U.S. Rep. Pete Olson, of District 22, meets with Boeing employees

U.S. Rep. Pete Olson, of District 22, meets with Boeing employees Monday afternoon to talk about his hopes for more NASA funding.


By YVETTE OROZCO
Updated: 02.18.09
President Obama’s stimulus package passed this weekend after having been opposed by most Republicans in Congress.

One of those Republicans in opposition, Pete Olson, representing the Texas’ 22nd congressional district, met with Boeing-NASA employees on Monday afternoon.

“I voted against the stimulus bill,” said Olson. “I hope it works for our nation’s sake, but we’re throwing an awful lot of money and I don’t know how many jobs will be added to our economy.”

Before he spoke with the media, Olson met with Boeing-NASA employees in a scheduled town hall meeting, addressing his hopes for the future of aeronautical research and exploration.

The freshman congressman is the ranking member on the Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee, which has investigative authority in issues regarding NASA, aeronautical science research, space law, and space commercialization, making him the top Republican in the House on Space and NASA issues.

The stimulus package designates $1 billion for NASA, but that came after a compromise.

The House version of the bill originally slated $600 million with the Senate adding $900 million, but the final version was a compromise of $1 billion.

For Boeing-NASA, said Olson, the issue of funding is complicated by the president’s own trajectory throughout his campaign and election regarding support for funding, which Olson characterized as inconsistent.

More recently, said Olson, Obama has supported an increase in that funding.

“I hope we can keep him at his word because it is critically important, not just for this area, but for this country,” he said.

Olson, a former Navy pilot, spoke of having recently met individually with one Boeing employee.

“The only reason he’s here is because he wants to be a part of human beings going back to the moon and beyond,” said Olson. “You can’t underestimate how much technological innovations and manned space-flight from NASA can inspire.”

Olson has recently been speaking at similar meetings throughout his district, which includes south Pasadena and Deer Park, along with the south-central part of the Houston-Baytown-Sugarland regions. The district covers Rosenberg, La Marque, parts of Missouri City, Pearland, Fort Bend, Galveston, Brazoria and Harris counties.

While his main talking points remained focused on NASA’s future, Olson also elaborated on the uncertainty among employees amid predictions of economic instability and job insecurity.

“There is some apprehension,” he said. “Our economy is in a recession and those things concern people and there is an uncertainty.”