NASA Budget and the Political Process April 12, 2018 Dr. Emilie Royer Emilie.royer@lasp.colorado.edu
DISCLAIMER: The study of policy-making is, in fact, its own science and art. A thorough understanding can never be achieved unless we study human nature in context: policymakers motivations, and thus the policies they produce, would not necessarily appear rational when considered without reference to the political world of which they are a part. Neal s book, chapter 4
Science policy Like other types of policy, science policy can be made in many different ways: by legislative and federal entities, or through administrative, legislative, and judicial mechanisms Its pluralist nature and the involvement of many different executive agencies, congressional committees, and executive branch offices make its formation more difficult to understand than many other areas of public policy. Once a policy is created, its interpretation may greatly influence its real-world impact. Complicating the matter further, the judiciary may be called on to resolve disputes over the interpretation of specific policies.
A slow process Incrementalism Under the incremental model, policymakers have limited time and ability to be thorough; they do not undertake comprehensive analysis and therefore avoid sweeping initiatives. Instead, they muddle through by making small adjustments to existing policies as needed. These incremental adjustments amount to notable change only if one compares one decade to the next. Vs. punctual equilibrium
Topics previously involved in science policy: reproductive cloning, strategic missile defense, climate change, health care (e.g., AIDS), projects (such as the Space Station or the Superconducting Super Collider) involve international agreements or large sums of money Decisions that require the president s direct participation are few and far between
The Actors Congress can adopt broad positions on policy, sometimes in response to the president s statements. At other times, Congress is first to act, with the president becoming involved by deciding to support or oppose the congressional position. At the next lower level decisions are made by the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in cooperation with federal agencies, or by key congressional committees. Such decisions usually have a sizable impact on the scientific community. At a third, federal agencies, Congress, and the scientific community work together to set priorities for specific fields and subfields of science.
The Actors Finally, the fourth level is the individual. Policy at this level is perhaps best understood as a decision made by an individual who independently interprets a law, regulation, or agency policy. These individuals can be grant, contract, or program officers, or officials based in regulatory and/or enforcement agencies. They are civil servants. Challenges to the decisions made by theses civil servants are generally resolved by moving to a higher level within the agency.
Authorizing Committees Congress has the power to propose and pass legislation in order to affect public policy, including science policy. The Constitution grants Congress the responsibility to formulate and pass laws. Congress must approve agency budgets annually, before funds can be dispensed. If an appropriations bill does not pass, then legally the agency has no funding for that fiscal year the government s spending authority simply ran out, leading to a partial government shutdown. Members of Congress, from either the House or the Senate, are the only people who can formally introduce legislation.
Executive orders The oldest and perhaps best-known kind of presidential directive is the executive order. The president can use an executive order to guide government operations, encouraging or prohibiting agencies from taking part in specific activities. President Clinton s directive of March 4, 1997, which banned the use of federal funds for human cloning. In addition to powers to make annual budget proposals, draft legislation, and issue executive orders and directives, the president also has constitutional authority to make international treaties (with the advice and consent of the Senate); appoint ambassadors and other top-level executive and judicial officials, including Supreme Court justices and federal judges (again with Senate approval); and to make recommendations to Congress. The president s influence on science policy is often exerted through the power to nominate key officials, including the directors of the OSTP, NSF, and the EPA; the administrator of NASA; and the secretaries of Health and Human Services, Defense, Energy, State, and Commerce. Nominations put forward by the president are subject to Senate approval.
The budget process In modern-day politics, the budget process never really ends. By the time Congress completes one fiscal year s budget, the next is being developed by federal agencies with input from the OMB and OSTP. Further complicating the process, budget discussions begin two years in advance Federal agencies usually submit an initial budget request to the OMB for review in mid-september, more than a year in advance of when the fiscal year budget being planned for is set to begin. After this final round of political decisions has been made and the president has approved the budget, the proposal is sent to the Government Printing Office. The president s budget for the upcoming fiscal year is usually released during the first week in February
The budget process the president proposes, and the Congress disposes. In other words, the president proposes a budget, which Congress either accepts or rejects. Congressional consideration of the president s budget request begins with the House and Senate Budget committees. The National Aeronautics and Space Act was passed on July 29, 1958, disestablishing NASA's predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). The new agency became operational on October 1, 1958. As a federal agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) receives its funding from the annual federal budget passed by the United States Congress.
