U.S.
Senator Bill Nelson - Update
February 17, 2011
Tallahassee, FL (Posted Feb 17, 2011 01:30 pm)
Ensuring NASA’s Spending Authority
Last week, Senator Nelson introduced S. 305 to repeal a provision in the FY2010 appropriations language that prohibits the use of NASA funds to terminate any Constellation program contracts.
With the signing of the NASA Authorization Act of 2010 a new direction for the agency has been laid out and this repeal will allow the NASA Administrator to end Constellation contracts that cannot be modified to comply with the Authorization Act. This bill also responds to a recent NASA Inspector General assessment noting that if left in place, this provision could force NASA into spending up to $575 million by the end of the fiscal year on projects that are not applicable to the new direction.
Fighting for Drug Import Savings
For
more information
Lynn Bannister: Director of Outreach
111 North Adams St
Tallahassee, FL 32301
850-942-8415 / 850-942-8450 (fax)
billnelson.senate.gov
Senator Nelson is an original cosponsor of S. 319, a bill that would allow Americans to import prescription drugs from Canada and other countries, whose drug safety standards are as high as those in the U.S.
Americans pay as much as twice what people in other countries pay for prescription drugs, yet current law prohibits Americans from buying prescription drugs from other countries. These drugs are often exactly the same as those that are sold in the U.S.
Senator Nelson has a long history of leadership on this issue, and has been sponsoring similar legislation since his earliest days in the Senate.
Advancing Key Finance Committee Priorities
Senator Nelson filed three amendments during Finance Committee consideration of legislation to extend expiring aviation excise taxes.
The first would establish a Citrus Trust Fund to finance research into citrus diseases. The Trust Fund would be financed from existing tariffs on imported citrus products and would ensure a dedicated source of funding - roughly $30 million per year - for citrus-related research.
The second amendment would clarify that algae-based fuels qualify for current tax incentives for advanced biofuels.
The third amendment would direct the president to establish Commercial Space Enterprise Zones that would provide special tax incentives to encourage the development of the commercial space sector.
Although the amendments were ruled non-germane to the committee’s pending legislation, Finance Committee Chairman Baucus committed to work with Senator Nelson to find a path forward for the Citrus Trust Fund proposal. Chairman Baucus and ranking Member Orrin Hatch also committed to support Senator Nelson’s algae tax parity amendment when the committee considers energy tax legislation.
