Hearings to examine proposed budget estimates and justification for fiscal year 2025 for the National Institutes of Health.
Senate Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies
2024-05-23
Source: Congress.gov
Summary
The Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies held a hearing on NASA and NSF's fiscal year 2025 budget requests, with Administrator Bill Nelson and Director Saituraman Panchanathan testifying on agency priorities. Key topics included the FY25 budget increases—$10.18 billion for NSF (12.4% above 2024) and $25.4 billion for NASA (2% above 2024)—and concerns over cuts to heliophysics research and science funding. Witnesses emphasized the role of these agencies in maintaining U.S. leadership in space exploration, AI, advanced manufacturing, and STEM education, particularly in the face of growing global competition from China. The hearing also addressed specific programs like the Artemis missions, regional innovation engines, the National AI Research Resource (NAR), and EPSCoR, with testimony highlighting the need for robust investments in infrastructure, research, and workforce development to ensure long-term technological and economic competitiveness.
Participants
Transcript
Good morning. The Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies of the Senate Committee on Appropriations will come to order. I want to start by again thanking my ranking member, Senator Moran, for the great partnership we've had. We are looking forward to writing yet another bipartisan CJS bill, and hopefully we will get started on that soon. I want to welcome today's witnesses, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, former Senator Bill Nelson, we still think about you as in the family here, and NSF Director Saituraman Panchanathan, I'm getting better, right? Affectionately known as Dr. Panch, to discuss their agency's fiscal year 2025 budget requests. Thank you both for being here today. And thank you, Senator Nelson and your team, for coordinating the visit with Artemis II astronaut Christina Cook, who was in New Hampshire. And anyone who can keep a room full of fifth graders engaged for over 40 minutes is a great emissary for NASA. So we really appreciated her visit and I'm sure had a number of wannabe astronauts in that room after she was there. President Biden's fiscal year 2025 budget requests for NASA and NSF would take steps in the right direction. The request includes $10.18 billion for NSF, which is an increase of $1.12 billion, or 12.4%, above fiscal year 2024 enacted. For NASA, the request is $25.4 billion, which is an increase of 509 million, or 2% above the 24 enacted level. However, as Administrator Nelson, you and I discussed, I do have some concerns about the budget. I'm particularly concerned about the cut to NASA heliophysics for the third year in a row, especially since the next heliophysics decadal will be released later this year.
And of course, as you know, the University of New Hampshire is a leader in heliophysics research, including leading the Helioswarm mission. I can point to the geomagnetic storm that we had last week to underscore how important our understanding of the sun really is. And fortunately, we didn't see any real damage as the result of that storm, but we know that those storms can interfere with satellite systems, with GPS, with radio communications, and studying the sun gives us much better understanding of what the impacts could be. So it's also hard to overstate the effect of the Fiscal Responsibility Act caps on your agencies. We were forced to cut nearly a billion dollars from critical science agencies in the FY24 bill and struggled to meet the high expectations to continue to invest in the Artemis mission and the hugely popular chips in science. Act. So we've seen reduced investments in innovation and space exploration. Those investments are through NSF and NASA really drive our economic competitiveness. They inspire the next generation of STEM leaders. And I worry that under investing in our nation's future, especially in scientific innovation, will be challenging as we think about our future competitors. So whether developing the future of artificial intelligence or lunar space, NASA and NSF are on the cutting edge of technological innovation and instrumental in training the next generation of scientists, innovators, teachers, and technicians, in particular in the STEM fields that will define economic growth and national security for decades to come. And I think we all understand on this committee, I know you both do, that we can't take our continued leadership and innovation and technology for granted.
Our global competitors, especially China, are not waiting idly by. They're investing heavily in scientific and technological innovation. Earlier this month, China launched a mission to the dark side of the moon, which demonstrates an impressive technological capability. Both NASA and NSF drive us onward through curiosity-driven inquiry and exploration, and they ensure that the foundation for the future in fields like AI and space exploration is built in the United States. It's imperative that we lead, not just keep pace, which is why I continue to be a staunch supporter of both NASA and NSF. And with that, let me recognize my ranking member, Senator Moran. Chair Shaheen, thank you very much. Thanks for your cooperation in this setting and our other deliberations and work on the CJS Appropriations Subcommittee. I look forward to again having a successful opportunity for us to advance causes that we both believe in and that are important to the country. And welcome to NASA Administrator Nelson and to Director Panchanathan. We're delighted to have you back in front of our committee. I think it's appropriate that both of you are here at the same time. While you have different missions and different responsibilities and opportunities, the outcome of what each of you do benefits the country in very similar ways. The President's budget of $1.1 billion increase for NSF and a $500 million increase for NASA While these increases are significant, given the fiscal responsibility spending caps, they remain a challenge. We did the best that we could do with the numbers that we had for both of your agencies in FY24, and I'm committed to doing that again. That challenging allocation last year led to some tough decisions, but in my view, this subcommittee, the full committee and the
Sign up for free to see the full transcript
Accounts help us prevent bots from abusing our site. Accounts are free and will allow you to access the full transcript.