House Passes pro science '07 funding bill cutting deficit

Read the full article titled "House Passes $463 Billion Spending Bill After Deleting Earmarks" by Paul Kane in The Washington Post, February 1, 2007

"The measure had to be cobbled together because Congress did not finish its work last year and failed to pass nine of 11 spending bills. 'Four months into fiscal 2007, we are cleaning up the Republican Party's budget mess,' House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) said during the floor debate." It has to be passed by the Senate before February 15 when the current continuing resolution runs out.

The bill, approved 286 to 140, maintains funding for most federal agencies at 2006 levels. It cuts many earmarks from that considered last year, but it adds about $16 billion for Democratic priorities, including an increase of Pell grants for higher education of $260 per year, up to $4,310." "The White House has indicated that President Bush will sign the measure."

"Funding for NASA would be significantly below the levels requested by Bush and initially approved by the House last year. Under the resolution approved yesterday, the 2007 NASA budget would be $16.2 billion -- about the same as its 2006 budget." Rep. Dave Weldon (Republican from Florida) "said that funding for the manned-exploration budget, in particular, would be less than what was expected and that the program to launch a new manned spaceship by 2014 would be delayed as a result."

Comment: The Bush administration has promoted a manned spaceflight mission, knowing that the majority of the budget would have to be funded in the budgets of future administrations. It seems likely to me that the effect of this program would be to cut funding for science in space, and not coincidentally for remote sensing that might provide data supporting environmental concerns of the scientific community and the public. JAD

The bill contains "an additional $1.3 billion for the fight against HIV/AIDS and other diseases."