Further Details on NASA’s FY 1994 Appropriations Bill

The House Appropriations Committee is expected to vote on the bill containing fiscal year 1994 NASA funding during the week of June 21. The full committee will be voting on a May 27 version of the VA, HUD, Independent Agencies bill drafted by the VA/HUD appropriations subcommittee (see FYI #71.) The Space Science Working Group provided the following details about this bill:

In addition to most space science programs, the R&D budget funds the space station. The current bill cuts $450 million from the NASA request for the space station and new technology component, which is now set at $1,850 million. It appears that the subcommittee will probably not specify how this money is to be divided between the station and new technology initiatives.

This cut is part of an over-all $575 million reduction for R&D. Current total R&D spending is now $7,075 million; the new bill provides $7,137.3 million.

There has been considerable anguish about NASA’s request for Mission Operations and Data Analysis (MO&DA), which is $84 million less than what was planned (see FYIs #57 and 60.) The current version of the bill adds $22.5 million to NASA’s total request of $576.9 million for physics and astronomy and planetary MO&DA.

The current bill cuts $15 million from the Mission to Planet Earth request of $1,074.9 million. The reduction is to be made at NASA’s discretion.

The appropriations subcommittee cut $5 million from the launch services budget request for the Titan AXAF vehicle. AXAF is now to be launched on the shuttle/upper stage. This is to be done for cost savings and to allow for the final “checkout” of AXAF at Low Earth Orbit.

The subcommittee increased NASA’s request for minority university research by $7.5 million, which includes $2.5 million for hispanic-serving institutions.

The subcommittee’s report will call for significant increases in NASA’s aeronautics programs.

Five other components of the R&D budget were cut, and four were increased.

In other areas of NASA’s budget, the space flight, control and data communications budget was cut by $205.9 million, with $175 million to be taken from shuttle production. The recommended level is now $5,111 million.

The facilities construction budget request of $545.3 million was unchanged.

The budget request of $1,675 million for research and program management was reduced by $12.5 million, to be taken at NASA’s discretion.