Reps. Bacon, Chu Lead Colleagues in Urging House Appropriators to Explicitly Protect NASA Funding in Upcoming Continuing Resolution

Reps. Bacon, Chu Lead Colleagues in Urging House Appropriators to Explicitly Protect NASA Funding in Upcoming Continuing Resolution

Lawmakers warn a CR anomaly for NASA is needed to prevent the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) from prematurely making dramatic cuts at NASA without the consent of Congress

WASHINGTON, D.C. -Reps. Don Bacon (NE-02) and Judy Chu (CA-28) led a group of bipartisan colleagues in sending a letter yesterday to House Appropriations Committee leaders urging them to include language in this week's anticipated short-term Continuing Resolution (CR) that would explicitly protect NASA funding at no less than the currently-enacted levels.

"Without an anomaly providing guidance on the NASA budget," the Members wrote, "OMB has pledged to apply its proposed FY 2026 cuts as soon as October 1st. That would result in an unprecedented, single-year cut to NASA, particularly NASA's space science activities, resulting in irreversible impacts on America's space leadership and capabilities."

The letter notes that the cuts to NASA funding proposed in the FY26 President's Budget Request (PBR) would be devastating for the agency and would affect every state and nearly every congressional district. The lawmakers note that if implemented, the FY26 PBR would: create needless disruption and uncertainty that threatens project timelines and risks unanticipated budget growth, throw away billions of dollars of functioning spacecraft, weaken national security, stifle the space economy, and ultimately surrender American space leadership to our adversaries like China. The letter commends House Appropriators for largely rejecting these cuts in the Committee's Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill, but notes that Congress must act now and provide explicit guidance in the CR to ensure the Administration adheres to Congressional intent.

"We therefore respectfully ask the Committee to include language in the CR explicitly protecting NASA funding at no less than the FY 2024/2025 enacted levels. Congress has acted before to protect essential programs under CRs, and NASA - a vital part of our economy, our national security, and our global standing - deserves the same protection," concluded the lawmakers.

Click here for the full text of the letter.

"Congress has made its intentions clear: NASA should not be cut, and America's leadership in space science must be preserved," said Casey Dreier, Chief of Space Policy at The Planetary Society. "This message is bipartisan and bicameral. There is no ambiguity here. But given the uncertainty projected by OMB, and the irreversible consequences of potentially terminating dozens of one-of-a-kind space assets and disbanding skilled teams across the country, it is critical that our elected officials provide clear directives in the upcoming Continuing Resolution. We commend the Co-Chairs of the Planetary Science Caucus and its allies for taking this strong stand to protect NASA and ensure congressional intent is respected on October 1st and through all of FY 2026."

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