spacetoday.net: House committee approved reduced NASA budget

Posted: Wed, Jan 31, 2007, 8:03 AM ET (1303 GMT)
US Capitol

The House Appropriations Committee approved a funding resolution Tuesday for the remainder of the 2007 fiscal year that would leave NASA a half-billion dollars short of what the space agency expected to receive. The committee approved a funding resolution that covers NASA and other federal agencies that the previous Congress did complete budgets for last year. The resolution would give NASA $16.25 billion for the full 2007 fiscal year, approximately the same amount the agency received (less money for Hurricane Katrina repairs) in 2006, but less than the $16.8 billion the Bush Administration has requested for NASA in 2007. Nearly all of the cuts hit the agency's exploration program, potentially jeopardizing development plans for the Ares 1 launch vehicle and Orion spacecraft. The full House is expected to approve the resolution today, while the Senate will take up the bill next week. Meanwhile, the FY2008 budget proposal will be released on Monday.