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NASA Appropriations and Authorizations: A Fact Sheet

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NASA Appropriations and Authorizations: A Fact Sheet

September 116, 2016 (R43419)

In the current fiscal environment, congressional deliberations about the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) often focus on the availability of funding. This fact sheet providesprovides data on past, current, and proposed FY2017 NASA appropriations as well as proposed authorizations of NASA appropriations for FY2017.

For more information on the FY2017 budget request for NASA, see CRS Report R44397, NASA: FY2017 Budget and Appropriations. NASA issues of congressional interest are discussed further in CRS Report R43144, NASA: Issues for Authorization, Appropriations, and Oversight in the 114th Congress. Additional information on appropriations legislation affecting NASA is provided in CRS Report R44409, Overview of FY2017 Appropriations for Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS), and similar reports for other years.1

Table 1 shows appropriations for NASA from FY2011 through FY2016. The data for FY2011 through FY2015 include supplemental appropriations, rescissions, transfers, reprogramming, and, in the case of FY2013, sequestration. They are taken from NASA's congressional budget justifications for FY2013 through FY2017. Congressional budget justifications are available on the NASA budget website (http://www.nasa.gov/news/budget/) for the current year and for past years back to FY2002. The table data for FY2016 are as enacted by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016 (P.L. 114-113). For amounts not specified in that act, see pp. H9741-H9743 of the explanatory statement, published in the Congressional Record on December 17, 2015.

Table 2 shows enacted appropriations for FY2016 (as above); the Administration's request for FY2017 (including requested one-time mandatory funding); the House Committee on Appropriations recommendations for FY2017, as contained in H.R. 5393 and its accompanying report H.Rept. 114-605; the Senate Committee on Appropriations recommendations for FY2017, as contained in S. 2837 and its accompanying report S.Rept. 114-239; and proposed authorizations of appropriations for FY2017 in the NASA Authorization Act for 2016 and 2017 (H.R. 2039) as ordered reported by the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology on April 30, 2015, and the NASA Transition Authorization Act of 2016 (S. 3346) as introduced. Note that H.R. 2039 contains two sets of numbers for FY2017. In materials released by the committee, the numbers in Section 102 are described as "aspirational," while the numbers in Section 103 are described as "constrained."2

Figure 1 shows NASA's total annual budget authority from the agency's establishment in FY1958 to FY2016, in both current dollars and inflation-adjusted FY2016 dollars.

Table 1. NASA Appropriations, FY2011-FY2016

(budget authority in $ millions)

 

FY2011

FY2012

FY2013

FY2014

FY2015

FY2016

Science

$4,920

$5,074

$4,782

$5,148

$5,243

$5,589

Earth Science

1,722

1,761

1,659

1,825

1,784

1,921

Planetary Science

1,451

1,501

1,275

1,346

1,447

1,631

Astrophysics

631

648

617

678

731

731

James Webb Space Telescope

477

519

628

658

645

620

Heliophysics

639

645

603

641

636

650

Education

a

a

a

a

a

37

Aeronautics

534

569

530

566

642

640

Space Technology

456

574

615

576

600

687

Exploration

3,821

3,707

3,706

4,113

3,543

4,030

Exploration Systems Development

2,982

3,002

2,884

3,115

3,212

3,680

- Orion MPCV

1,196

1,200

1,114

1,197

1,190

1,270

- Space Launch System

1,536

1,497

1,415

1,600

1,679

2,000

- Exploration Ground Systems

250

305

355

318

343

410

Commercial Spaceflight

607

406

525

696

b

b

Exploration R&D

232

300

297

302

331

350

Space Operations

5,146

4,184

3,725

3,774

4,626

5,029

Space Shuttle

1,593

596

39

0

8

c

International Space Station

2,714

2,790

2,776

2,964

1,525

c

Space Transportation

d

d

d

d

2,254

c

Space and Flight Support

840

798

910

810

839

c

Education

145

136

116

117

119

115

Space Grant

46

39

37

40

40

40

EPSCoR

25

17

17

18

18

18

MUREP

29

30

28

30

32

32

Other

47

50

34

29

29

25

Safety, Security, and Mission Servicese

2,956

2,994

2,711

2,793

2,755

2,769

Construction and EC&R

433

495

661f

522

446

389

Inspector General

36

38

35

38

37

37

Total

18,448

17,770g

16,879f

17,647

18,010

19,285

Sources: FY2011-FY2015 from NASA FY2013-FY2017 congressional budget justifications. FY2016 from P.L. 114-113 and pp. H9741-H9743 of the explanatory statement, Congressional Record, December 17, 2015.

Notes: Some totals may not add because of rounding. MPCV = Multipurpose Crew Vehicle. R&D = Research and Development. EPSCoR = Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research. MUREP = Minority University Research Education Program. EC&R = Environmental Compliance and Remediation.

a. Included in Astrophysics.

b. Included in Space Transportation under Space Operations.

c. Not specified. Amount for Space Transportation includes up to $1,244 million for Commercial Crew.

d. Included in International Space Station.

e. Formerly Cross-Agency Support.

f. Includes $14 million (after sequestration) of supplemental funding from the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 2013 (P.L. 113-2) that is not shown in the NASA FY2015 congressional budget justification.

g. Includes rescission of $1 million from prior-year accounts not shown in the table.

