Trump and his minions cannot run roughshod over Executive Branch agencies.
The way this works is that Congress grants the president a period of time to review agencies of the federal government. Once the review is complete the changes are submitted to the Legislature. However, this is different and nearly backwards from the regular methods of Congress. The changes will go through if there is NO action by Congress. It gives the appearance of a president/dictator, but, that is not the case.
The president presides over the Executive Branch created by Congress. Congress in turn funds the Executive Branch with budgets to facilitate smooth operation of the government in service to the people.
Recent history found the Executive Branch in scrutiny by the people for a growing budget in the Executive Branch of “COC” funds. It was giving the president his own military to run contingencies overseas (click here). If the president was found to be abusing that power the Congress could rein it in a bit.
But, with billionaires like Musk chomping at the bit, the most powerful body to decide the changes to the federal government is the current Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. He can a filibuster and end the changes the Executive Branch is demanding. There could be quite an interesting time for Senator Schumer. The filibuster could stop all the changes or modify the findings of the Executive Branch and only consolidation of duplicate activities by several offices might be called for. But, it is not unusual for the federal authority to run in duplicity or in tandem depending on the work load in any given agency.
Taking a look at things in the Executive Branch is the responsibility of the president. Reporting on those findings is also the president’s responsibility.
I have a problem with Musk co-authoring the review. Elon has Space X. Currently, private space companies are drawing 40 percent of NASA’s budget. That is a significant amount of money. Granted NASA’s budget is about 3 percent or so of the national budget, but, it is still a good amount of money.
The USA has a strong interest in space exploration and not space entertainment. The idea of the ALLOWANCE of private space agencies was to nurture that arm of the space program but ultimately they were to be run as private companies and earn monies to ultimately generate an income and be self-supporting. To date that hasn’t happened.
I am not being mean. I am completely aware of the love Americans have for the idea of space travel as a frontier for science. I think that is strongly reflected in projects like sending actual names of Americans on a metal sphere to Titan. Most folks know Titan is estimated to be habitable as a natural satellite of Saturn. Sending names through space to Titan has an ideology that someday those same people will walk on Saturn. I am not going to get into the reality of that idea. I think the idea was exciting and an interesting activity for kids of all ages, including Grandpa and Grandma.
But, to get back to NASA funding, it is a national security issue. NASA does a lot more than worry about the ISS and its experiments. There is an entire agency within NASA that concentrates on military interests. Ask MIT.
The “thing” is this. Forty percent of NASA’s budget is going to private interests and the program for them isn’t really panning out as was hoped AND expected. I hate to bring about this reality, but, there are astronauts (who are important and precious people who we have an invested interest as well as a humanitarian interest for their well being) that became stranded at the ISS. That is unacceptable.
ALSO, to me and some Americans will agree with me OUR own projects are delayed and delayed waiting for funding. Namely, Artemis. That is not healthy for the national interests of this country.
So. Not to belabor the issue.
I think it is obvious why I have a problem with Musk being willing to run roughshod over the federal budget. I think the initiative is corrupt with enormous conflict of interest.
I might add, Mr. Musk is nowhere near the sophistication of NASA. His heavy rockets are only in existence a short while and explode from time to time. He has had successes, but, his company is still in development.
The U.S.A. has had its tragedies that no one is proud of. The reason for an O-ring failure was because the program was being driven to hard for the purpose of a Republican that wanted to make it’s Shuttle profitable.
With that said, there also one other issue. It would seem there are a few million dollars in the NASA budget devoted to D.I.E., the diversity program for outreach to states like Alabama seeking to bring minorities into the STEM program. Some verbal individuals at NASA think Elon can cut that out and put it to use for Artemis. That is offensive given the benefits of the program to young people. AND. Artemis is a multi-billion dollar project. A few million is going to close the gap in funding? I don’t think so.
There are a lot of nuances in government funding and a bunch of cowboys looking toward their own interests will never be interested in those nuances. Never.
I think i mentioned there is a trillion dollars US ear marked for the COVID-19 pandemic. That should be moved to pay the Social Security Insurance program. The federal government borrows from SSi and owes Americans a whole lot of money. That trillion should be coveted by Majority Leader Schumer to address the federal debt to SSI especially considering all the talk about its anticipated shortfall.
end…for now…
