NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab Gets Nearly Full Funding

Congressional negotiators have restored nearly full funding to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena after threatening to drastically cut its budget. President Clinton is expected to sign the bill.

Under the settlement, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration will receive $13.6 billion, which is slightly more than Clinton requested. The space-science account, including programs at JPL, will get nearly $2.2 billion, which is $45 million less than what Clinton proposed but far more than lawmakers initially slashed.

“It’s great news that Congress is going to increase funding for NASA and in particular the cutting-edge research of local engineers and scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory,” said Rep. David Dreier (R-San Dimas), who led efforts to restore the funding.

Negotiators reached the agreement with White House officials late Thursday. Officials were still ironing out details of the appropriation bill governing the Veterans Administration and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, legislation that includes independent agencies like NASA.

The agreement is expected to get formal congressional votes in the next week.

Negotiators restored the funding after a House subcommittee voted to cut $900 million from the NASA budget in July. NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin warned House leadership that such a “devastating” cut would have eliminated 600 jobs at JPL and reduced the lab’s $1.3-billion budget by $360 million.

Officials were still determining Friday which programs won and lost in the conference committee. For example, because JPL’s Mars Climate Orbiter was destroyed, that project’s funding will be available for other programs. Precise figures were unavailable.