Lampson makes short list for NASA top job

By STEWART M. POWELL WASHINGTON BUREAU
April 1, 2009, 10:22PM


Nick de la Torre CHRONICLE

WASHINGTON — Former U.S. Rep. Nick Lampson, once a county assessor and school science teacher, has emerged as a contender for the top job at NASA, sources on Capitol Hill have told the Houston Chronicle.
The 64-year-old Stafford Democrat, whose Houston-area congressional district included Johnson Space Center, has joined a short list of prospective nominees for the $177,000-a-year post.

Former astronaut Charles Bolden Jr., a retired Marine Corps major general, also remains in contention, in part because of support from Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., chairman of the Senate panel that oversees NASA.
Lampson did not return telephone calls seeking comment. A spokeswoman for President Barack Obama, Gannet Tseggai, said the White House has no comment.

The selection of a NASA administrator has dragged on for months. It has been complicated by political divisions within the NASA community, rival candidates favored by Texas and Florida lawmakers and a White House distracted by a national economic crisis.

A bipartisan group of 14 lawmakers — including seven Texans — recently wrote Obama to express their concern about the absence of a NASA administrator.
Freshman Rep. Pete Olson, R-Sugar Land, who defeated Lampson in November’s congressional election, said he found the lengthy delay “extremely troubling,” especially with NASA’s budget being considered by the House and critical decisions over program milestones mounting.

“I’m very concerned that five months after the election, we’ve still only heard rumors from the administration regarding the next NASA administrator,” said Olson, who serves as ranking Republican on the House panel that oversees NASA.
Lampson’s congressional allies have been privately urging Obama to consider the former congressman ever since his 2008 defeat. The Texas Democrat has remained a strong candidate because he was “so familiar with NASA as a member of Congress,” said Rep. Charles Gonzalez, D-San Antonio. “I know that members of the Texas delegation, as well as (other) members of the House, were writing letters in support of Nick Lampson for a position at NASA.”

READ THE FULL STORY HERE