On Thursday, 25 July, the full Senate Appropriations Committee began marking up their spending bills for fiscal year (FY) 2025, starting with the Commerce-Justice-Science and Interior-Environment bills, which will be followed by the Energy-Water and Labor-HHS bills later this week. These bills collectively set the spending amounts for U.S. federal science agencies, including NASA, NOAA, NSF, USGS, EPA, the Department of Energy, and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

Under the Fiscal Responsibility Act, Congress established spending caps for fiscal years 2024 and 2025. The Act allows only a 1% increase in spending for FY2025 from FY2024 which greatly constrains funding.

In this two-part Bridge post, we’ll detail the Senate’s recommended funding levels and share committee report highlights impacting the Earth and space sciences.

Senate Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations bill and accompanying report.

 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

	FY2024	President’s Budget Request FY2025	AGU Request FY2025	Senate FY2025
NASA Overall	$24,875.00	$25,400.00	—	$25,433.70
NASA Science	$7,334.20	$7,565.70	$9,000.00	$7,575.70
Earth	$2,195.00	$2,378.70	$2,693.48	$2,368.70
Planetary	$2,716.70	$2,731.50	$3,333.66	$2,721.50
Heliophysics	$805.00	$786.70	$987.82	$811.70
STEM Engagement	$143.00	$143.50	$157.80	$143.50

*Funding numbers in millions

 

Committee Report Highlights:

• Within NASA, the Science Mission Directorate receives a 3.29% increase.
• The committee provides a 7.91% increase for Earth Science. Within Earth Science, the committee provides at least the agency funding request level for Geosynchronous Littoral Imaging and Monitoring Radiometer (GLIMR), $150 million for Landsat Next, and the request level for the Earth System Observatory.
• The committee encourages NASA to continue operating Terra, Aqua, and Aura for as long as they are scientifically productive and directs NASA to provide a transition plan for successor missions to ensure data continuity.
• The committee also supports NASA plans to expand their postdoc program.
• The Senate directs NASA to create a Methane data portal through the U.S. Greenhouse Gas Center and to continue to develop remote sensing wildfire early detection and early warning system technologies.
• Planetary Science receives nearly flat funding in the Senate appropriations bills. Planetary defense receives $276.6 million, with the Near-Earth Object Surveyor Mission (NEOSM) receiving $235.9 million to maintain a 2028 launch.
• The committee directs NASA to maintain a steady cadence of small missions, New Frontiers and Discovery class missions despite cost pressures from flagship missions and provide $434.6 million for Dragonfly to maintain a launch readiness date of no later than 2028.
• Regarding Mars Sample return, the committee directs NASA to provide the committee with a description of the mission architecture and associated cost within 30 days of enactment of FY2025 NASA appropriations.
• The bill also provides $10 million for initial formulation of the Uranus Orbiter and Probe mission.
• Heliophysics is also essentially flat funded in the Senate appropriations bill. However, the bill does support the continuation of the Geospace Dynamics Constellation mission and provides $15 million for the mission within the $122.7 million recommendation for the Living with a Star program.
• The committee provides $236.7 million for Heliophysics Explorers, $252.5 million for Research, $20 million for the Heliophysics Technology Program, $133.2 million for Solar Terrestrial Proves and $47.5 million for Space Weather.
• Within STEM Engagement, Space Grant receives $58.5 million, Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) receives $26 million, and Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP) receives $45.5 million.

National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

	FY2024	President’s Budget Request FY2025	AGU Request FY2025	Senate FY2025
NOAA Overall	$6,319.00	$6,560.98	$7,200.00	$6,699.24
National Ocean Service	$684.00	$808.33	—	$694.45
Oceanic & Atmospheric Research	$726.05	$645.73	—	$733.90
National Weather Service	$1,351.59	$1,367.38	—	$1,393.54
NESDIS	$1,796.94	$2,138.23	—	$1,899.05
Mission Support	$471.32	$529.36	—	$501.52
Office of Marine & Aviation Operations	$439.68	$458.96	—	$567.78

*Funding numbers in millions

 

Committee Report Highlights:

