House Appropriators Also Reject Trump-Proposed NASA Cuts, Fund National Space Council

The House Appropriations Committee released the draft text of their version of the FY2026 Commerce-Justice-Science bill that funds NASA today. Like their Senate counterpart, the House committee would essentially keep NASA at its current funding level instead of imposing the severe 24.3 percent budget cut proposed by the Trump Administration. The CJS bill also includes almost $2 million for a White House National Space Council even though the Trump Administration has yet to establish one.

The House CJS subcommittee will meet to mark up the bill tomorrow, July 15, at noon.

The bill text and summary released today do not provide many details, but the top-line number for NASA is $24.8 billion, the same as FY2025. President Trump’s budget request calls for cutting that to $18.8 billion and holding it there through 2030 with no adjustment for inflation.

The Senate Appropriations Committee began markup of their version of the bill last week. Although they didn’t complete action, they also want to keep NASA basically at the current level, but with a slight increase to $24.9 billion.

House CJS subcommittee chair Rep. Hal Rogers (R-KY) said in a statement that the bill “ensures that America remains the global leader in space exploration as adversaries like China ramp up global aggression.” Full committee chair Rep.  Tom Cole (R-OK) added that “We also counter Communist China’s aggressive work to steal U.S. technology and innovation. From America’s streets, all the way to space, this FY26 CJS bill protects our citizens on all fronts.”

NASA supporters have been hard at work trying to prevent the Trump-proposed cuts from going into effect and their efforts appear to be working.

The House bill recommends the following:

• Science: $6 billion versus the current level of $7.3 billion. The President requested $3.9 billion, a cut of 47 percent. Few details of the Senate bill are available, but Senator Chris van Hollen (D-MD) said it provides $7.3 billion for science.
• Aeronautics: $775 million versus $935 million currently. The request was $589 million.
• Space Technology: $913 million versus $1.1 billion now. The request was $569 million.
• Exploration: $9.7 billion, two billion more than the current $7.7 billion. The request was $8.3 billion.
• Space Operations: $4.2 billion, the current level. The request was $3.1 billion, with reductions in the number of crew and cargo flights to the International Space Station.
• Safety, Security and Mission Services: $3 billion, about the same as the current level. The request was $2.1 billion. The Trump Administration’s budget request zeros NASA’s STEM Engagement program. This bill includes funding for STEM-related activities in this account including $26 million for EPSCoR and $58 million for Space Grant.
• Construction and Environmental Compliance and Restoration: $200 million and proceeds from leases deposited into this account shall be available for obligation for FY2026 not to exceed $33 million. The current level is $300 million. The request was $140 million.
• Office of Inspector General: $40.7 million compared with $47.6 million now. The request was $40.7 million

Congress has made clear on a bipartisan, bicameral basis that they want Americans back on the Moon before China puts taikonauts there.  China says it’ll do that by 2030. The House committee’s summary drives home that point saying the bill supports the “critical Artemis program to advance American leadership in space” as part of countering China and maintaining America’s competitive edge.

The Artemis program is in the Exploration account. The House bill allocates $2 billion more for Exploration than the current budget and rejects the Trump Administration’s plan to terminate the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft after the third Artemis flight, Artemis III. Currently scheduled for 2027, that is the flight that is supposed to put astronauts back on the Moon. The Trump plan after that is unclear. It wants to replace SLS and Orion with commercial alternatives, but there are no such alternatives now.

The reconciliation bill that was signed into law on July 4 adds $10 billion for NASA’s human spaceflight program, rejecting Trump plans to eliminate SLS, Orion and the Gateway lunar space station as well as adding money for the International Space Station (in the Space Operations account) and other programs.  That money is in addition to funding through the appropriations process. It would not be surprising if Congress or the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) adjust funding levels to avoid a windfall for certain programs.

Advocates for NASA’s science program have been warning about a “dark age” if the Trump budget cuts become budget reality. While the $6 billion in this bill isn’t as good as the $7.3 billion in the Senate’s, it’s a considerable improvement above the request. If the bills proceed through the usual program

The House bill also funds the White House National Space Council at $1.925 million, the same as FY2025. It’s a bit of a surprise since the White House has not established a National Space Council yet.  The National Space Council was created by law in 1989, but presidents may choose to staff and fund it or not. President Trump did in his first term and there are rumors it’s in the works, but nothing has been officially announced. By law the National Space Council is chaired by the Vice President so in the first Trump term it was led by Mike Pence. Now it would be JD Vance. Vice President Kamala Harris chaired it in the Biden-Harris Administration.