Technology invades the modern world

Chapter 89 Burning Federal Expenses (810)

"Honorary CBE? The Governor mentioned it to me when I was in Hong Kong." Lin Ran asked subconsciously.

Kennedy laughed and said, “No, it’s KBE.

You were originally going to be awarded CBE, but because of your outstanding contributions, Buckingham Palace plans to upgrade it to KBE. In addition, Buckingham Palace was also going to award you the title of life baronet.

If you become a citizen of England, Ireland or the Commonwealth you automatically become a life member of the House of Lords."

There are few cases of life titles being awarded to foreigners, but they do exist.

England passed the Life Peerage Act in 1958, which allows the Queen to grant a life peerage to anyone by letters patent.

But it is limited to barons or baronesses.

In addition, obtaining a peerage automatically confers a seat in the House of Lords.

However, to serve in the House of Lords, citizens must swear allegiance to the Queen, as per the Parliamentary Oaths Act of 1866. For American citizens to swear allegiance to the Queen would conflict with American law, as the American Constitution prohibits dual allegiance.

So theoretically, he can only get a title but cannot become a member of parliament.

"Forget it. I already have enough work to do. If I have to travel between London and Washington, I'd need superpowers." Lin Ran declined.

Before the trip to London, a special hearing on increasing NASA's budget was held by the White House in the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, DC, which had only been built a few years earlier. Because it was related to the space race with the Soviet Union, many congressmen attended.

Lin Ran and James Webb arrived at the conference room in advance to prepare. Lin Ran looked at the huge conference room and the conference table covered with nameplates and exclaimed:
"Looking at this situation, members of both the Senate and the House of Representatives will be here?

Is it necessary to make such a big fuss?"

James Webb started his career in Washington as an assistant to a senior congressman. He is familiar with the rules of Washington:
"NASA's budget is generally determined by the annual federal budget, where the president submits a budget request, and Congress reviews and passes legislation.

NASA's budget has nearly doubled since 1960, and we'll have to make a significant increase next year. To increase the budget so much, we need to discuss it in advance with members of the Appropriations Committee at a hearing.

In fact, only the members of the subcommittee responsible for science and related agencies should participate, but because of the successful launch of Pioneer, the members of Congress want to know what we will do next year and in the future."

Changes in NASA's budget in the 60s:

“It seems like there are so many people, but in fact we only need to convince a few key people.

The most important thing is Clarence Cannon; if he agrees, we are halfway to achieving our budget increase."

Clarence Cannon, a senator from Missouri and the current chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, has served on the Appropriations Committee for 19 years and has been a member of Congress for nearly 40 years.

The oldest of the old ones.

分别在1941年至1947年、1949年至1953年以及1955年至1964年期间担任拨款委员会主席。“他是驴党的，不会为难我们的。”詹姆斯·韦伯补充后又迟疑道：“增加这么多，我也不确定他是不是真的不会为难我们。”

The bronze chandelier on the dome of Senate S-116 hearing room in Dirksen displayed a unique style, and congressmen in suits and ties took their seats one after another.

"NASA has undergone a complete transformation under this White House. In just three months, we achieved our goal of landing a probe on the Moon and bringing back valuable images of the lunar sky for humanity.

The White House had every confidence that Americans would be the first to land on the moon, leaving the Soviets behind forever.

Yes, with Randolph, I am very confident that he can solve the Fermat conjecture that no one has been able to solve for hundreds of years. He is the best mathematician of our time, and also..."

Lin Ran didn't have much interest in listening to Kennedy's speech because the information density was too low and it was no different from nonsense.

His attention was focused on the densely packed assembly of lawmakers.

He found that whether it was congressmen, NASA executives, or White House bureaucrats, there was not a single yellow person except himself.

Lin Ran couldn't help but complain in his heart. It was all black people protesting, but these Asian Americans didn't protest at all, uniting to fight for their rights. Even sixty years later, there were only more black people in Congress.

Lin Ran couldn't understand it, let alone accept it.

After Kennedy finished speaking, the audience split into two groups: thunderous applause from the Democratic Party and sparse, polite applause from the Democratic Party.

"Dear members of the Legislature," Lin Ran said as he stepped onto the podium. His voice was loud and tinged with a hint of irony. "First, I must thank President Kennedy for his impassioned speech. He mentioned that I had solved Fermat's Last Theorem, and this brought back memories of my days at the University of Göttingen. Back then, I was scribbling on the blackboard every day, trying to prove the theorem. Then, my advisor walked by and said, 'Lin, you know what? Fermat might have just said it casually, but I didn't expect you to take it so seriously.'"

There was a burst of laughter from the audience, and Lin Ran knew that his opening remarks had worked.

He continued, "However, today we are not going to talk about mathematics. Instead, we are going to talk about the future of NASA. Ladies and gentlemen, NASA's budget has increased faster than my weight in the past two years."

Of course, let me be clear, we're not spending our money on hot dogs and beer, at least not me."

When these words were spoken, the members of the Elephant Party laughed particularly loudly, while the Donkey Party seemed a little embarrassed.

"Let's get back to the point." Lin Ran cleared his throat, his tone becoming more serious. "Our number one goal is to land a man on the moon. Yes, you heard me right. We want Americans to be the first to set foot on the moon, and we want to make sure the Soviets can only sit in front of the TV, biting their biscuits and staring."

He paused, looked around the room, and smiled slightly. "Imagine our astronauts planting the American flag on the moon, with viewers around the world glued to their screens. That wasn't just publicity—it was a message to the world: 'Hey, America is the king of space exploration!'"

The MPs nodded, their eyes gleaming with interest. Lin Ran knew that these politicians loved to hear the words "leading" and "face" the most.

What was in the brains of the congressmen 60 years ago was no different from what it was 60 years later, or even less.

"Of course, to achieve this 'big step,' we have to take several small steps first," he continued. "For example, we don't want the astronauts to get lost on the moon or forget to bring the national flag—that would be embarrassing." There was more laughter from the audience, and Lin Ran took the opportunity to add, "But don't worry, our team is very reliable and will never let such a mistake happen again."

(End of this chapter)