Posted: Tue, Feb 6, 2007, 6:28 AM ET (1128 GMT)
The Bush administration released a fiscal year 2008 budget proposal on Monday that offers $17.3 billion for NASA, even while Congress debates cutting NASA's 2007 budget. That budget represents a 3 percent increase over what the administration offered for NASA in FY2007 and includes additional money for the agency's exploration program while keeping science and aeronautics funding relatively flat. The budget contained little in the way of major changes to existing NASA programs. Congress has yet to approve the 2007 budget, but NASA officials said Monday they were concerned about a budget resolution currently in Congress that would cut a half-billion from the 2007 budget proposal. That funding cut, concentrated on exploration programs, could delay development of the Orion spacecraft and Ares 1 launcher even if Congress fully approves the 2008 budget request. NASA officials said they had not decided how the cuts in the FY07 budget would be allocated to specific programs if Congress approves the funding resolution in its current form.
