European Journal of Business Science and Technology 2020, 6(1):5-20 | DOI: 10.11118/ejobsat.2020.005

NASA Funding in Congress: Money Matters

Martin Machay1, Alan Steinberg2
1 Mendel University in Brno, Czech Republic
2 West Houston Association, United States of America

This paper argues that individual members of Congress engage in economic opportunism, voting in the best interests of their constituents based on economic heuristics, when considering space policy legislation. Multivariable logit analysis is conducted on five votes in the House of Representatives to test the hypotheses. The economic opportunism effect is captured in the models by the presence of NASA Centers, relative importance of space industry and NASA procurements. Findings suggest that economic benefits to a member’s constituency can play an important role in legislative voting, particularly when legislation deals with federal aerospace funding, when space policy bills lack over-reaching bi-partisan support. In recent years the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has seen its funding fall prey to partisan budget battles and party line voting, but this was not historically the norm. As we move forward into a future where NASA funding may become more scrutinized and politicized, this paper supports the thesis that individual members of Congress care more about the funds for their constituents than the other aspects of space policy.

Keywords: space policy, economic opportunism, legislative behavior, NASA, budgeting
JEL classification: H11, H57, K39, Z18

Received: August 21, 2020; Revised: August 25, 2020; Accepted: August 25, 2020; Published: August 31, 2020  Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
Machay, M., & Steinberg, A. (2020). NASA Funding in Congress: Money Matters. European Journal of Business Science and Technology, 6(1), 5-20. doi: 10.11118/ejobsat.2020.005
Share...
Download citation
  • BibTeX (.bib)
  • Bookends (.ris)
  • EasyBib (.ris)
  • EndNote (.enw)
  • EndNote 8 (.xml)
  • ISI WoS (.isi)
  • Medlars (.medlars)
  • Mendeley (.ris)
  • MODS (.xml)
  • Papers (.ris)
  • RefWorks (.txt)
  • RefManager (.ris)
  • RIS (.ris)
  • MS Word (.xml)
  • Zotero (.ris)
    • Open full article

