11o

An important index c, congressionar support for the ApoIlo pr6g;:;;n is given in the table Uifow. Co'gr"rsional authorization for Apol1o research and &velopment funds wat tho samer oE almost the samcr oo tho proeLclont,s budget request for the five Fiscal years, 1965-1969; and Congressional appropriations, ds allotted in NASA,s operating plans, were close to the authorizations.

Apollo program R*D Funding (in rnillions of dolla,i.ii President's Congressional NASA'S Bgdqet Resuest Authoiization Act Operatinq, PIan*

ry 196s

2,677 .5

2,677 .5

2,628 .9

L966

2,997.4

2,967.4

,941.

1967

2,974.2

2

1968

2

,546.5

2,521.5

2

1969

2, O3B.g

2, O25.O

2, O25.A.

L3,234.4

13, 165 . 6

l-3, 055 .5

TotaIs

,97

4.2

O

2,922.6 ,538. O** _

Operating plan riflects use of funds appropriated by Congress.

** Includes program

prior year

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to

FY 1968 Apol1o

Reproduced at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library

NEWSPAPER OPINTON

81" folLowing excerpts from newsroaper editorial and signed columns since Apolro 11 are not intended to a cross section. These are only examples and are be "typical" of thought patterns emerging in commentary reLated to the futureo i

The Mars goal should bring benefits to all mankind even greater than the tremendous contributions of the moon program.

Los Angeles Herald Examiner The dividends of being the leading nation in space technology will be great. The samples and experiments of the ApoIIo mission alone

yill provide scientist" witr, a wealth of vital data about the moon and our universe for some time to come

And the moon wirl surery serve for further exploration or trre-solaras the springboard us to streteh out as far as science peimits. "y"t"*, arr.owing

LiteralLy mankind.

now,

the sky IS the limit for \

- The Denver post

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The.cutbaeks in the U.S. space program have already been drastic, vrithout produeing discernible matching progress in the areas of urban blight, illiteracy, malnutrition and good wirl among men.

Are there'to be ::urther cutbacks in the very hour of this space-age triumprr? rf so there be commitment to other space-age plans wirr and projects; a Marsharr pran operation to rehabilitate the cities; a Manhattan project tb revitalize urban schools; a world wide peace program to remove the threat nuclear disaster by meaningful disarmament? Weof don't believe it. There would be only waste of a constructive investment in afurther which can be of immense help in solving technorogy these problems but which if abandoned wirr r!pr"r."t instead another failure of tie human ,firit__. concession to indecision and d.efeatisml This is no time to falterr our astronauts shourd come home to a world and a nation determined to fulfill the prophecy in Commander words. The small step has been made;Armstrong,s the giant leap remains.for the future; a brave hoper dnd a tremendous challenge, but a move yet to be made - The philadelphia Inquirer_

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The vop,ge to the Moon would not have been possible unless presidents Kennedy and Johnson arso had recognized that public and private funds must be spent for targets unseenr which may be important goals in the cause of }râ‚Źt human progress.

There has been so much emphasis recently on the unhappy state of affairs inside the united states-the riots and demonstrations--that it is.a rerief for the nation to be abre to cheer a great accomplishment of its own.

- David Lawrence in ?he

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One.dayr rrrdn v/iIl go beyond the planets, to other solar systems, right now, however, that is not within our technorogical reaeh. But Mars and so are the other plinets. The moon is in is, earth's, and manrs, own erib. F1ans eommit_ ments should be made--now--for man to and take

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strides in the real world of space.

- Richmond News Leader t The footprints they leave in that dusty, alien soil wi1l be impiessed )-arge in history, even to the farthest generation of tl" human race. tsut even as lre savor the heady triumph of this moment, and pay our respects to those who brought it about, it would Lu *"fi-to ber that we stand only at the threshold of remem_ space--with vast oceans still to be crossed.

- New york Daily News There wil1 be no turning back. never has retreated from a frontier. The Man question is not whether we eventualry wirl in the vicinity of Mars but, when. find ourselves _ Virginian pilot Surely a nation endowed with the drive, technical competence ancr weaith needed to pioneer the space age can solve the problems of war and poverty on earth. It is thi; constructive path t,hat Mr. Nixon ought to forlow while is ar its rreisht. country ll:..X"llslow snouro .be inspired to 100k to therhe stars, not only for the mysteries to be unravered there but for light to guide us here on earth.

