FY2012 Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Subcommittee Mark – NASA Excerpt

Mikulski applauds Subcommittee approval of bill that focuses on saving lives, protecting public safety, and creating jobs.

Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, science, and related agencies today approved fiscal year (FY) 2012 funding legislation that totals $52.701 billion in discretionary budget authority, a reduction of $626 million below the fiscal year 2011 enacted level. The bill also includes $135 million in disaster assistance.

“In a spending bill that has less to spend, we naturally focus on the cuts and the things we can’t do,” said CJS Subcommittee Chairwoman Mikulski. “But I’d like to focus on what we can do. The bill invests more than $12 billion in scientific research and high impact research and technology development, to create new products and new jobs for the future. The bill focuses on investments to help grow new businesses and export more products. Resources provided for Federal, State, and local law enforcement will help protect Americans from terrorism and violent crime here at home, and funding for the development of our next generation weather satellites will ensure our Nation has timely accurate data to forecast and warn about severe weather in order to save lives and protect property.”

Bill Summary

This bill reflects reductions below the fiscal year 2011 funding level in many programs. In making these difficult funding decisions, the Subcommittee prioritized activities related to saving lives, protecting public safety, and creating jobs. The Subcommittee provided increases to ensure the Nation’s prisons are adequately guarded and to ensure essential weather prediction capacity. As a result, the Subcommittee reduced most salaries and expenses accounts by about two percent and research and development by about three percent. A summary by Department appears below.

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National Aeronautics and Space Administration

* The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is funded at $17.9 billion, a reduction of $509 million or 2.8 percent from the FY2011 enacted level.

* The bill preserves NASA portfolio balanced among science, aeronautics, technology and human space flight investments, including the Orion Multipurpose Crew Vehicle, the heavy lift Space Launch System, and commercial crew development.

* The bill provides funds to enable a 2018 launch of the James Webb Space Telescope.