    References

    1. Ansolabehere, S., Snyder, J. M. Jr and Steward III, Ch. 2001. The Effects of Party and Preferences on Congressional Roll-Call Voting. Legislative Studies Quarterly, Vol. 26, No. 4, pp. 533-572. Go to original source...
    2. Banks, J. S. 1985. Sophisticated Voting Outcomes and Agenda Control. Social Choice and Welfare, Vol. 1, No. 4, pp. 295-306. Go to original source...
    3. Bender, B. and Lott, J. R. Jr. 1996. Legislator voting and shirking: A critical review of the literature. Public Choice, Vol. 87, No. 1, pp. 67-100. Go to original source...
    4. Bureau of Economic Analysis. 2017. Regional Data: Annual Gross Domestic Product by State. Available at: https://www.bea.gov/regional/index.htm.
    5. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2017. Local Area Unemployment Statistics. Available at: https://www.bls.gov/data/#unemployment.
    6. Capitolwords. 2004. Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act of 2004. Sunlight Foundation: Washington, DC. Available at: http://capitolwords.org/date/2004/11/19/H10045_commercial-space-launch-amendments-act-of-2004.
    7. Civic Impulse, LLC. 2014a. H.R. 1654 (106th): NASA Authorization Act of 2000. GovTrack.us: Washington, DC. Available at: https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/106-1999/h139.
    8. Civic Impulse, LLC. 2014b. H.R.5382 (108th): Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act of 2004. GovTrack.us: Washington, DC. Available at: https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/108-2004/h541.
    9. Civic Impulse, LLC. 2014c. S.3729 (111th): NASA Authorization Act of 2010. GovTrack.us: Washington, DC. Available at: https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/111-2010/h561.
    10. Civic Impulse, LLC. 2016. H.R.2262: SPACE Act of 2015. GovTrack.us: Washington, DC. Available at: https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/114-2015/h262.
    11. Clausen, A. R. 1973. How Congressmen Decide: A Policy Focus. St. Martin's Press: New York, NY. ISBN 0312394454.
    12. Committee on Science, Space and Technology. 2013. Full Committee Markup - H.R. 2687, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2013. Available at: http://science.house.gov/markup/full-committee-markup-hr-2687-national-aeronautics-and-space-administration-authorization-act.
    13. Davis, O., Dempster, M. A. H. and Wildavsky, A. 1966. A Theory of the Budgetary Process. American Political Science Review, Vol. 60, No. 3, pp. 529-247. Go to original source...
    14. Ferguson, R. G. 2013. NASA's first A: aeronautics from 1958 to 2008. NASA: Washington, DC. NASA SP-2013-4412.
    15. Fiorina, M. P. 1974. Representatives, Roll Calls, and Constituencies. Lexington Books: Lexington, MA. ISBN 0669902179.
    16. Hoff, J. 1997. The Presidency, Congress, and the Deceleration of the U.S. Space Program in the 1970s. In: Launius, R. D. and McCurdy, H. E. Spaceflight and the Myth of Presidential Leadership. University of Illinois Press: Chicago, IL, pp. 92-132.
    17. Kau, J. B. and Rubin, P. H. 1979. Self-Interest, Ideology and Logrolling in Congressional Voting. Journal of Law and Economics, Vol. 22, No. 2, pp. 365-384. Go to original source...
    18. Kau, J. B. and Rubin, P. H. 1993. Ideology, voting and shirking. Public Choice, Vol. 76, No. 1/2, pp. 151-172. Go to original source...
    19. King, L. 2013. Showdown Over NASA Funding Likely. USA Today. Available at: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/07/31/nasa-funding-battle-congress/2602319.
    20. Kingdon, J. W. 1977. Models of Legislative Voting. The Journal of Politics, Vol. 39, No. 3, pp. 563-595. Go to original source...
    21. Kingdon, J. W. 1989. Congressman's Voting Decisions. University of Michigan Press: 3rd Edition. ISBN 0472064010. Go to original source...
    22. Krehbiel, K. and Rivers, D. 1990. Sophisticated Voting in Congress: A Reconsideration. The Journal of Politics, Vol. 52, No. 2, pp. 548-578. Go to original source...
    23. Lambright, W. H. 2009. Leading in Space: 50 Years of NASA Administrators. In: Dick, S. J. NASA's First 50 Years: Historical Perspectives. U.S. Government Printing Office: Washington, DC, pp. 49-78.
    24. Launius, R. D. 2003. Public opinion polls and perceptions of US human spaceflight. Space Policy, Vol. 19, No. 3, pp. 163-175. Go to original source...
    25. Launius, R. D. and McCurdy, H. E. 1997. Beyond NASA Exceptionalism. In: Launius, R. D. and McCurdy, H. E. Spaceflight and the Myth of Presidential Leadership. University of Illinois Press: Chicago, IL, pp. 221-250.
    26. Leone, D. 2013. Senate, House NASA Bills Far Apart on Funding, Close on Some Priorities. SpaceNews. Available at: http://www.spacenews.com/article/civil-space/36339senate-house-nasa-bills-far-apart-on-funding-close-on-some-priorities.
