MD Lawmakers Press for Answers on Changes at NASA Goddard
Rep. Steny H. Hoyer, right, joined Sen. Chris Van Hollen and Rep. Glenn Ivey at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in April to learn more about the center’s work. (Facebook photo)
Rep. Steny H. Hoyer and other Maryland lawmakers have asked the Trump administration for information about reported consolidation and reorganization activities at the NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center in Greenbelt.
Congressman Hoyer, along with US Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks and Reps. Kweisi Mfume, Jamie Raskin, Glenn Ivey, Sarah Elfreth, April McClain Delaney, and Johnny Olszewski, pressed National Aeronautics and Space Administration Acting Administrator Sean Duffy to provide detailed answers to questions about changes at NASA.
In a letter, the delegation members highlighted Goddard’s legacy of groundbreaking achievements over the years – including its leadership in the development of GPS technology as well as the Hubble and James Webb telescopes – and expressed grave concern that recent operational changes will impact its research capabilities, undermine Goddard’s workforce, and threaten to drive top scientists to space programs abroad.
The lawmakers requested answers to a series of questions around recently reported changes and urged acting Administrator Duffy to safeguard Goddard’s status as a world-leading space and earth science institution by keeping its workforce stable and sustaining its world-class research capacity.
“The Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Greenbelt, Maryland is the premiere Space and Earth Science research center in the world. Goddard’s research and innovation has helped us answer questions about our planet, the Sun, the solar system, and the Universe. The dedicated civil servant scientists, engineers, and contractors who work at Goddard’s facilities from Greenbelt, to the Wallops Flight Facility in Wallops, Virginia, to the Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility in Palestine, Texas have pushed scientific boundaries. Decades of pathbreaking work mean that today, the Global Positioning System (GPS) that we all rely on daily for navigation, the satellites that help us map fires for large scale firefighting, and telescopes in outer space are all being operated by the experts at the Goddard Space Flight Center. We urge you to support the patriotic Americans that do this essential work on behalf of our country and the world and ensure that they have the resources they need to lead the United States to new frontiers,” the lawmakers wrote.
“Unfortunately, actions taken during the last nine months threaten the workers at Goddard and their ability to lead the world in this science and exploration. Between unnecessary voluntary separations, deferred resignations, reductions in force, and other pressure, thousands of civil servants and contractors are no longer working at GSFC,” they continued. “Other countries with space programs from our political allies to our adversaries have been recruiting our top scientists and researchers with massive salaries, research budgets, and the promise of stability. Where the US has considered stepping back, China has made clear they are eager to step in. We can and must re-invest in the people and centers that make America the global space leader and that starts with Goddard.”
The entire letter can be read here.
Congressman Hoyer is chair of the Regional Leadership Council.
For more information about Rep. Steny H. Hoyer, visit his Leader member page.
