NASA Appropriations and Authorizations: A Fact Sheet

May 18, 2017 (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 provides data on past, current, and proposed FY2018 NASA appropriations, as well as the enacted authorization of NASA appropriations for FY2017. No bills have yet been introduced proposing future-year authorizations of NASA appropriations.

For more information on FY2017 funding 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 FY2012 through FY2017. The data for FY2012 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 FY2014 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. The table data for FY2017 are as enacted by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017 (P.L. 115-31). For amounts not specified in that act, see pp. H3374-H3375 of the explanatory statement, published in the Congressional Record on May 3, 2017.

Table 2 shows enacted appropriations for FY2016 (as above); the Obama 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 (114^th Congress) and its accompanying report H.Rept. 114-605; the Senate Committee on Appropriations recommendations for FY2017, as contained in S. 2837 (114^th Congress) and its accompanying report S.Rept. 114-239; enacted appropriations for FY2017 (as above); the Trump Administration's budget blueprint for FY2018 (https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/omb/budget/fy2018/2018_blueprint.pdf); and enacted authorizations of appropriations for FY2017 in the NASA Transition Authorization Act of 2017 (P.L. 115-10).

Figure 1 shows NASA's total annual budget authority from the agency's establishment in FY1958 to FY2017, in both current dollars and inflation-adjusted FY2017 dollars.

Table 1. NASA Appropriations, FY2012-FY2017

(budget authority in $ millions)

	FY2012	FY2013	FY2014	FY2015	FY2016	FY2017
Science	$5,074	$4,782	$5,148	$5,243	$5,589	$5,765
Earth Science	1,761	1,659	1,825	1,784	1,921	1,921
Planetary Science	1,501	1,275	1,346	1,447	1,631	1,846
Astrophysics	648	617	678	731	731	750
James Webb Space Telescope	519	628	658	645	620	569
Heliophysics	645	603	641	636	650	679
Education	—^a	—^a	—^a	—^a	37	—^a
Aeronautics	569	530	566	642	640	660
Space Technology	574	615	576	600	687	687
Exploration	3,707	3,706	4,113	3,543	4,030	4,324
Exploration Systems Development	3,002	2,884	3,115	3,212	3,680	3,929
- Orion MPCV	1,200	1,114	1,197	1,190	1,270	1,350
- Space Launch System	1,497	1,415	1,600	1,679	2,000	2,150
- Exploration Ground Systems	305	355	318	343	410	429
Commercial Spaceflight	406	525	696	—^b	—^b	—^b
Exploration R&D	300	297	302	331	350	395
Space Operations	4,184	3,725	3,774	4,626	5,029	4,951
Space Shuttle	596	39	0	8	—^c	0
International Space Station	2,790	2,776	2,964	1,525	—^c	—^c
Space Transportation	—^d	—^d	—^d	2,254	—^c	—^c
Space and Flight Support	798	910	810	839	—^c	—^c
Education	136	116	117	119	115	100
Space Grant	39	37	40	40	40	40
EPSCoR	17	17	18	18	18	18
MUREP	30	28	30	32	32	32
Other	50	34	29	29	25	10
Safety, Security, and Mission Services	2,994	2,711	2,793	2,755	2,769	2,769
Construction and EC&R	495	661^e	522	446	389	361^f
Inspector General	38	35	38	37	37	38
Total	17,770^g	16,879^e	17,647	18,010	19,285	19,653^f

Sources: FY2012-FY2015 from NASA FY2014-FY2017 congressional budget justifications. FY2016 from P.L. 114-113 and its explanatory statement. FY2017 from P.L. 115-31 and its explanatory statement. See text for further details.

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 and, in some years, Planetary Science.

b. Included in Space Transportation under Space Operations.

c. Not specified. Space Transportation includes up to $1,244 million (in FY2016) and up to $1,185 million (in FY2017) for Commercial Crew.

d. Commercial Crew funded under Exploration. Remainder included in International Space Station.

e. 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.

f. Excludes $109 million in emergency funding for repairs at NASA facilities damaged by natural disasters.

