NASA's $13.7 billion 2001 budget -- given a $113 million boost over this year's amount at a hearing last week-- was a pleasant surprise for the agency, whose officials say they expected to see larger cuts in funding.

NASA hopes the House, whose bill earmarks $322 million less than the agency had requested for next year, may end up with reserve cash to restore funding cuts to new programs. Any extra spending reserves are expected to appear at a House-Senate conference sometime next month.

Members of the House Appropriations Committee have indicated support for the space program, but are tight for cash to be parceled out between programs for war veterans and shuttle missions.

This year, the most serious cut to NASA axes $290 million in start-up funds for the Space Launch Initiative, a $4.5 billion project to design a replacement for the space shuttle by 2005. The program to find private companies to replace the shuttle has won heavy backing from, among others, Rep. Dan Rohrabacher (R-California), who may push to restore the cut.

In the Senate, whose Appropriations Committee is slated to take up NASA's budget June 15, Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Maryland) is expected to fight to restore cuts on the House side to the "Living with a Star" program. The program to observe the sun would run out of the NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, part of her district.

For extra funds, the committee's members are hoping the administration's Office of Management and Budget will announce new statistics on the federal government's surplus in coming years that could mean more money to spend this year.

NASA's budget may reach the House floor by June 14, and the Senate is planning to "mark up" its version of NASA's budget on June 15.

As budget season warms up, Congressional aides and NASA officials say, the space agency's budget battle is not likely to be as fierce as last year, when the agency suffered a cut of more than $1 billion in the House.