• Overall, NOAA receives a $380 million increase (6.0%) over FY2024 spending levels and 2.1% more than the Administration’s budget request for the agency.
• National Ocean Service (NOS)—NOS receives a $10.45 million increase (1.5%) over FY2024 spending levels.
  • The committee rejects the proposed elimination of the NOAA Center of Excellence for Operational Ocean and Great Lakes Mapping, which they provide $10 million.
  • The Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) receives $43.5 million, a $1 million increase. The committee also expresses support for the use of supplementary funds previously provided to NOAA to recapitalize observing system infrastructure based upon the highest priority needs of each region.
• Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR)—OAR receives $7.85 million increase (1.1%) over FY2024 spending levels.
  • The committee encourages OAR, through the National Integrated Heat Health Information System (NIHHIS), to support focused heat research to translate existing climate services and NOAA products necessary to build capacity to mitigate heat-related hazards, manage risks, advance heat equity, develop metrics, and promote governance structures, processes, and strategies to advance heat resilience across all U.S. geographies.
  • The VORTEX-USA program is provided $11.5 million by the committee, which notes the lack of progress on improving tornado forecasts and warnings and directs NOAA to pursue and extend new partnerships, including with the commercial sector, to test novel and innovative data sources, including commercial radar capabilities, to improve coverage and forecasting skill.
  • NOAA’s Weather Laboratories and Cooperative Institutes receive a 2.0% increase, including $1 million to support JEDI development at the Joint Center for Satellite Data Assimilation (JCSDA). The committee directs NOAA to include sufficient funding in their FY2026 budget request to advance JEDI and maintain access to the intellectual capacity necessary to ensure that the agency maximizes the science and predications derived from its Earth observing systems.
  • As the Nation combats yet another dangerous and extreme wildfire season, the committee notes with urgency the importance of improving fire weather modeling, prediction, detection, and decision support tools. The Committee provides not less than the fiscal year 2024 enacted level within the U.S. Weather Research Program to continue the collaborative and integrated fire weather research program, including the Fire Weather Testbed.
  • The committee rejects the Administration’s proposed cuts to the National Sea Grant College Program and provides a 2.5% increase over FY2024 spending levels.
• National Weather Service (NWS)—NWS receives a $42 million increase (3.1%) over FY2024 spending levels.
  • The committee continues to express concern over the number of NWS employee vacancies, especially at Weather Forecast Offices (WFOs), where only 50% are ideally staffed, so $14 million of this increase is designated to support NWS staffing.
  • The committee provides $11 million to transition the Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS) to the cloud, with the aim of improving forecasts by eliminating the need, time, and risk associated with downloading data by forecasters. NOAA is directed to provide the committee with a plan to develop a cloud-based version of AWIPS that has the same capabilities as the version running on workstations in the WFOs.
  • Within the NWS budget, $1.5 million is designated by the committee for NOAA to partner with a consortium, led by a nonprofit scientific and educational institution with a unique alpine climate and a history of collaboration with NWS, to establish a testbed for applied research and a training program for undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral researchers to provide a pipeline of talent for the agency.
  • The Tsunami Warning Centers receive an increase of $2 million to ensure continuity of operations between the centers, while the National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program remains at its FY2024 spending level.
• National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service (NESDIS)—NESDIS receives a $102 million increase (5.7%) over FY2024 spending levels.
  • The committee notes the increasing prevalence of wildfires across the U.S. and the need to have an integrated approach to fire detection and suppression. They also express concern regarding the impact of smoke and other air pollutants on air quality and providing real-time operational warnings to affected communities. Therefore, NESDIS is encouraged to accelerate and integrate wildfire detection and air quality monitoring into future satellite architectures or commercial data purchases.
  • The National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) receives $71.4 million, including $10 million for Regional Climate Services, $6.1 million for Regional Climate Centers, and $5.5 million for Coastal Data Development. NCEI is also encouraged to continue the development of a Data Assembly Hub for uncrewed systems, which provides direct support for the Blue Economy, STEM education, the continued restoration of the Gulf of Mexico, and transformation of ocean science through emerging technologies, in coordination with the related project supported through NOAA Special Projects.
• Mission Support—NOAA’s Mission Support receives a $30 million increase (6.4%) over FY2024 spending levels.
  • The Committee recognizes NOAA for taking steps to build a more diverse and inclusive workplace and provides FY2024 level funding to support NOAA’s Diversity and Inclusion Plan, to expand NOAA’s recruiting program, and for equity assessment and implementation support.
  • NOAA is encouraged by the committee to request funding for a cooperative science center for ocean education in its FY2026 budget request.
• Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO)—OMAO receives a $128 million increase (29.1%) over FY2024 spending levels.
  • The committee acknowledges that improving understanding of atmospheric rivers is critical to prepare for concentrated rainstorms and flooding along the U.S. west coast, so they provide $2.5 million within Aviation Operations and Aircraft Services to better observe and predict these extreme weather events.

