THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2010
KLMNO
EZ SU THE FED PAGE Space entrepreneur scorches some in GOP with lobbying effort E
lonMusk is an entrepreneur of the technology age:He made
millions selling PayPal, builds space rockets and electric sports cars for a living, and provides regular fodder for tabloids with his rocky personal life. Now the flamboyant Californian has come to Washington. Musk, the chief executive of
SpaceX and TeslaMotors, has emerged as one of the most prominent backers of President Obama’s controversial plan to increase the role of commercial space companies atNASA. The plan could benefit companies such as SpaceX because it calls for relying on private firms for transportation to the international space station and other low-orbit missions. The plan has sparked an intensive lobbying campaign by old-line space contractors and political opposition from both sides of the aisle. The battle is expected to come to a head soon as lawmakers attempt to reach a compromise. Musk, a native of South Africa,
has spent much of this year meeting with receptive members of Congress, urging supporters to lobby lawmakers and pointedly criticizing key Republicans for opposing Obama’s plan.He also has increased the pace of his federal campaign contributions. Since 2003,Musk has given
about $300,000 to federal candidates, divided evenly between Democrats and Republicans, according to records compiled by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. In the first six months of 2010, however, Musk donated nearly $71,000 to Democrats, compared with less than $7,000 to Republicans from him or his company’s PAC, the data show. During a recent interview,
Musk bristled at the notion— increasingly asserted by Republican detractors—that he has become a Democratic partisan. After all, he’s an avid supporter of RepublicanMeg Whitman, the California gubernatorial candidate who oversawthe acquisition of PayPal when she headed eBay. ButMusk also acknowledged
that he is “a fan of Obama,” calling him “a good president” and “a big proponent of competition.”He said he has been disappointed in GOP opposition to the administration’sNASA plans. Musk complained publicly
that Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) refused to meet with him, and he accused Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Tex.) of “trying to hurt a Texas company,” since SpaceX tests rockets in her state. In July, he urged supporters to lobby against aHouseNASA bill gutting Obama’s proposals, calling it “the sort of senseless pork politics that has driven our national debt to the point where our economy can barely service
MARC KAUFMAN/THE WASHINGTON POST
ElonMusk is chief executive ofNASAcontractor SpaceX, which successfully launched a next-generation rocket, Falcon 9, into orbit in June. “For a while I was thinking
THE INFLUENCE INDUSTRY Dan Eggen
it.” Such off-the-cuff commentary
has earnedMusk greater attention—and greater criticism —than his relatively small space company might otherwise attract. SpaceX has a $1.6 billion NASA cargo contract and successfully launched a next- generation rocket, Falcon 9, into orbit in June. Tesla has also received federal aid, including $465 million in low-interest loans approved during the Bush administration. His personal life only adds to
the spectacle. Gossip columnists have chronicledMusk’s bitter divorce from his estranged wife and his newromance with British actress Talulah Riley.His business biography served as an inspiration for Tony Stark, the inventor-tycoon played by Robert Downey Jr. in the “Iron Man” movies. (The second film includes a cameo byMusk playing himself.) John M. Logsdon, who was the
longtime director of the Space Policy Institute at George WashingtonUniversity, said Musk “doesn’t mind making himself the poster child” because of his self-confidence and
ambition. But, he added, it’s not clear how muchMusk has helped Obama’s cause. “It makes it easier to attack,”
Logsdon said. “They can say: ‘Look at this young South African guy who's never done anything.We’re depending on him?’ ” Musk said SpaceX would be
just one of many players vying for commercial space services under a privatized system, along with Boeing, Orbital Sciences and others. “Our influence is a tiny
fraction of any one of the giant contractors,” he said. “We have one guy and an intern doing our lobbying inD.C.—they have whole buildings full of lobbyists.” Musk is exaggerating, but only
a bit. SpaceX has 15 lobbyists registered on its behalf, according to disclosure forms. By comparison, space giants Boeing and LockheedMartin together employ more than 220 lobbyists and spent a combined $16 million on lobbying in the first six months of this year, the data show. Overall,Musk says, theNASA
debate “has diminishedmy faith in government a little bit.”
Key senator comes to the aid of Postal Service
on services, locations BY ED O'KEEFE
If a key Senate Democrat has
his way, the U.S. Postal Service could soon end Saturday mail deliveries, close thousands of post offices and open newones in grocery stores. The agencywould also recover overpayments to a federal employee retirement fund and use the money to pro- vide health benefits for retired postal workers. Sen. Thomas R. Carper (D-
Del.), a longtime supporter of postal leadership, on Thursday will unveil a bill designed to give the Postal Servicemore flexibility on major operational and finan- cial decisions without congres- sional approval. It echoespropos- als pushed by Postmaster Gener- al John E. Potter, who is seeking greater independence from law- makers despite the Postal Ser- vice’s quasi-government role. On Wednesday, Potter voiced
approval for the measure, saying it allows the Postal Service “to step into the 21st century.” The bill would lift restrictions
on the types of products and services the Postal Service sells and when and where it operates.
