spacetoday.net: House committee approves NASA workforce legislation

Posted: Sat, Jun 28, 2003, 1:10 PM ET (1710 GMT)
NASA

A House Science Committee subcommittee approved this week a bill that would give NASA the ability to provide bonuses and other incentives to attract and retain critical employees, although at least one Congressman said such legislation was premature. The space subcommittee of the House Science Committee approve HR 1085, the "NASA Flexibility Act of 2003", on a voice vote during a subcommittee meeting Thursday. The bill would allow NASA to give some employees bonuses of up to half their base pay as well as give the agency the power to pay ten employees deemed critical to the agency salaries of nearly $200,000 a year, the same salary earned by the Vice President. While the legislation has the support of a union that represents NASA engineers, the ranking Democrat on the subcommittee, Bart Gordon (D-TN), announced his opposition to the bill. Gordon argued that it was premature to consider the legislation when Congress doesn't know what workforce recommendations, if any, the Columbia Accident Investigation Board will make when it issues its final report.