It’s Not Over: House Rejects VA/HUD Conference Report

Yesterday, the House voted 216-208 to reject the conference agreement on H.R. 2099, the VA/HUD/Independent Agencies Appropriations bill that funds NSF and NASA for fiscal year 1996. House and Senate conferees reached agreement several weeks ago, but the House sent the bill back to conference, asking for more funds to be shifted to veterans’ programs. The funds will probably be taken from other areas within the bill. Environmental and housing programs have also taken significant cuts and, in floor debate, Members spoke out in defense of these areas. This may make NSF and NASA the most vulnerable to further reductions.

The following amounts are what WERE provided for NASA and NSF in the conference report (H. Rept. 104-353), but these amounts may be changed in further negotiations. Details of the NSF portion of the rejected bill are provided in FYI #163; details relating to NASA follow, along with selected quotes on both NASA and NSF:

NASA TOTAL

FY95 Approp. Request House Senate Conference (in billions)
$14.46b 14.26 13.67 13.80 13.82

HUMAN SPACE FLIGHT

FY95 Approp. Request House Senate Conference (in millions)
$5,514.9m 5,509.6 5,449.6 5,337.6 5,456.6

The total for Human Space Flight was reduced by $53 million from the request “to reflect savings...from the closure of the Yellow Creek Facility at Iuka, Mississippi.”

SCIENCE, AERONAUTICS AND TECHNOLOGY

FY95 Approp. Request House Senate Conference (in millions)
$5,943.6m 6,006.9 5,588.0 5,960.7 5,845.9

The difference of $161 million between the budget request for Science, Aeronautics and Technology and the conference amount includes the following changes to the request:

A general reduction of $33 million;

A reduction of $13.7 million “for the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). The reduction will leave $35 million in fiscal year 1996 to begin this program to replace the Kuiper Airborne Observatory;"

An increase of $51.5 million “for the Gravity Probe-B program which was not included in the budget request;"

A reduction of $5 million “for the Space Infrared Telescope Facility, leaving $10 million to begin this effort. NASA is directed to provide no additional funding for this effort unless specifically approved by the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations;"

An increase of $20 million “for initiation of the Solar-Terrestrial Probes program. The funding includes $15 million to begin the TIMED mission and $5 million for design studies of the inner magnetospheric imager;"

An increase of $3 million “for the university explorer program to develop small, inexpensive spacecraft for astronomy and space physics missions;"

A general reduction of $20 million for Life and Microgravity Sciences, for a total of $484 million. “The reduction is not to be taken against any space station programs. NASA should develop a plan that accommodates the budget decrease while minimizing its impact on the early scientific return from space station operations...;"

An increase of $4.5 million “for space radiation research;"

Mission to Planet Earth would receive a total of $1,260 million (compared to a request of $1,341.1 million and FY95 funding of $1,340.1 million.) Within the program, “the conference agreement contains a reduction of $6 million for the Consortium for International Earth Sciences Information Network.... A further reduction of $75 million is to be distributed in accordance with normal reprogramming guidelines....” The report adds, “Any restructuring of the Earth Observing System Data Information System which may result from the recently issued National Academy of Sciences report should...minimize counterproductive disruptions at the Marshall Space Flight Center;"

A reduction of $16.5 million for Academic Programs, although “The conferees urge NASA to consider funding the Discovery Center project and the Rural Teacher Resource Center....”

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

The report contains the following recommendations regarding NSF: “The conferees agree with the Senate report language calling for a government-wide policy review of the U.S. presence in the Antarctic to be conducted by the National Science and Technology Council.... The review should be completed and submitted to the Congress no later than March 31, 1996.”

“The conferees recognize the need for the National Science Foundation to support modernizing the research infrastructure in astronomy and other disciplines. The conferees are equally supportive of the flexible matching requirements employed by the Foundation in its Academic Research Infrastructure program and expect they will be continued in fiscal year 1996.”

OUTLOOK

Keep in mind that all of the above numbers could be changed as conferees rework the bill, and that the full House and Senate will still have to approve the final product. In addition, the White House is seeking to have appropriators add $1.6 billion more to the legislation before President Clinton will sign it.