One of the arguments made a little over a year ago as part of the reorganization of Congressional appropriations subcommittees was that by moving NASA out of the same subcommittee as the VA and HUD departments was that the space agency would no longer compete with veterans’ and housing programs for funding. That seemed to work in the FY06 budget process, with no major efforts to claim NASA money for other projects.
However, chatting with a couple participants in the Space Budget Blitz last night, a new competitor for NASA money may be emerging: law enforcement. NASA is now lumped together with the Departments of Commerce and Justice, and apparently at least one Congressional office visited by Blitz participants yesterday raised the possibility of using NASA funding to support law enforcement programs instead. NASA got a modest budget increase in the FY07 budget proposal, while the Justice Department got a $1.5-billion cut. Most of that cut is in a single line item, “Office of Justice Programs, COPS, Office on Violence Against Women”, which was cut in half to $1.2 billion. The budget narrative indicates that the administration is interested in cutting a number of programs, such as grants to state and local law enforcement agencies, that appear to be underperforming. Of course, Congress may not see things the same way, which could create some tension down the road.
