Senate appropriators offer $18 billion for NASA

In contrast to their House counterparts, Senate appropriators appears to be more generous with NASA, at least at the overall level. A summary of the Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) appropriations bill, marked up with little fanfare by the CJS subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee Tuesday morning, reveals the committee is proposing $18 billion […]

Conference report adds details to House’s proposed $16.6-billion NASA budget

On Tuesday, the House Appropriations Committee released the committee report accompanying its version of a Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) appropriations bill for fiscal year 2014, in advance of the bill’s markup by the full committee on Wednesday morning. The report adds details on spending levels for key programs within the accounts specified in the […]

NASA goes back to the drawing board for its 2013 operating plan

While House and Senate appropriators are working on fiscal year 2014 appropriations bills to fund NASA, the agency is still working with Congress for agreement on an operating plan for fiscal year 2013 (which, yes, ends in just two and a half months.) As first reported by The Planetary Society, NASA planetary sciences division director […]

This week: appropriations and authorization markups

There are no summer doldrums in Congress this week as two committees in the House and Senate work on versions of appropriations bills that are likely to fund NASA at differing levels, while a NASA authorization bill moves on in the House.

At 10 am EDT today, the Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) subcommittee of […]

House subcommittee approves authorization bill, but its fate beyond the House remains unclear

Wednesday’s markup of a NASA authorization bill by the space subcommittee of the House Science Committee played out as expected. Rep. Donna Edwards (D-MD), ranking member of the subcommittee, offered the version of an authorization bill she introduced earlier this week as an amendment in the form of a substitute to the Republican-led bill. After […]

House appropriators approve bill, Senate to act next week

During an hour-long markup session Wednesday, the Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee approved a fiscal year 2014 appropriations bill that would give NASA $16.6 billion. Committee members made no changes to the bill during the markup, and spent most of their time talking about various elements of the bill […]

Comparing the two authorization bills

This morning the space subcommittee of the House Science Committee will markup its proposed NASA authorization act. There’s the potential for debate as the bill proposed by the committee’s Republican leadership clashes with one introduced earlier this week by Rep. Donna Edwards (D-MD), the ranking member of the space subcommittee. Both the updated “committee print” […]

House appropriators propose $16.6 billion for NASA

The House Appropriations Committee released Tuesday night its proposed Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) appropriations bill, scheduled to be marked up by the CJS subcommittee Wednesday morning. The bill offers just under $16.6 billion overall for NASA, compared to $17.7 billion in the administration’s fiscal year 2014 budget request. A comparison of the House bill […]

Edwards introduces alternative NASA authorization bill

Rep. Donna Edwards (D-MD), ranking member of the space subcommittee of the House Science Committee, announced Monday that she is introducing an alternative version of a NASA authorization bill that would approve additional funding for the space agency while giving it the goal of sending humans to Mars by 2030.

The text of the legislation, […]

House committees to take up NASA authorization, appropriations bills this week

Wednesday will be a big day for NASA in the House, and two key subcommittees markup legislation to both authorize and fund the space agency. At 10 am Wednesday, the space subcommittee of the House Science Committee will hold a hearing to markup the NASA Authorization Act of 2013. It’s not clear if this “committee […]