House Science Authorization Bill: NASA Provisions
On May 30, with much partisan rhetoric and rancorous debate, the House of Representatives passed a bill authorizing many of the federal government’s science programs. If enacted, the “Omnibus Civilian Science Authorization Act of 1996" (H.R. 3322) would set FY 1997 priorities and funding caps for NSF, NASA, NIST’s in-house laboratories, NOAA, EPA’s R&D programs, and others. It did not contain provisions for DOE R&D programs.
In theory, authorization bills provide guidance to be used by appropriators when they fund federal programs. However, appropriators do not necessarily follow that advice, and this year the House VA/HUD Appropriations Subcommittee, which funds NASA, has already marked up its bill.
H.R. 3322 was sponsored by House Science Chairman Robert Walker (R-PA). During floor debate, numerous amendments were offered. The Science Committee’s Ranking Minority Member, George Brown (D-CA), offered a substitute for the Walker bill that would have brought the priorities and funding levels more in line with President Clinton’s FY 1997 request. Brown’s substitute was rejected, as were most Democratic amendments, as the votes fell mostly along party lines.
NASA
As passed by the House, the bill would authorize $13.5 billion for NASA. This represents a decrease of 2.9 percent from the FY 1996 appropriation of $13.9 billion, and of 2.2 percent from the FY 1997 request of $13.8 billion. The House VA/HUD Appropriations Subcommittee, in the mark-up of its FY 1997 appropriations bill, has tentatively given NASA $14.16 billion (although this number includes some outyears funding, making the effective FY 1997 appropriation $13.6 billion.) The VA/HUD subcommittee’s figures may change based on finalization of the budget resolution.
Walker’s authorization bill would authorize full funding (equal to the FY 1997 request) for the space station ($1.80 billion), the space shuttle ($3.15 billion) and life and microgravity sciences ($499 million.) It would authorize about $1.03 billion for Mission to Planet Earth, a decrease of $260 million, or 20 percent, from the FY 1996 appropriation of $1.29 billion, and a decrease of $373.7 million, or 26 percent, from Clinton’s request of $1.40 billion.
On the floor, Rep. Dave Weldon (R-FLA) offered an amendment to increase the authorization for program management and personnel by $81.5 million, restoring it to the President’s request level. The amendment specified that this increase would be offset by decreases in space science (by $60 million) and other accounts. Weldon’s amendment was successful. However, it is important to note that even though it reduced the space science authorization from Walker’s original version of the bill to about $2.1 billion, space science would still be authorized at approximately $250 million above President Clinton’s request of $1.86 billion. NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin is on record (see FYI #69) as saying he does not want such an increase.
Rep. Tim Roemer (D-IN), in what has become an annual ritual, offered an amendment to terminate the space station program. It failed on a vote of 127-286, and another Roemer amendment to cut the space station authorization by $75 million also failed.
Also last week, the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee - the counterpart of the House Science Committee - marked up its own version of an authorization bill specifically for NASA (S. 1839.) The Senate bill, sponsored by Senate Commerce Chairman Larry Pressler (R-SD), would authorize $13.7 billion for the space agency. According to a press release, Mission to Planet Earth, which Pressler considers NASA’s “most relevant and important program,” would receive an authorization of $1.4 billion, equal to the President’s FY 1997 request. The space station would be authorized at $2.1 billion, and the shuttle at $3.1 billion.
The following FYI will provide the House authorization levels for NIST programs.