    27. Machay, M. 2012. A brief analysis of US space employment. Space Policy, Vol. 28, No. 2, pp. 125-129. Go to original source...
    28. Machay, M. and Steinberg, A. 2015. The Influence of Industry on Legislative Behavior toward NASA. Astropolitics: The International Journal of Space Politics Vol. 12, No. 2-3. pp. 205-222. Go to original source...
    29. MacRae, D. 1958. Dimensions of Congressional Voting. University of California Press: Berkley, CA.
    30. Mayhew, D. R. 1974. Congress: The Electoral Connection. Yale University Press: New Haven, CT. ISBN 0300130015.
    31. Nadeau, F. 2013. Explaining public support for space exploration funding in America: A multivariate analysis. Acta Astronomica, Vol. 86, pp. 158-166. Go to original source...
    32. NASA. 2015. Annual Procurement Reports. Available at: https://prod.nais.nasa.gov/pub/pub_library/annual_proc_reports_index.html
    33. Nelson, T. G. 2015. Mining Outer Space: Who Owns the Asteroids? New York Law Journal, July 29. Available at: https://www.skadden.com/sites/default/files/publications/070071539Skadden.pdf.
    34. Peltzman, S. 1984. Constituent Interest and Congressional Voting. Journal of Law and Economics, Vol. 27, No. 1, pp. 181-210. Go to original source...
    35. Pomeroy, C. 2018. The quantitative analysis of space policy: A review of current methods and future directions. Space Policy, In press, 15 pages. DOI: 10.1016/j.spacepol.2018.08.001 Go to original source...
    36. Poole, K. T. and Romer, T. 1993. Ideology, 'shirking', and representation. Public Choice, Vol. 77, No. 1, pp. 185-196. Go to original source...
    37. Snyder, J. M. Jr. and Groseclose, T. 2000. Estimating Party Influence in Congressional Roll-Call Voting. American Journal of Political Science, Vol. 44, No. 2, pp. 193-211. Go to original source...
    38. SpaceRef. 2013. Committee Republicans Set NASA up to Fail with Flawed Bill - Positive Democratic Alternative Defeated. Available at: http://spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=41219.
    39. Steinberg, A. 2011. Space policy responsiveness: The relationship between public opinion and NASA funding. Space Policy, Vol. 27, No. 4, pp. 240-246. Go to original source...
    40. Steinberg, A. 2013. Influencing Public Opinion of Space Policy: Programmatic Effects versus Education Effects. Astropolitics: The International Journal of Space Politics & Policy, Vol. 11, No. 3, pp. 187-202. Go to original source...
    41. Stigler, G. J. 1971. The Theory of Economic Regulation. The Bell Journal of Economics and Management Sciences, Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 3-21. Go to original source...
    42. Stimson, J. 1975. Five Propositions About Congressional Decision-Making: An Examination of Behavioral Inferences from Computer Simulation. Political Methodology, Vol. 2, No. 4, pp. 415-436.
    43. Swers, M. L. 1998. Are Woman More Likely to Vote for Women's Issue Bills than Their Male Colleagues? Legislative Studies Quarterly, Vol. 23, No. 3, pp. 435-448. Go to original source...
    44. Tronchetti, F. 2015. The Space Resource Exploration and Utilization Act: A move forward or a step back? Space Policy, Vol. 34., pp. 6-10. Go to original source...
    45. United States Census Bureau. 2016. 2011 County Business Patterns (NAICS). Washington, DC. Available at: http://censtats.census.gov/cgi-bin/cbpnaic/cbpdetl.pl.
    46. United States Congress. 2016. Biographical Directory. Congress: Washington, DC. Available at: http://bioguide.congress.gov/biosearch/biosearch.asp.
    47. United States Congress. 2018. Legislation. The Library of Congress: Washington, DC. Available at: https://www.congress.gov/advanced-search/legislation.
    48. United States House of Representatives. 2014. Space Subcommittee Approves Bipartisan NASA Authorization Act. Congress: Washington, DC. Available at: http://science.house.gov/press-release/space-subcommittee-approves-bipartisan-nasa-authorization-act.
    49. United States House of Representatives. 2016. History, Art and Archives: People Search. Congress: Washington, DC. Available at: http://history.house.gov/People/Search/.
    50. Volden, C. 1998. Sophisticated Voting in Supermajoritarian Settings. The Journal of Politics, Vol. 60, No. 1, pp. 149-173. Go to original source...
    51. Whitman Cobb, W. N. 2011. Who's supporting space activities? An 'issue public' for US space policy. Space Policy, Vol. 27, No. 4, pp. 234-239. Go to original source...
    52. Wildavsky, A. 1964. The Politics of the Budgetary Process. Little, Brown: Boston, MA. pp. 216.

    This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0), which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.


    Return to the content