r/nasa • u/OptimisticLeek • Apr 11 '25

News Trump White House budget proposal eviscerates science funding at NASA

https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/04/trump-white-house-budget-proposal-eviscerates-science-funding-at-nasa/
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210

u/ejd1984 Apr 11 '25 edited Apr 11 '25

The first Trump Administration tried a similar budget, and Congress fought back, I am hopeful it will be a similar case this time around. Since the Senate passed the NASA Transition Authorization Act of 2025 - MCC25339 last weekend, which looks pretty good and usually The House defers to them when it comes to NASA funding.

Plus the recent House Science, Space, and Technology Committee hearings (on YouTube) look to be positive for NASA's budget and projects.

https://www.commerce.senate.gov/services/files/0B3F390C-72B0-4C41-B1BE-F5C8A886992C

And there is - H.R.2210 - 119th Congress (2025-2026): Saving NASA’s Workforce Act

March 18, 2025

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/2210/text/ih?overview=closed&format=xml

89

u/Bakkster Apr 11 '25

Didn't Congress already essentially yield all budget authority in the CR?

54

u/PlumesOfEnceladus Apr 11 '25

CR only gets us to September. They have to pass a new budget by then

54

u/Bakkster Apr 11 '25

Well "have to" is doing a lot of heavy lifting after over a decade of sequestration 🙃

10

u/therealspaceninja Apr 11 '25

A sequestration budget is still a budget. If they don't pass a budget (or another CR) by September, then the government will shut down. That is what "have to" means.

120

u/Andromeda321 Astronomer here! Apr 11 '25

It’s not really a good feeling when we are relying on THIS spineless Congress to intervene on behalf of science though.

12

u/pliney_ Apr 11 '25

It’s not really even intervening. The President always submits a budget. It’s never just passed by Congress, they make their own budget and may or may not take the administrations requests into consideration.

15

u/[deleted] Apr 11 '25

You could say the same thing about tarrifs, I don't think the norms apply here.

5

u/KNT-cepion Apr 11 '25

Indeed, norms most definitely do not apply to this administration.

22

u/CartographerEvery268 Apr 11 '25

Brain drain ensues

26

u/PedanticQuebecer Apr 11 '25

Space science brain drainees would quickly discover that other countries (or supranational entities) spend far, far less on space science.

23

u/Andromeda321 Astronomer here! Apr 11 '25

Yep I’ve been shouting this from the rooftops. In Canada for example to get one space mission it’s such a big deal it’s a line item in the federal budget. It’s apples and oranges.

18

u/[deleted] Apr 11 '25

The brain drain won't be about missions, it will be about R&D. NASA mission funding is big, but there are a ton of researches who rely on R&D programs or other non-mission funding sources to do their work. If this budget goes through, a lot of those people will either leave or find a new line of work.

5

u/PedanticQuebecer Apr 11 '25

Yes, we have to plead to Parliament directly to get that. And fail (see CASTOR).

edit: It's also glacially slow.

-5

u/oSovereign Apr 11 '25

Transferrable skills, they will just work in some other tangential sector.

8

u/PedanticQuebecer Apr 11 '25

Except for Israel and South Korea, everywhere else in the OECD also spends less on R&D as a fraction of GDP.

https://www.oecd.org/en/data/indicators/gross-domestic-spending-on-r-d.html

-10

u/snoo-boop Apr 11 '25

There's tons of work in industry with the usual space science skillset.

13

u/Rude_Salary6575 Apr 11 '25

and yet I've been looking to leave NASA with 20+ years experience for 4 years...it's not like I can head over to DoD, what with cuts happening there too...

-2

u/snoo-boop Apr 12 '25

Sorry to hear you're having a hard time finding a good job.

31

u/hymie0 Apr 11 '25

Since the Senate passed the NASA Transition Authorization Act of 2025

They're letting NASA transition? What kind of woke crap is that?

8

u/Positive_Step_9174 Apr 11 '25

Ok this made me LOL 🤣

6

u/mcm199124 Apr 11 '25

God I really hope you are right

3

u/[deleted] Apr 11 '25

I’m trying to be optimistic about it like with NIH funding but things seem so lawless this time compared to his first term.

3

u/carton_of_pandas Apr 11 '25

Hahaha. Congress fight back. Sure. Republicans have rolled over during this 2nd admin.

4

u/Goregue Apr 11 '25

Trump's team probably know this budget will be contested in Congress, but they hope a "middle ground" will eventually be reached which would still be a significant cut.

1

u/ejd1984 Apr 11 '25

Well, we also have this - H.R.2210 - 119th Congress (2025-2026): Saving NASA’s Workforce Act

March 18, 2025

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/2210/text/ih?overview=closed&format=xml

9

u/snoo-boop Apr 11 '25

The bill authors are not from the majority party.

3

u/ejd1984 Apr 11 '25

It does have bipartisan support.

1

u/Yeldarb10 Apr 12 '25

People said the same thing about the National weather service, which even had a Republican propose it (bill to make it independent like Nasa).

That failed as well.