Posey’s Commercial Space Bill Passes
By Space Coast Daily // May 17, 2012
Measure Now Moves To Senate
BREVARD COUNTY • TITUSVILLE, FLORIDA – The commercial space industry has found an important friend in U.S. Rep. Bill Posey of Rockledge.
Posey’s bill making it easier for commercial space ventures to receive assistance from the U.S. Department of Defense in upgrading aging space facilities sailed through the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday gaining a nod of approval.
The measure now will be taken up by the U.S. Senate for passage.
“This amendment will give commercial space companies an incentive to spend their money here and do business here in Florida and around the U.S. instead of places like Russia and China, which have been siphoning off our commercial space business,” Posey said.
Posey’s bill quashes regulations that hinders private and commercial space companies from funding projects to restore and upgrade existing space facilities at Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
It is intended to clear the way for new space firms to do business in Brevard County and continue to lure future space-related industries here with state-of-the-art facilities.
Under current law, the Department of Defense is restricted from accepting funds from commercial entities for non-defense related purposes that are not related to a specific Defense Department mission.
Posey said the bill will enable commercial space providers to compete globally in the commercial space market.
This bill kills healthy competition by forcing NASA to chose a vendor for the new rocket now instead of letting the market determine the best candidate.
http://news.yahoo.com/nasa-says-competition-key-private-space-race-204413216.html