House FY 2015 NASA Appropriations Bill

Yesterday the House Appropriations Committee released an unnumbered Full Committee Print to accompany the FY 2015 Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations bill. This is a draft version of the committee report that is to be issued providing all-important language on the departments and agencies funded by this bill.  This FYI reviews the National Aeronautics and Space Administration portion of the report. 

The House Appropriations Committee’s recommendations for NASA can be found on pages 65-76 of the report. 

Total NASA:

The FY 2014 appropriation was $17,646.5 million
The FY 2015 request is $17,460.6 million, a decrease of $185.9 million or 1.1 percent
The House bill provides $17,896.0 million, an increase of $249.5 million or 1.4 percent above current funding

Report language found on pages 65-67 pertains to GAO assessments of large-scale projects; breach reporting; Asteroid Redirect Mission (including a crewed Mars fly-by); and programs and project totals.  A table is found on page 67 with line item appropriations for various programs.

Within NASA:

Science:

The FY 2014 appropriation was $5,151.2 million
The FY 2015 request is $4,972.0 million, a decrease of $179.2 million or 3.5 percent
The House bill provides $5,193.0 million, an increase of $41.8 million or 0.8 percent above current funding

Report language found on pages 67-70 pertains to education and public outreach, Earth Science, Planetary Science, James Webb Space Telescope, Astrophysics (including SOFIA), Heliophysics, and Science Mission Directorate budget justifications.

Aeronautics:

The FY 2014 appropriation was $566.0 million
The FY 2015 request is $551.1 million, a decrease of $14.9 million or 2.6 percent
The House bill provides $666.0 million, an increase of $100.0 million or 17.7 percent above current funding

Report language found on page 70 pertains to “NASA’s lack of budgetary support for the Aeronautics program” and restructuring. 

Space Technology:

The FY 2014 appropriation was $576.0 million 
The FY 2015 request is $705.5 million, an increase of $129.5 million or 22.5 percent
The House bill provides $620.0 million, an increase of $44.0 million or 7.6 percent above current funding

Report language found on page 70 pertains to program priorities, technology roadmaps, and regional university consortia.

Exploration:

The FY 2014 appropriation was $4,113.2 million
The FY 2015 request is $3,976.0 million, a decrease of $137.2 million or 3.3 percent 
The House bill provides $4,167.0 million, an increase of $53.8 million or 1.3 percent above current funding

Report language found on pages 71-72 pertains to the Space Launch System; Orion MPCV; commercial crew; and exploration research and development.
            
Space Operations:

The FY 2014 appropriation was $3,778.0 million
The FY 2015 request is $3,905.4 million, an increase of $127.4 million or 3.4 percent
The House bill provides $3,885.0 million, an increase of $107.0 million or 2.8 percent above current funding

Report language found on pages 72-73 pertains to International Space Station operations and research.
            
Education:

The FY 2014 appropriation is $116.6 million
The FY 2015 request is $88.9 million, a decrease of $27.7 million or 23.8 percent
The House bill provides $106.0 million, a decrease of $10.6 million or 9.1 percent below current funding

Report language found on pages 73-74 pertains to the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program, STEM Education and Accountability Projects and youth service organizations.

Richard M. Jones
Government Relations Division
American Institute of Physics
rjones@aip.org
301-209-3095