FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) — Sen. Joe Donnelly said he opposes a proposal to halt federal funding of a Department of Defense youth program that teaches children about aviation, science, technology, engineering, math and space exploration.
The Journal Gazette reports (http://bit.ly/WmyU6r ) Donnelly said Friday the Starbase program has significant value. Starbase Indiana is housed at the Air National Guard's 122nd Fighter Wing in Fort Wayne. More than 800 fifth-graders have studied robotics, rocketry and computer-aided design at the lab since it opened in February 2012 at a cost of about $300,000 a year.
The Defense Department runs nearly 80 such sites nationwide, costing about $21 million in fiscal 2013.
Sen. John McCain has proposed through an amendment stripping Starbase from the Defense Department's budget.
