The House Appropriations Committee recently released a draft mark-up of the FY ’12 budget for NASA that proposes to slash the agency’s request by $1.9 billion, or 10 percent, to $16.8 billion versus the $18.7 billion sought by the Obama Administration.
The draft budget, which will be marked up today by the House Appropriations Commerce, Justice and Science Subcommittee, is $1.6 billion less than the Congress appropriated earlier this year in a Continuing Resolution for FY ’11.
For NASA the bill contains $3.7 billion for space exploration, $152 million less than in FY ’11 but more funds than requested in FY ’12 to meet congressionally-mandated program deadlines for the newly authorized crew vehicle and launch system. Another $4.1 billion is provided to close out the Space Shuttle program and $4.5 billion is recommended for science programs, which is $431 million less than in FY ’11.
The proposed bill also terminates the James Webb Space Telescope, which the committee says is billions of dollars over budget and plagued by poor management. The large infrared telescope is being developed by Northrop Grumman [NOC].
Overall, the draft legislation contains $50.2 billion for the Commerce and Justice Departments and various independent agencies and offices such as NASA and the National Science Foundation. That amount is $7.4 billion, or 13 percent, less than the administration requested and $3.1 billion, or 6 percent, less than the FY ’11 budget.
“This legislation includes funding for some of the most critical aspects of government, the protection of our people here at home, the competitiveness of our businesses and industries, and the scientific research that will help America continue to lead the world in innovation,” Hal Rogers (R-Ky.), chairman of the Appropriations Committee, said in a statement. “However, given this time of fiscal crisis, it is also important that Congress make tough decisions to cut programs where necessary to give priority to programs with broad national reach that have the most benefit to the American people.”
In other areas, the proposed bill cuts $2.4 billion from the Justice Department’s request of $28.4 billion. It funds the FBI at $8.1 billion, $13 million less than requested, but provides increases for cyber attack investigations and weapons of mass destruction programs.