- St. Louis post-Dispatch

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Space experts estimate that a manned trip. to Mars is at least sevcn years away, and that a manned landing is probably a o'ozen ycars off .

But they also stress tliat such a voyage rnakes very good sense, s:-nce it would not require any major engineering breaktii;:oughs or exotic new rocket engines. Mars, they say, is welI within the range of present technology used in the Apo1lo program. . since we have already invested so much in that program, it would seem 1ogical to begin making plans no\,v for the next big stride into space beyond the moon.

- Richmond Times-Dispatch To US it is not a question of either__or.

We can reach the moon AND conquer povertlr.

Can Dr. Abernathy not see that space travel is the key to new croors for arI of us who have hitherto been bound to this unimportant 1ittle planet Earth? The opporiunities of space are almost rimitless once we have found ways to reach other planets ai:d eventually other *orId".

On the otirer hand, we know of no real gain that has ever been achievec by stifring knowledge or pulling up short in seientific inquiry.

Let us abandon neitirer the poor nor the space

program

- Orlando Sentinel It

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complete Apollo program, calling for - The nine more fligirts over the next three years, should be funded. Beyond that, serious con_ sideration should be given to the establishment of permanent manned stations on we may truly explore and per:-,apsthe moon so that - the new vrorld that we. have. already ""pi"it . The manned orbiting station that NASA "or|lror"O proposed shour-d be provided to test the ability has of men to live and work for long periods.in

weightlessness.

- Washington Star It is eommonly remarked that, space spending is cu::tailed, the fund" if gl instead to pressing earthbound issues. This "*., is not assured and autornatie. Time and again it has been proven that congress votes funds when public demand requiresr Dot because another program has been curtailed.

- Christian Science Monitor

Reproduced at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library

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It is foolish...to leap from this hj"storic to eager expectations of the day when men vrill live and work in space, when coronies wirr be established, food raised, and industriar products built on hr:iivenly bodies other than the These trri"ngs will crou]:t,ress come in theirearth. own good mon'lent

time.

But this is not ttre occasi-on on which to make a nev, national commitment in space that would NA'A's program going at the frantic pace whichkeep filred president Kennedyrs great promise for thefulmoon. Now is the occasion, rather, to establish steady program of space devel0pment, 1 removed from the poritieal debate over nationarone prioriti.es, which wilr insure that we estabrish a firm base for future generations to buird upon while creating at homer ES the matter of first prioritlr, a kind society which will alrow them to use fully theofnew opportunities opened up by the three new heroes and the tens of thousands of otherAmerican people who made their flight possible.

Washington post

Existing capacity is sufficient

to carry men.throughout the solar system, even though no one yet knows just how he might get beyond this to

the stars. _ We realize_ that many peopie wonder how much effort men should devote t-o t-ir:-s ,r.ii"-grave problems demand so much attention here on earth. yet, now that Astronauts Armstrong ano atarin have broken first trail to other *orid", our own worrd cannotthe be circumscribed by the rimits of our home planet. From now on, it will be increasi-ng1y commonplace for at reast some smalr part of mankind,s activity t"-t.L" place on the larger stage of the soLar system.

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- Christian Science Monitor

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But man vJilI travcl- even greater distances beyond tliis earth and iea::n far more about nature o.f remote ste.rs.. -.^/e think tiris will the be good for the mind and sp:rit of man...

Evening Outlook

There is no reason why we cannot pursue a sig_ nificant space program and at the same time under_

take to r.reet our neecls at

home. . .

The space budEet now sta:--,is just under s4 birrion annua11y. This is dor^rn f;:om i-ts irigh, or $5.g of fou:: years ago. The work force f,as been billion reduced from 420'0oo to r90,0oo- This appears to be a level that can be maintained.

It isn,t a question-_as some seem to see it__of either{r, in relation to space versus earthry needs.

It i.sn,t Mars or food" It,s a matter of proportion, of balance.

_ Washington Daiiy

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Finding a eure to eliminate these iils (disease, poverty. crime, ig:rorance. and war) be more dif_ ficult and may require a great deal may *oi* time than

landing a man on Mars or Jupiter. And although might make a smali cent in ttre earth, s problems we the money reguired to continue our .*prtr.tion with the universe, thac could be very unwise. For of manrs confidence in h11 ability to iniluence his environ_ men'i and chart h:s own dlstiny, which the ApoIIo mission has restored, shoulA Le future adventures i; s^Dace. "tr"rgthened by ,

- Richmond Times-Dispatch

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