Table 2. NASA Appropriations, FY2016-FY2017, and Authorizations, FY2017

(budget authority in $ millions)

  S. 3346 c c c c c c c c c c c c c
 

Appropriations

Authorizations

 

FY2016

FY2017

FY2017

 

 

Request

 

 

H.R. 2039

 

Enacted

Total

Mand.

Discr.

H. Cte.

S. Cte.

Sec. 102

Sec. 103

Science

$5,589

$5,601

$298

$5,303

$5,597

$5,395

$4,935

$4,679

$5,395

Earth Science

1,921

2,032

60

1,972

1,690

1,984

1,450

1,199

c

Planetary Science

1,631

1,519

128

1,391

1,846

1,356

1,500

1,500

Astrophysics

731

782

85

697

793

807

731

709

c

James Webb Space Telescope

620

569

569

569

569

569

620

Heliophysics

650

699

25

674

699

679

685

651

c

Education

37

a

a

a

a

Aeronautics

640

790

156

635

712

601

580

571

601

Space Technology

687

827

136

691

739

687

596

500

687

Exploration

4,030

3,337

173

3,164

4,183

4,330

5,268

4,845

4,532

Exploration Systems Development

3,680

2,860

173

2,687

3,779

3,934

3,682

3,310

c

- Orion MPCV

1,270

1,120

66

1,053

1,350

1,300

1,350

1,200

- Space Launch System

2,000

1,310

80

1,230

2,000

2,150

1,900

1,700

c

- Exploration Ground Systems

410

429

26

403

429

484

432

410

Commercial Spaceflight

b

b

b

b

b

1,185

1,136

Exploration R&D

350

477

477

404

396

402

399

c

Space Operations

5,029

5,076

5,076

4,890

4,951

3,993

3,950

4,951

Space Shuttle

c

0

0

c

8

c

c

International Space Station

c

1,431

1,431

c

c

c

c

Space Transportation

c

2,758

2,758

c

c

c

c

Space and Flight Support

c

887

887

c

c

c

c

c

Education

115

100

100

115

108

119

119

108

Space Grant

40

24

24

40

40

c

c

EPSCoR

18

9

9

18

18

c

c

MUREP

32

30

30

32

32

c

c

Other

25

37

37

25

18

c

c

Safety, Security, & Mission Svcs.

2,769

2,837

2,837

2,835

2,797

2,843

2,843

2,797

Construction & EC&R

389

420

420

398

400

436

465

400

Inspector General

37

38

38

38

38

37

37

38

Total

19,285

19,025

763

18,262

19,508

19,306

18,807

18,010

19,508

Sources: FY2016 enacted from P.L. 114-113 and pp. H9741-H9743 of the explanatory statement, Congressional Record, December 17, 2015. FY2017 request from NASA FY2017 congressional budget justification (discretionary calculated by CRS by subtracting mandatory from total). FY2017 House committee from H.R. 5393 as reported in the House and H.Rept. 114-605. FY2017 Senate committee from S. 2837 as reported in the Senate and S.Rept. 114-239. Authorizations from H.R. 2039 as ordered reported and S. 3346 as introduced.

Notes: Some totals may not add because of rounding. MPCV = Multipurpose Crew Vehicle. R&D = Research and Development. EPSCoR = Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research. MUREP = Minority University Research Education Program. EC&R = Environmental Compliance and Remediation.

a. Included in Astrophysics in request and Senate bill. House bill includes $37 million within Science total.

b. Included in Space Transportation under Space Operations.

c. Not specified. FY2016 enacted and FY2017 Senate Appropriations Committee amounts for Space Transportation include up to $1,244 million and up to $1,185 million, respectively, for Commercial Crew.

Figure 1. NASA Funding, FY1958-FY2016

Source: FY1958-FY2008 from National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Aeronautics and Space Report of the President: Fiscal Year 2008 Activities, http://history.nasa.gov/presrep2008.pdf, Table D-1A. FY2009-FY2014 from NASA congressional budget justifications, FY2011-FY2016. FY2015 from P.L. 113-235. FY2016 from P.L. 114-113. Current dollars deflated to FY2016 dollars using GDP (chained) price index from President's budget for FY2017, Historical Table 10.1, http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/Historicals.

Note: Transition quarter between FY1976 and FY1977 not shown.

Author Contact Information

[author name scrubbed], Specialist in Science and Technology Policy ([email address scrubbed], [phone number scrubbed])

Footnotes

1.

See, for example, CRS Report R43918, Overview of FY2016 Appropriations for Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS); CRS Report R43509, Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies: FY2015 Appropriations, CRS Report R43080, Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies: FY2014 Appropriations; CRS Report R42440, Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies: FY2013 Appropriations; CRS Report R41721, Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies: FY2012 Appropriations; and CRS Report R41161, Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies: FY2011 Appropriations.

2.

See, for example, "Highlights of H.R. ____, the NASA Authorization for 2016 and 2017," http://science.house.gov/sites/republicans.science.house.gov/files/documents/Bills_Amendments/HIGHLIGHTS%20for%20NASA%20Authorization%20for%202016%20and%202017.pdf.