Hoyer: Cuts to NASA Will Stifle Advances in Research and Discovery

Hoyer: Cuts to NASA Will Stifle Advances in Research and Discovery
Committee Slashes Funding for NSF and NASA
July 22, 2004

WASHINGTON, DC - Congressman Steny Hoyer released the following statement today after the House Appropriations Committee slashed funding for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) from the federal funding bill that funds the Departments of Veterans Administration, Housing and Urban Development and Independent Agencies including NASA and NSF.

"In 1961, President Kennedy first challenged the United States to become the world's leading space-faring nation, and our nation answered his call with the greatest and most complex exploration accomplishment in history. Two days ago, we celebrated the 35th anniversary of the Apollo 11 voyage to the moon, and, over the last several months, we have watched unprecedented footage from the two NASA Exploration Rovers on Mars.

"Today, however, the House Appropriations Committee slashed over $200 million from NASA's budget and more than $100 million from NSF. These unacceptable cuts will stifle important research and discovery conducted at facilities across the country, including Goddard Space Flight Center located in Greenbelt, Maryland, and will threaten the success of future missions to the moon, Mars, and space.

"Goddard is a world class center which is home to a major U.S. laboratory for developing and operating unmanned scientific spacecraft. I will fight to restore these cuts and I remain fully committed to preserving this essential Center which is significant both as a national research facility and as a regional employer.

"We are now witnessing the consequences of the Republican leadership's failed fiscal policies which have led to a $4 trillion dollar deficit, debt that will drown future generations for years to come, and the failure to invest in our national priorities. NASA and NSF are indeed valuable to our exploration of space, but even more so, the research done at these facilities has led to cutting edge developments in medicine and technology advances that have assisted our ability to secure our nation.

"Exploring our universe is indeed a worthy priority, and I believe it must be balanced with the pressing budget realities facing our nation. However, I regret that as a result of the Republican failure to produce a budget, a plan, or a direction for America, important programs that will help our nation further understand and explore distant galaxies and develop breakthrough technologies important to our health and security are being unnecessarily sacrificed."