 

National Science Foundation (NSF)

	FY2024	President’s Budget Request FY2025	AGU Request FY2025	Senate FY2025
NSF Overall	$9,060.00	$10,183.00	$11,900.00	$9,550.00
Research & Related Activities	$7,176.50	$8,045.32	—	$7,528.28
STEM EDU	$1,172.00	$1,300.00	—	$1,225.00
Major Research Equipment & Facilities	$234.00	$300.00	—	$300.00
National Science Board	$5.09	$5.22	—	$5.22
Inspector General	$24.41	$28.46	—	$26.50
Agency Operation & Award Management	$448.00	$504.00	—	$465.00

*Funding numbers in millions

 

Committee Report Highlights:

• Research and Related activities which funds the science directorates, including Geoscience, receives an almost 5% increase.
• Within the recently created Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP) directorate, the Regional Innovation Engines receive $200 million and direction that at least 20% of NSF Engines should go to institutions in EPSCoR states.
• The committee re-emaphasizes the requirement that 20% of scholarship funding and 16.5% of research funding should go to EPSCoR states in FY2025.
• The National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR) pilot program receives $30 million.
• Within 90 days of enactment of NSF FY2025 appropriations, NSF is directed to provide Congress with a plan “to meet the breadth of sub-seafloor sampling needs, which could include plans for a new scientific ocean drilling vessel.” NSF must also develop a “strategy to maximize the scientific utilization of current and future earth core samples.”
• The committee provides $300 million, 28.21% increase, for Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction, including $85 million for Mid-Scale Research Infrastructure.
• The committee expresses concerns about NSF’s decisions regarding Antarctica and directs NSF to “provide the Committee a comprehensive plan not later than 180 days after enactment of this act that provides, at a minimum, timelines, milestones, and funding requirements for future Antarctic upgrades that enable continued Antarctic field research, new Antarctic Research Vessel deployment, and a reasonable design path for high priority South Pole physics experiments.”
• The Directorate for STEM Education receives a 4.52% increase. Within the directorate, the committee provides $70 million for informal science education, $75 million for Advanced Technological Education, and the requested increases for Broadening Participation in STEM programs.
• The committee encourages NSF to establish a program for Centers for Transformative Education Research and Translation. The bill also encourages NSF to develop means an programs to enhance graduate education and training.
• Regarding its proposal and award policies, the committee directs NSF to “to more thoroughly address issues relating to the scope of Native-owned lands covered by the policy, Tribal delegation of authority to Tribal organizations to issue approvals, and the appropriate scope of subsistence resources considered in the Guide” in consultation with tribal organizations.

 

Included in the Commerce-Justice-Science bill are also several policy provisions that may impact the scientific enterprise:

• Section 513: Requires the Inspectors General of the Departments of Commerce and Justice, NASA, NSF, and LSC to conduct reviews of activities funded in this bill and requires certifications regarding conflicts of interest.
• Section 523: Prohibits the use of funds to pay for the attendance of more than 50 employees at any single conference outside the United States and limits the cost of any such conference incurred by an agency, with certain exemptions.
• Section 526: Prohibits the use of funds by NASA, OSTP, or the National Space Council to engage in bilateral activities with China or a Chinese-owned company or effectuate the hosting of official Chinese visitors at certain facilities unless the activities are authorized by subsequent legislation or NASA, OSTP, or the National Space Council have made a certification pursuant to subsections (c) and (d) of this section.
• Section 532: Requires quarterly reports from the Department of Commerce, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the National Science Foundation of travel to China.
• Section 541: Sets certain requirements for the allocations of funds related to the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 (Public Law 117– 167).

Stay tuned for Part 2 of our FY2025 Senate appropriations review.