Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of June 25-July 1, 2023 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in recess except for pro forma sessions.
The House and Senate Armed Services Committees completed their work on the FY2024 National Defense Authorization Act this week, with both committees approving their bills almost unanimously. The House Appropriations Committee also cleared the FY2024 Defense Appropriations bill, though on a party-line vote after sometimes bitter debate. Except for the question of where U.S. Space Command should be headquartered, the space-related portions of the bills are not controversial. Congress is taking a two-week break over the July 4th holiday, but the bills could be brought to the floor at any time thereafter.
India just became the latest country to sign the Artemis Accords. Ecuador and Spain also have recently joined bringing the total to 27. The Accords lay out principles for countries to work together effectively on the Moon and are open to all countries to sign. Although they are not legally binding, the Accords represent a commitment to peaceful cooperation in civil space activities in cislunar space.
The Senate Appropriations Committee adopted spending caps for its 12 subcommittees today. In most cases they are higher than their House counterparts. While that may seem like good news for the departments and agencies funded by those subcommittees, it highlights how much work lies ahead to come up with FY2024 spending bills that can pass both chambers and get signed into law by the President. If all 12 bills are not enacted by January 1, 2024, a one percent across-the-board cut will go into effect.
Lori Glaze, director of NASA’s Planetary Science Division, told an advisory committee today how she will prioritize activities if budget cuts stemming from the recent debt limit deal materialize. She also disputed that the Mars Sample Return program needs an additional $250 million above the FY2024 request, insisting the agency is waiting for the results of an independent review before making any new cost estimates. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson told Congress MSR needed the extra funding in April.
Here are links to all the articles published on SpacePolicyOnline.com during the week of June 12-19, 2023, including our “What’s Happening in Space Policy” for this coming week. Click on each title to read the entire article.
Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of June 18-24, 2023 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in session this week.
The two House committees that authorize and appropriate money for the Department of Defense made progress this week on legislation for FY2024, which begins on October 1. Defense spending is one of the few areas exempted from the steep budget cuts proposed by House Republicans, although the recommended funding for the U.S. Space Force is below the request. More action is scheduled in both the House and Senate next week.
The two House committees that provide policy guidance and money for national security space activities made it clear this week that the location of U.S. Space Command headquarters is a key issue. The debate has lingered without resolution for more than two years as President Biden weighs whether to reverse his predecessor’s decision to move it to Alabama from Colorado. In Congress, the Alabama delegation is putting the battle front and center in this year’s defense authorization and appropriations legislation.
The House Appropriations Committee has revealed its planned FY2024 spending levels for each of its 12 subcommittees. Although the figures still do not indicate what any specific agency will get, seeing them on paper makes the extent of the proposed cuts palpably evident. The subcommittee that funds NASA, for example, will have almost 30 percent less to spend in FY2024 than FY2023. Only three subcommittees get increases and they are less than inflation.