House Appropriators Back NASA Missions, Defy Budget Cuts

House appropriators have expressed support for several threatened NASA missions despite the administration’s proposed budget cuts for fiscal 2026. On September 10, 2023, the House Appropriations Committee approved a commerce, justice, and science (CJS) spending bill by a vote of 34-28, setting the stage for a full House vote.

The bill allocates $24.838 billion for NASA, closely aligning with the $24.875 billion the agency received in fiscal years 2024 and 2025. This figure significantly surpasses the $18.8 billion proposed by the administration in May 2023. The legislation remains largely unchanged from the version approved by the CJS subcommittee on July 14.

Support for Key Missions

A manager’s amendment, adopted through a voice vote, introduced a series of noncontroversial changes and corrections to the bill. Notably, the accompanying report includes language affirming support for several NASA missions that may face cancellation, such as the Chandra X-ray Observatory, the Juno mission to Jupiter, and the New Horizons mission in the Kuiper Belt. While the report does not outline specific funding levels for these missions, the language indicating “continued support” suggests that NASA should prioritize their funding from its science budget.

In a further show of support, the amendment reinforced NASA’s role in the Ultrasat astrophysics mission in partnership with Israel, which had been targeted for elimination in the administration’s budget request. The amendment also encouraged funding for select aeronautics programs and the Deep Space Food Challenge, a project valued at $3 million within NASA’s space technology directorate.

Funding Proposals and Rejections

During the markup session, the committee largely rejected proposed amendments, primarily from Democratic members aiming to restore funding for various programs across other agencies. One significant amendment from Rep. Joe Morelle, a Democrat from New York, sought to allocate $9.3 million for inspectors general across several agencies, including NASA. Morelle argued that fully funding the inspector general was crucial for addressing issues of waste, fraud, and abuse within the agency.

The amendment also proposed eliminating $85 million earmarked in the recent budget reconciliation bill to facilitate the transfer of the shuttle Discovery from the National Air and Space Museum to Space Center Houston. Morelle highlighted that while NASA is set to receive an additional $10 billion from the reconciliation bill, the inspector general’s budget would face a cut of $7 million under the current appropriations bill. He criticized the decision, noting that Smithsonian experts estimate the actual cost of moving the shuttle at $325 million, making the transfer not only costly but unprecedented.

Opposing Views

Opposing Morelle’s amendment, Rep. Hal Rogers, chairman of the CJS subcommittee, stated that the additional funding for inspectors general was not offset elsewhere in the bill. He expressed concern that the proposed changes would undermine the integrity of the new legislation. “The ink has barely dried on this new legislation,” Rogers remarked, “and already my colleagues are seeking to amend and strike portions of it through the appropriations process.”

The committee ultimately rejected the amendment by a largely party-line vote of 33-27, reflecting the ongoing debates surrounding NASA’s funding priorities and the direction of U.S. space policy.

As discussions continue, the outcome of the full House vote will be pivotal in determining the future of NASA’s missions and the agency’s ability to advance its scientific objectives.