Posted: Thu, Jul 17, 2003, 6:02 PM ET (2202 GMT)
A House appropriations subcommittee approved this week a proposed NASA budget but deferred any discussion of changes in funding for the space shuttle program. The VA-HUD subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee approved a $15.5 billion budget for NASA for fiscal year 2004 during a hearing on Tuesday. The budget is $201 million higher than the agency's current 2003 budget and $71 million higher than what President Bush requested in his original budget proposal. The subcommittee, however, deferred any action on large portions of the budget, including the shuttle, ISS, Orbital Space Plane, and the Next Generation Launch Technology program until after the Columbia Accident Investigation Board completes its report. The committee said in a statement that it would revisit that part of the budget later in the year when it takes up final action on the budget bill. Any additional funding required by the report's recommendations could be added to the budget at that time, Florida Today reported, or provided through a supplementary budget bill.
