A bipartisan group of lawmakers led by Reps. Judy Chu, who represents Pasadena, and Don Bacon urged congressional appropriators Sunday to approve $26.8 billion for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's 2025 budget, including $7.8812 billion for science programs, warning that America's leadership in space exploration faces critical challenges.
The proposed NASA budget cuts for fiscal year 2025 have already led to significant job losses at Pasadena's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, with the potential for further impacts on the workforce and ongoing projects.
In a letter to House and Senate appropriations leaders, the two representatives and 20 other Members of Congress warned that recent budget cuts have created a $1 billion loss in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's purchasing power since 2020, threatening critical missions and workforce stability at a time when international competitors are rapidly expanding their space programs.
The lawmakers highlighted projections that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration could lose up to 800 skilled civil servants next year, adding to hundreds of positions already eliminated at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Goddard Space Flight Center. According to a July 2024 National Aeronautics and Space Administration Small Bodies Assessment Group, a science community-led node of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Advisory Council, these losses particularly impact training opportunities for next-generation researchers.
"NASA is being asked to do more with less, and the strain is becoming unsustainable for the agency workforce, our scientific community, and our international allies," the letter stated.
The funding request comes as other nations rapidly expand their space programs. According to the National Academies' "NASA at a Crossroads" report, China, India and Europe have increased their space budgets by up to 10% annually. Meanwhile, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Planetary Science Division is already more than $1 billion below recommended funding levels just two years into its current decadal period, with a projected $11 billion shortfall by 2032 if trends continue.
Several high-priority National Aeronautics and Space Administration projects face delays or cancellation without adequate funding, including Mars Sample Return, VERITAS, DAVINCI, and Dragonfly missions. In astrophysics, the agency has achieved only 1% of necessary technology investments for its next major space telescope, the Habitable Worlds Observatory.
The letter, endorsed by the Planetary Society and produced in accordance with the CHIPS & Science Act, emphasized the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's role in driving innovation and supporting hundreds of thousands of high-paying jobs. The agency spends approximately 85% of its budget externally, fostering a growing commercial space sector that recently achieved successful lunar landings.
"Congress has the responsibility -- and the opportunity -- to restore federal funding and ensure that NASA and its commercial partners have sufficient resources to meet national priorities, safeguard our scientific progress, maintain our world-class workforce, and expand our understanding of the Universe and Earth's place within it."