[FPSPACE] FW: Cornell Chronicle: Congress gets bill to save Arecibo Observatory

[LARRY KLAES]

>From: Cornell Chronicle Online <cunews at cornell.edu>
>Reply-To: Cornell Chronicle Online <cunews at cornell.edu>
>To: CUNEWS-PHYSICAL_SCIENCE-L at cornell.edu, CUNEWS-CAMPUS-L at cornell.edu, 
>CUNEWS-SCIENCE-L at cornell.edu
>Subject: Cornell Chronicle: Congress gets bill to save Arecibo Observatory
>Date: Wed, 3 Oct 2007 17:42:18 -0400
>
>Chronicle Online e-News
>
>Congress gets bill to save Arecibo Observatory
>http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/Oct07/Arecibo.bill.lg.html
>
>Oct. 3, 2007
>
>By Lauren Gold
>LG34 at cornell.edu
>
>Congressmen Luis Fortuño of Puerto Rico and Dana Rohrabacher of California 
>have introduced legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives to ensure 
>continued operation of the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. They want to 
>guarantee future federal funding for the astronomical and radar-imaging 
>facility.
>
>"The bill is an appeal for the NSF [National Science Foundation] and NASA 
>to get together and talk about how they might jointly work to maintain the 
>science program at Arecibo," said Robert Brown, director of Cornell's 
>National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center, which manages the facility for 
>the NSF. Brown, also an adjunct professor of astronomy at Cornell, said: 
>"It doesn't ask for something new; rather, it seeks to maintain what goes 
>on at the moment. The observatory is really an icon to the people of Puerto 
>Rico -- it allows young people see ... that Puerto Rico and Puerto Ricans 
>can be successful scientifically on a world stage."
>
>The observatory is facing severe federal budget cuts by 2011 as the result 
>of an NSF Senior Review panel recommendation last year. The observatory has 
>reduced its operating budget from $10 million to $8 million since last 
>year, and funding will remain level over the next three years.
>
>Fortuño and others in Congress have also written to the NSF seeking 
>reconsideration of the recommended budget cuts. Fortuño noted that the 
>radio astronomy and radar capabilities of the facility are critical to 
>detection and tracking of near-Earth objects (NEOs), including asteroids 
>that could pose a hazard of catastrophic destruction and loss of life.
>
>The legislation introduced by Fortuño and Rohrabacher would mandate the 
>continued operation of the facility and would support the mission of NASA 
>with respect to NEOs, as well as research for scientific and educational 
>purposes important to Puerto Rico and the rest of the nation.
>
>Fortuño said: "Nobel Prize-winning research has been conducted at Arecibo 
>in the past and may be again in the future, unless the observatory is 
>closed for short-sighted reasons. Maintaining this facility is an 
>investment in our nation's future. The cost is small compared to the 
>benefits for America and mankind."
>
>Said Rohrabacher: "Arecibo is a key resource in understanding the 
>characteristics of potentially hazardous asteroids and comets so that they 
>can be dealt with effectively. There is no room for error when it comes to 
>eliminating a threat that could kill millions."
>
>
>
>##
>
>
>--
>
>
>Chronicle Online
>312 College Ave.
>Ithaca, NY 14850
>607.255.4206
>cunews at cornell.edu
>http://www.news.cornell.edu
>