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NASA Budget Stalls in Congress
By Jonathan Lipman
Special to space.com
posted: 02:10 pm ET
27 September 1999
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budget_990927WASHINGTON (States News Service) -- The NASA budget will remain in limbo for longer than expected, as Congressional leaders have delayed a House and Senate conference until at least the end of the week. The House version of the VA-HUD and Independent Agencies Appropriations bill gives NASA $900 million less than the President asked for, a sharp blow for an agency that has seen virtually no budget increases for several years. The Senate version fully funds NASA, but changes some of the spending priorities. Although there was no official explanation for the delay, one Senate aide speculated that it was related to expected extension of deadlines for the spending bills. The federal government's new fiscal year starts on October 1, but Congress is expected to pass a "continuing resolution" soon that pushes the deadline back for two weeks. Agencies would continue to receive federal funding at their current levels. Meanwhile, the White House revised its budget picture again on Monday, projecting a budget surplus of at least $115 billion for this year alone. The new numbers will likely raise the stakes for the continuing budget battle between the White House and the GOP that has kept this year's appropriations process stalled. The conference delay and the changes from the White House give members of Congress to change their minds on the level of funding they support for NASA.
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