Earlier than the State of the Union, an opportunity to…

Sooner than attending the State of the Union deal with this earlier Tuesday, my Planetary Society colleagues Jason Callahan (Home Protection Adviser), Matt Renninger (Senior Authorities Relations Supervisor), and I had a sequence of very productive conferences with members of Congress from every occasions. Along with discussing some very important factors in home exploration, we helped recruit additional members to hitch the model new Planetary Science Congressional Caucus, which is ready to help promote planetary science and exploration in new and thrilling strategies throughout the U.S. capitol.

All in all we met with sixteen sitting members of Congress. We visited all six congressional office buildings, and even managed to get in a Fb Stick with Senator Gary Peters from Michigan. At each meeting we had the possibility to talk in regards to the significance of planetary science and elementary evaluation. We reminded each Congressman, Congresswoman, and Senator of our independence as an organization and that our members come from numerous backgrounds and are very educated close to home exploration and planetary missions.

In any case, I do not agree with every congressional member on every political concern, nevertheless we’re able to find frequent flooring—in home. We agree on the importance of home exploration to our psychological and monetary correctly being. It offers me good hope for the long term. As you acknowledge, I strongly take into account that home brings out among the finest in us—it permits people who might in another case oppose each other to hunt out alternate options to work collectively and assemble the mutual perception essential to a healthful democracy.

Our advocacy work over the earlier 12 months was merely the start of points to come back again. Because of the continued help of our members, The Society will proceed to be a catalyst for one in every of many few points on Capitol Hill that brings people collectively. Throughout the weeks ahead, you will hear additional about this new Planetary Science Caucus. It’s distinctive and revolutionary. Yesterday’s work was crucial to getting this caucus off the underside. Hold tuned.