Posted: Tue, Jul 20, 2004, 6:52 PM ET (2252 GMT)
A House budget subcommittee cut more than $1 billion from NASA's proposed 2005 budget on Tuesday, with elements of the agency's new exploration initiative taking the brunt of the cuts. The subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee that oversees the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, as well as independent agencies such as NASA, cut $1.1 billion from the agency's proposed $16.2-billion budget for fiscal year 2005. The cuts included $268 million from Project Prometheus, NASA's nuclear systems program; $468 million from the Crew Exploration Vehicle; $100 million by accelerating the end of the Space Launch Initiative program; and $30 million from technology maturation programs. The subcommittee also cut $100 million from the ISS program, but left the shuttle and Mars exploration programs fully funded. The resulting $15.1-billion budget is $229 million below NASA's current 2004 budget. Subcommittee members cited tight budget allocations as the reason for the cuts. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX), whose district was recently shifted to include the Johnson Space Center, called the cuts "unacceptable" and suggested that he might block consideration of the full appropriations bill on the House floor unless changes are made. The full House Appropriations Committee is scheduled to consider the budget bill on Thursday.
