INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The House version of NASA's fiscal year 2026 budget includes $9.7 billion for exploration programs, a roughly 25 percent boost over NASA's
exploration budget for 2025, and 17 percent more than the Trump administration's request in May
The text of the House bill released publicly doesn't include any language explicitly rejecting the White House's plan to terminate the SLS
and Orion programs after two more missions.Instead, it directs NASA to submit a five-year budget profile for SLS, Orion, and associated
ground systems to "ensure a crewed launch as early as possible." A five-year planning budget seems to imply that the House committee wants
SLS and Orion to stick around
The White House budget forecast zeros out funding for both programs after 2028.The House also seeks to provide more than $4.1 billion for
NASA's space operations account, a slight cut from 2025 but well above the White House's number
Space operations covers programs like the International Space Station, NASA's Commercial Crew Program, and funding for new privately owned
space stations to replace the ISS.Many of NASA's space technology programs would also be salvaged in the House budget, which allocates $913
million for tech development, a reduction from the 2025 budget but still an increase over the Trump administration's request.The House
bill's cuts to science and space technology, though more modest than those proposed by the White House, would still likely result in
cancellations and delays for some of NASA's robotic space missions.Rep
Grace Meng (D-NY), the senior Democrat on the House subcommittee responsible for writing NASA's budget, called out the bill's cut to the
agency's science portfolio."As other countries are racing forward in space exploration and climate science, this bill would cause the US to
fall behind by cutting NASA's account by over $1.3 billion," she said Tuesday.Lawmakers reported the Senate spending bill to the full Senate
Appropriations Committee last week by voice vote
Members of the House subcommittee advanced their bill to the full committee Tuesday afternoon by a vote of 9-6.The budget bills will next be
sent to the full appropriations committees of each chamber for a vote and an opportunity for amendments, before moving on to the floor for a
vote by all members.It's still early in the annual appropriations process, and a final budget bill is likely months away from passing both
houses of Congress and heading to President Donald Trump's desk for signature
There's no guarantee Trump will sign any congressional budget bill, or that Congress will finish the appropriations process before this
year's budget runs out on September 30.