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

Table 2. NASA Appropriations, FY2016-FY2018, and Authorization, FY2017

(budget authority in $ millions)

	Appropriations								Authorization
	FY2016	FY2017						FY2018	FY2017
		Request
	Enacted	Total	Mand.	Discr.	H. Cte.	S. Cte.	Enacted	Request
Science	$5,589	$5,601	$298	$5,303	$5,597	$5,395	$5,765	$—^a	$5,500
Earth Science	1,921	2,032	60	1,972	1,690	1,984	1,921	1,800	—^a
Planetary Science	1,631	1,519	128	1,391	1,846	1,356	1,846	1,900	—^a
Astrophysics	731	782	85	697	793	807	750	—^a	—^a
James Webb Space Telescope	620	569	—	569	569	569	569	—^a	—^a
Heliophysics	650	699	25	674	699	679	679	—^a	—^a
Education	37	—^b	—	—^b	—^b	—^b	—^b	—^a	—^a
Aeronautics	640	790	156	635	712	601	660	624	640
Space Technology	687	827	136	691	739	687	687	—^a	686
Exploration	4,030	3,337	173	3,164	4,183	4,330	4,324	—^a	4,330
Exploration Systems Development	3,680	2,860	173	2,687	3,779	3,934	3,929	3,700	—^a
- Orion MPCV	1,270	1,120	66	1,053	1,350	1,300	1,350	—^a	—^a
- Space Launch System	2,000	1,310	80	1,230	2,000	2,150	2,150	—^a	—^a
- Exploration Ground Systems	410	429	26	403	429	484	429	—^a	—^a
Commercial Spaceflight	—^c	—^c	—	—^c	—^c	—^c	—^c	—^a	—^a
Exploration R&D	350	477	—	477	404	396	395	—^a	—^a
Space Operations	5,029	5,076	—	5,076	4,890	4,951	4,951	—^a	5,023
Space Shuttle	—^a	0	—	0	—^a	8	0	—^a	—^a
International Space Station	—^a	1,431	—	1,431	—^a	—^a	—^a	—^a	—^a
Space Transportation	—^a	2,758	—	2,758	—^a	—^a	—^a	—^a	—^a
Space and Flight Support	—^a	887	—	887	—^a	—^a	—^a	—^a	—^a
Education	115	100	—	100	115	108	100	0	115
Space Grant	40	24	—	24	40	40	40	0	—^a
EPSCoR	18	9	—	9	18	18	18	0	—^a
MUREP	32	30	—	30	32	32	32	0	—^a
Other	25	37	—	37	25	18	10	0	—^a
Safety, Security, and Mission Services	2,769	2,837	—	2,837	2,835	2,797	2,769	—^a	2,789
Construction and EC&R	389	420	—	420	398	400	361^d	—^a	388
Inspector General	37	38	—	38	38	38	38	—^a	37
Total	19,285	19,025	763	18,262	19,508	19,306	19,653^d	19,100	19,508

Sources: FY2016 enacted from P.L. 114-113 and its explanatory statement. FY2017 request from NASA FY2017 congressional budget justification (discretionary calculated by CRS by subtracting mandatory from total). FY2017 House committee from H.R. 5393 (114^th Congress) and H.Rept. 114-605. FY2017 Senate committee from S. 2837 (114^th Congress) and S.Rept. 114-239. FY2017 enacted from P.L. 115-31 and its explanatory statement. FY2018 request from budget blueprint released March 16, 2017. FY2017 authorization from P.L. 115-10. See text for further details.

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

b. Included in Astrophysics in request and Senate bill. House bill includes $37 million within Science total. Enacted Science total includes $37 million equally divided between Astrophysics and Planetary Science.

c. Included in Space Transportation under Space Operations.

d. Excludes $109 million in emergency funding for repairs at NASA facilities damaged by natural disasters.

Figure 1. NASA Funding, FY1958-FY2017

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. FY2017 from P.L. 11 5-31. Current dollars deflated to FY2017 dollars using GDP (chained) price index from President's budget for FY2017, Historical Table 10.1, https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BUDGET-2017-TAB/xls/BUDGET-2017-TAB-11-1.xls.

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

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; and CRS Report R41721, Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies: FY2012 Appropriations.