The Senate Appropriations commerce, justice, science and related agencies (CJS) subcommittee voted Tuesday to approve fiscal year 2015 funding that includes $17.9 billion for NASA, $439 million more than requested in President Barack Obama’s budget request.
The full Senate Appropriations Committee (SAC) will take up the bill Thursday.
The subcommittee approved legislation providing $51.2 billion in proposed discretionary budget authority, a decrease of $398 million from FY ’14 and an increase of $1 billion above the president’s budget request, according to a SAC statement. SAC highlighted in its release that the NASA funding would help fuel a new satellite servicing industry that can revive, refuel and rejuvenate defunct communication satellites. ATK’s [ATK] ViviSat is one company providing in-orbit satellite life extension and maneuvering services through a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) program (Defense Daily; Jan. 24, 2013).
“We were very disappointed in the president’s request,” SAC CJS subcommittee and full SAC chairman Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) said Tuesday during the markup. “Senator (Richard) Shelby (R-Ala.) and I worked on a bipartisan basis and made sure that we maintained a balanced space program of human spaceflight, science and discovery while at the same time, promoting aeronautics.”
Mikulski said she heeded subcommittee Vice Chairman Shelby’s concerns that more money was needed for the Space Launch System (SLS), appropriating $1.7 billion for the system. NASA requested $1.38 billion for SLS. Mikulski said in May during NASA’s budget hearing that she didn’t want science programs to be used as a “bank account” for programs that “might or might not happen in the future,” hinting toward space transportation programs (Defense Daily, May 1).
Mikulski said $3 billion was provided for the International Space Station (ISS), down from the $3.05 billion requested, and $805 million for the Commercial Crew program, down from the $848 million requested. The bill also provides $5.4 billion for the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), $105 million more than FY ’14 but $69 million below the president’s request. The SAC release said $3.2 billion was included to make United States weather prediction and operations “the gold standard” with an increase of $117 million above FY ’14.
The bill approved the full request of $7.2 billion for the National Science Foundation (NSF), up $83 million from FY ’14.