The rise of Rep. Brian Babin (R-Texas) to the chairmanship of the U.S. House Science space subcommittee was an unusually fast one. The dentist-turned-politician was elected to Congress only in November, but by June had assumed leadership of the space policymaking panel, replacing Rep. Steven Palazzo (R-Miss.), who took a seat on the House Appropriations Committee. Babin's interest in overseeing NASA and its programs couldn't be more obvious: His district includes the Johnson Space Center in Houston, NASA's lead center for human spaceflight. Despite the retirement of the space shuttle in 2011, Johnson still draws some 25 percent of NASA's $17 billion-plus annual budget - by far the largest portion of any agency center - and employs some 15,000 civil servants and contractors. The center is responsible for operating the International Space Station and has the lead development role in the Orion crew capsule being developed for future deep-space missions.
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