John Kerry's position on

NASA and space exploration: Although funding for NASA and space exploration thrived during the years surrounding Kennedy, the past ten years have produced a shrinking budget for NASA and their programs. NASA, in recent years, has struggled with criticism due to the cost in money and in lives that its programs require. This was especially true after the Columbia Space Shuttle disaster in February 2003. This criticism has been somewhat combated by the recent successes of the Mars Exploration Rover Mission. 

Description of candidate's position: Kerry proposes increased research investments for NASA, although doesn't specify how much increased funding or the programs that will benefit from the funding. He does, however, state that Bush's program is too costly to achieve and believes we should focus our money and energy on domestic problems rather than space exploration.

Quotation from the candidate: "NASA is an invaluable asset to the American people and must receive adequate resources to continue its important mission of exploration… However, there is little to be gained from a 'Bush space initiative' that throws out lofty goals, but fails to support those goals with realistic funding… The civil space program acts as an engine of innovation for the entire country, making its enormous benefits hard to quantify but even harder to discount." July 2004, link.

Assessment of the Proposal:

Positive: John Glenn, former Democratic Congressperson and the first American to orbit the Earth, supports John Kerry's position toward NASA and believes Kerry has the right leadership skills to determine the future direction for NASA. He states that the "bedrock American commitment to leadership in education and research is eroding' under the current administration… Kerry 'is not just going to talk about these issues. He's going to take decisive action to guarantee American leadership.'"  

Negative: Frank Sietzen, Jr. and Keith L. Cowing, authors of the 2004 book New Moon Rising: The Making of America's New Space Vision and the Remaking of NASA, criticize Kerry's position on NASA by arguing that, although he has said very little during the campaign on the issue of space exploration, he has fought against NASA during his tenure in the Senate. They explain that he publicly argued to terminate funding for the NASA space station program and voted against funding for the program on several occasions.

Comparison: Bush has proposed several new initiatives for NASA and the space program as whole and has asked Congress to allocate more funds for those initiatives. Although Kerry does not directly endorse Bush's initiatives, he does call on Congress to provide more funding to NASA for increased support for physical sciences and engineering. link Additionally, Kerry's record in the Senate suggests that he is not a staunch supporter of NASA and its programs. link

Link to Bush's issue brief.