spacetoday.net: House committee approves NASA workforce bill

Posted: Thu, Jul 24, 2003, 6:52 AM ET (1052 GMT)
NASA

The House Science Committee approved a bill this week that would give NASA new powers to attract and retain key employees. The NASA Flexibility Act of 2003, HR 1085, was approved by the full committee Tuesday on a vote of 21 to 14 that largely fell along party lines. The bill gives NASA the ability to offer larger bonuses to retain workers as well as the ability to offer high salaries — up to nearly $200,000 a year — to a handful of critical employees. The legislation also includes a "scholarship for service" program that gives scholarships to college students in exchange for working at NASA after graduation. The committee debated the bill for several hours primarily out of concerns by some Democrats on the committee that the they will not get the opportunity this fall to discuss changes to NASA and the shuttle program after the Columbia Accident Investigation Board releases its final report. They wanted consideration of HR 1085 delayed until after the final report is published so that they could include any of the board's recommendations into the bill. Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, chairman of the House Science Committee, said that the committee would spend much of the fall, as well as early next year, discussing the report and recommending legislative changes.