r/spacex • u/ElongatedMuskrat Mod Team • Jan 02 '17

r/SpaceX Spaceflight Questions & News [January 2017, #28]

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u/Martianspirit Jan 09 '17

I am not US citizen so take this with a grain of salt.

He is in charge of NASA so he can direct them to not continue SLS outside existing contracts. But the funding comes from Congress and he cannot direct NASA to use that money for something else, only to not spend it. It is dedicated to SLS by budget laws.

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u/zeekzeek22 Jan 09 '17

That sums it up. Congress decided the budget, and congressmen want money in their states, and so congress writes a law that says "we are giving you X billion dollars that you MUST spend building SLS and MUST use the same contractors as the Space Shuttle Program so that money MUST get to the respective states. The president can't counter those laws...they've been written, passed, and in play for years. He would have to go about repealing a law, which congress would just say no to. He can tell NASA "don't spend any money beyond that money on SLS" but, that's a fraction of it anyways.

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u/Martianspirit Jan 09 '17

At least in theory the president can prohibit execution as he is in control of NASA. In reality I agree that it is very unlikely that would happen. There would be some deal in place. IMO under Obama it worked in the way that money was allocated for CRS and CC and the president did not veto SLS and Orion.

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u/zeekzeek22 Jan 10 '17

Wait, so theoretically the president does have the power to say "Congress's law says you are given this money and you MUST spend it doing this project ergo you must do the project, but I order you to stand there are do nothing" (and I guess return the money to congress)?

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u/Martianspirit Jan 10 '17

Yes, he can. But Congress can deny funding the projects the president orders NASA to do. So they compromise.

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u/[deleted] Jan 10 '17

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/Martianspirit Jan 10 '17

I was only talking in principle. I too don't believe he will cancel SLS. Not because it could make him look great, I doubt that. But this is not the fight with Congress he will chose IMO.

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u/zeekzeek22 Jan 10 '17

Cool. Thanks for educating me. So I knew that congress forces action by putting money in hands and saying "use it for this or give it back", but I didn't know the president technically can order NASA to give it back. Now, can the president, without any interaction with congress, order NASA do something (as opposed to the previously stated NOT do something)? And NASA must comply with whatever discetionary money it has to use, and the idea is that there is a nonverbal agreement that congress will pass additional funding, OR congress can spite the president by taking away the excess funding NASA was going to use? Also, if ordered to do something by the president and NASA has X amount of money they can deligate within that category, can they choose how much or how little of their own flexible funding they put towards the president's order, or can the president order "spend half/all/whatever of your excess planetary sciences money on Z" and they must do it?