Bill offers debt relief, greater flexibility
Potter wants to end Saturday mail deliveries, close post offices and open for business in nearby retail outlets. He also wants to explore selling banking or insur- ance services. Carper’s bill goes a step fur-
ther. It would permit the Postal Service to work with state gov- ernments to provide voter regis- tration forms and driver’s license applications at postal locations. Thenewproposals gobeyonda
House package introduced this year, and they come one week before the Postal Service is set to report billions in losses for fiscal 2010. But with lawmakers tied up in
tax cut debates and little else before the midterm election re- cess, Carper’s legislation isn’t likely to advance this year. Lawmakers are expected to
provide financial relief to the Postal Service in a temporary measure that would fund other federal agencies, according to multiple sources. The continuing resolution would reduce for one year the Postal Service’s annual $6 billion payment to pre-fund retiree health benefits. Those payments contribute to
a projected debt load that is expected to reach about $230 billion in the next decade, postal officials say. The Postal Service hopes to pay down that debt in part with about $50 billion it overpaid to the Civil Service Re-
Senators tackle building security Bill would boost hiring at agency that protects federal facilities after scathing report of lapses last year. B3
tirement System in the past four decades. Carper’s bill would allow the
Postal Service to recoup $5 bil- lion a year of the $50 billion overpayment to prepay health benefits. “If we do nothing, we face a
future without the valuable ser- vices the Postal Service provides,” Carper said. “However, if we act quickly, we can turn things around by passing this necessary bill that would give the Postal Service the room it needs to manage itself and avoid it becom- ing the latest victim of Congres- sional gridlock.” Rep. Darrell Issa (Calif.), the
ranking Republican on the House committee that oversees postal issues, called Carper’s pro- posal “a thinly disguised taxpay- er-funded bailout” for an organi- zation that was expected to pay for itself when it became a self- funding agency almost 40 years ago. William Burrus, president of
the American Postal Workers Union, said it was unfair and unnecessary for the bill to re- quire that arbitrators consider the Postal Service’s financial con- dition during labor negotiations. “Anyone thatwould allege that
arbitrators have not considered the financial health of the Postal Service in the past haven’t been in negotiations,” Burrus said.
ed.okeefe@washingtonpost.com
Federal pay in the cross hairs Unions fight efforts by politicians from both parties to cut federal salaries and jobs. Federal Diary, B3
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government doesn’t deserve the negative reputation the public has,” he said. “But now I think maybe it does.”
Campaign finance Senate Democrats will try
again Thursday to pass a new campaign finance disclosure bill, though fewseem to believe they have the votes. The Disclose Act, crafted as a response to a Supreme Court ruling that lifted restrictions on
Violence rises against census takers
BY CAROLMORELLO Census workers were the tar-
gets of about 700 incidents of vio- lence or threats this year, almost four timesasmanyaswererecord- ed during the 2000 Census, an official saidWednesday. Robert M. Groves, director of
theCensusBureau, saidthat there were only a few cases in which weaponsweredischarged.Heesti- mated that census workers seek- ing information frompeople who didn’t mail back their census forms in April had paid approxi- mately 100millionvisits to homes — a figure that includes multiple visitsbeforecensusworkers found anyonepresent. Each violent incident “is a hor-
rible event,” Groves said while briefing reporters at the National Press Club on how the census is winding down operations. “But in terms of risk, it’s really quite rare.” Though the number of inci-
dents is significantly higher than the 181 reported during the last census, officials say the compari- son is less alarming than it ap- pears. Not only is the population larger, but officials believe work- ers this year were more aware of the potential threat and therefore more likely to report incidents. Groves said workers visited
corporate political expenditures, would require companies and unions to provide details about their spending on elections. Senate Republicans torpedoed the bill in July by mustering 41 votes against it. The outcome is likely to be
similar this time, legislative aides said. But Democrats are pushing the bill anyway, trying to force Republicans to vote against it just weeks before the midterm elections.
eggend@washpost.com
about 700,000 homes that re- turned incomplete forms, costing taxpayers $42million instead of the$31millionthathadbeenbud- geted. Return visits to 8.7million homes that census workers noted were unoccupied cost $282mil- lion, instead of the $244million budgeted. Just a small portion of the in-
complete forms came frompeople whowrote down only the number of people living at an address, Groves said. Some critics say they viewmost of the census’s 10 ques- tions as invasions ofprivacy. Groves saiditwas impossible to
say why forms were incomplete. “But the numbers suggest that fears of a boycott never material- ized,”he said.
morelloc@washpost.com
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