Policy Blog
The AAS Public Policy team uses the Policy Blog to communicate with the membership about current events in the science policy world. Most policy blog posts are written by the John N. Bahcall Public Policy Fellow.
White House Proposal for Space Mission Authorization
28 Nov 2023
The White House recently released a proposal for legislation on commercial space authorization and regulation. Here we take a look at the proposal and highlight what it would mean for astronomy.
Legislation on Space Debris and Commercialization
16 Nov 2023
The last few months have seen significant legislative action on space activities. In this blog post we discuss these bills, their impact on our community, and the steps the AAS has been taking to advocate our needs to...
Impact of a Shutdown on Astronomy
19 Sep 2023
With just a few weeks left until the deadline to avert a government shutdown, John N. Bahcall Public Policy Fellow Yaswant Devarakonda discusses how we got here and what we can expect to happen next.
The Satellite and Telecommunications Streamlining Act: A Postmortem Analysis
22 Aug 2023
The Satellite and Telecommunications Streamlining Act, which would have revised the Federal Communications Commission's role in regulating commercial satellites, failed to pass a House vote. Why did it fail and where...
Understanding the FY24 Appropriations Bills
20 Jul 2023
Last week, the Senate and House introduced their funding bills for the Commerce, Justice, and Science agencies, which include NASA and NSF. In this blog post, we analyze what is included in the bills and discuss what...
The Power of Citizenship: Working Together to Improve Our Country
28 Jun 2023
In this guest post, Fabio Pacucci, the Clay Fellow at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, reflects on his experience as an AAS Congressional Visits Day volunteer.
A Letter to the Congressional Appropriations Leadership
13 Jun 2023
In response to a possible cut for non-defense funding, the AAS sent out a letter to the leadership of the congressional appropriations in support of NASA and NSF funding.
Where Did the $30 Million For Astronomy Go?
8 May 2023
The National Science Foundation's Astronomy Division seems to be missing the $30 million that Congress directed to support astronomy facilities. The funding must be in NSF budget somewhere, but not where we expected.
An In-Depth Look at the FY 2024 NASA Budget Request
7 May 2023
Let's take a closer look at the FY 2024 NASA budget request, which comes after two ambitious Decadal Surveys and faces a less ambitious congressional appropriations cycle.
Introducing the New John N. Bahcall Public Policy Fellow
25 Apr 2023
Meet our new John N. Bahcall Public Policy Fellow Yaswant Devarakonda. In this article, Yaswant describes his path to science advocacy and his hopes for the future of the field.