Members of the National Space Society (NSS) are sending letters to every member of the House, and the society has created a "space action committee" which began meeting this week, Executive Director Pat Dasch said.

The action committee includes the NSS and other pro-space groups and plans to meet with as many members of congress as possible before the House votes on the cuts in September, Dasch said. The committee will also write personal letters to representatives, rather than sending copied form letters.

"We are going to do the most we can," Dasch said.

The House will vote on an appropriations bill when it returns from a month-long recess that begins Friday. That bill includes only $12.7 billion for NASA next year, which is $900,000 lower than President Clinton's request and $1 billion less than its 1999 funding.

The society, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, is the oldest pro-space group in the country. The group represents people interested in seeing the U.S. space program move forward.

Despite the current NSS efforts, Dasch is not sure what the final outcome will be.

"Because their (Congress) behavior is so extreme this time, it is impossible to predict what the House will do," Dasch said.

Dasch hopes that the President's proposal will be fully restored by the time the budget reaches a conference committee. She called the House's proposal a case of irresponsible politics.

"I think it is a clear indication that Congress is playing political games and NASA is at the bottom of the pile because it does not have a strong constituent base," Dasch said.

She also said that six years of tight budgets have taken their toll on NASA. She described NASA as a "sick animal" that cannot be cured even if the agency received full funding.

"The Space agency has a vital role to play, but won't be able to play it unless the budget is restored and is increased over the years," Dasch said.