Space News by Jeff Foust — June 17, 2019
The full House is unlikely to make major changes in NASA funding when it takes up an appropriations bill this week, but members will seek changes for two other agencies involved in space issues.
The House is scheduled to start debate no earlier than June 19 on a “minibus†combining five separate appropriations bills previously approved by the House Appropriations Committee. Among those bills is the Commerce, Justice and Science (CJS) bill, which funds NASA, as well as the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development bill, which funds the Federal Aviation Administration.
The House Rules Committee will meet June 18 to adopt the rule by which the minibus will be considered by the House, as well as determine which amendments submitted by members will be included for debate.
Of the more than 150 amendments submitted for the CJS portion of the minibus, only a handful deal with NASA. Those amendments are relatively minor, seeking modest adjustments for spending in areas such as education or space technology. No amendments involve the $1.6 billion budget amendment submitted by the White House in May to support the Artemis program to return humans to the moon by 2024.
One amendment, though, would address the Office of Space Commerce within NOAA. The amendment, submitted by Rep. Brian Babin (R-Texas), ranking member of the House space subcommittee, would transfer $3.6 million from NOAA’s Operations, Research, and Facilities account to the Department of Commerce management account.
More:
https://spacenews.com/house-members-seek-to-bolster-commercial-space-offices-in-appropriations-bill/
