House Appropriators Restore Some NASA Funding
The House Appropriations Committee on July 30 approved the VA/HUD appropriations bill for FY 2000, four days after the VA/HUD subcommittee marked it up. As reported in FYI #116 , the subcommittee, in order to meet funding constraints imposed by the budget caps, initially reduced NASA’s budget by 10.3 percent below the current level, cutting space and earth sciences and canceling the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF). However, in the full appropriations committee, NASA supporters convinced appropriators to add back $400 million to the NASA’s space science budget. Floor debate on the bill (H.R. 2684) will wait until Congress returns from its recess in September.
In the full committee mark-up, VA/HUD Subcommittee Chairman James Walsh (R-NY) offered a manager’s amendment making a number of changes to the subcommittee bill. These included terminating President Clinton’s Americorps national service program and, with the money saved by that action, adding back $400 million to space science within NASA. Walsh’s amendment was approved by voice vote. It would now provide total funding for NASA of $12,653.8 million. This is still 7.4 percent less than the FY 1999 appropriation of $13,665.0 million, and 6.8 percent less than the FY 2000 request of $13,578.4 million. Even while slashing many of the space agency’s programs, appropriators inserted into NASA’s budget specific earmarks (not requested by NASA) that, according to some accounts, total more than $100 million.
The additional $400 million would be directed to the Office of Space Science, with $100 million going to restore SIRTF (FY99 approp: $119.7 million; FY00 request: $125.0 million). Another $75 million would reverse the subcommittee’s cut to future Mars missions. It appears that the remaining $225 million add-back would go to Supporting Research and Technology, which had sustained a cut of over $300 million in subcommittee. This would still leave Space Science with a reduction of $240.8 million (11.0 percent) from the FY 2000 request and $163.4 million (7.7 percent) from FY 1999 funding. Explorer, Discovery, and other programs would still experience cuts.
No money was added back to NASA’s Earth Science programs, which were reduced by $285.0 million, or 19.5 percent, from the request, and $239.7 million (16.9 percent) from FY 1999. The GLOBE, Triana and LightSAR programs would be terminated, and EOS, EOSDIS, Earth Probes would all be reduced.
Life and Microgravity Sciences and Applications would see an increase of $7 million (2.7 percent) to its request, staying at its current funding level. Committee report language recommends another dedicated life and microgravity sciences shuttle flight.
The International Space Station would get $2,382.7 million, a cut of $100.0 million from the request, and the shuttle would be reduced by $150.0 million. The Mission Support account would be reduced by $225.6 million (9.0 percent) from the request and $241.8 million (9.6 percent) from FY 1999. Academic programs would receive an increase of $26.3 million to the request.
NASA House Committee FY 1999 FY 2000
Account Bill Appropriation Request
(In millions)
NASA Total $12,653.8 13,665.0 13,578.4
Space Science 1,955.8 2,119.2 2,196.6
Earth Science 1,174.1 1,413.8 1,459.1
Life & Micro-
gravity S&A 263.2 263.5 256.2
Space Station 2,382.7 2,304.7 2,482.7
How the numbers for NASA will ultimately turn out is unknown.
The Senate has not drafted its VA/HUD bill yet. Barbara Mikulski
(D-MD), Ranking Minority Member of the Senate VA/HUD
Appropriations Subcommittee, has said she does not “want to go
below last year’s funds” for NASA, but indicated that the budget
caps will need to be broken in order to hold funding for the
space agency and other programs near their FY 1999 funding
levels.
House floor consideration of the VA/HUD bill was originally
planned for this week, but has been delayed until after the
August recess due to the death of the father of Rep. Alan
Mollohan (D-WV), Ranking Minority Member of the VA/HUD
Appropriations Subcommittee.
