Posted: Wed, Oct 17, 2007, 8:10 AM ET (1210 GMT)
The US Senate passed an appropriations bill Tuesday that gives NASA $1 billion more than originally requested, after fending off a last-minute bid to divert some of that money to another program. The Senate passed the Commerce, Justice, and Science appropriations bill on a 75-19 vote on Tuesday after debating a number of amendments to the bill. One of the amendments debated Tuesday would have diverted $150 million from the agency to fund the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, which reimburses states for the costs of jailing illegal immigrants, but the amendment was shot down by a wide margin. The overall bill gives $18.5 billion for NASA, thanks in part to an amendment the Senate approved earlier this month that adds $1 billion to the agency's budget. The Senate version of the bill must be reconciled with the House version, which lacks the extra $1 billion, and also faced a threatened veto from the president.

Related Links:

•  Houston Chronicle article
•  AP article