A few links on Science Policy from the Planetary Society: The planetary society on advocacy Casey Dreier http://www.planetary.org/multimedia/video/the-spaceadvocate/how-nasas-budget-is-made.html http://www.planetary.org/multimedia/planetary-tv/the-spaceadvocate.html
NASA BUDGET
NASA Leadership Acting Administrator Robert M. Lightfoot Jr. Robert Lightfoot became the acting NASA adminstrator on Jan. 20, 2017. Since 2012, he has been the the associate administrator, the agency's highest-ranking civil servant.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration Advisory Groups NAC and ASAP Inspector General Chief Financial Officer* Chief Information Officer* Administrator Deputy Administrator Associate Administrator Chief of Staff Deputy Associate Administrator Associate Deputy Administrator Associate Administrator for Strategy and Plans Chief Scientist Chief Technologist Diversity and Equal Opportunity Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs* Office of Strategy and Policy Office of Agency Council Staff Chief Engineer Chief, Safety and Mission Assurance Education Communications* Chief Health and Medical Officer International and Interagency Relations Small Business Programs General Counsel Mission Support Directorate Human Capital Management Strategic Infrastructure Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate Science Mission Directorate Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate Space Technology Mission Directorate Ames Research Center Armstrong Flight Research Center Glenn Research Center Johnson Space Center Kennedy Space Center Langley Research Center Headquarters Operations NASA Shared Services Center Repor&ng))Structure) Goddard Space Flight Center Marshall Space Flight Center www.nasa.gov Procurement Protective Services Administrator& Associate&Administrator& Note: Administrator may delegate direct reports to Deputy Administrator at his/her discretion. * Center functional office directors report to Agency functional AA or Chief. Deputy and below report to Center leadership. ** NMO oversees the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and other Federally Funded Research and Development Center work Jet Propulsion Laboratory Stennis Space Center NASA Management Office** November(2015(
Does It Matter That NASA Still Doesn't Have a Permanent Leader? NASA has been without a permanent administrator for more than 14 months, which is a record. Earlier last month, NASA's acting administrator, Robert Lightfoot, announced that he will retire from NASA on April 30. If no permanent NASA chief is appointed before then, the associate administrator, Steve Jurczyk, will take the reins The White House did not nominate a permanent successor: former Rep. Jim Bridenstine, until Sept. 1, 2017. The NASA administrator position has to be confirmed by the Senate.
CURRENT LANDSCAPE FY 2018 FUNDING IS A GO! (23 March 2018) After seven months and five continuing resolutions (a CR is a short term spending bill that maintains funding at previous fiscal year levels), Congress at last passed a spending bill for fiscal year (FY) 2018 early in the morning on 23 March 2018. President Trump signed the $1.3 trillion spending bill into law. Now, federal agencies will be out of funding limbo through 30 September 2018. With the protracted FY2018 process behind them, members of Congress can turn their full attention to developing and negotiating federal spending for FY2019. The President already released his budget request for FY2019 on 12 February 2018.
NASA 2018 budget deal NASA and science in general did very well in this legislation. Congress thoroughly rejected every major cut proposed to NASA and other science agencies by the Trump Administration, often providing them with funding increases instead. This is arguably the best budget for national science investment in a decade The robotic Mars Exploration Program receives a $75 million increase with specific directions to "support the Mars Sample return mission and orbiter Planetary defense: NEOCam a proposed space telescope for detecting near- Earth objects is funded at $35 million The Europa mission stands to receive $595 million in 2018, not just for the Clipper spacecraft, but for work on a lander as well Earth Science is Preserved ; NASA's Earth Science Division would remain at $1.9 billion
Current budget for FY2018 FY goes from Oct 1 st to Nov 30
Trump's 2019 NASA Budget The budget request allocates about $19.9 billion to NASA, an increase of $370 million over last year's request The proposal zeroes out funding for the International Space Station (ISS) in 2025 and allocates $150 million "to encourage development of new commercial low- Earth orbital platforms and capabilities for use by the private sector and NASA," according to the agency's budget overview On the science side, the budget continues support for high-profile planetary missions, such as the life-hunting 2020 Mars rover and Europa Clipper, which will investigate the habitability of Jupiter's ocean-harboring moon Europa But the proposed budget would cut the agency's planned Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescopes (WFIRST), which was targeted for launch in the mid-2020s to study mysterious dark energy, alien planets and a range of other cosmic phenomena. WFIRST was the top-priority large project in the most recent U.S. National Research Council Decadal Survey of Astronomy and Astrophysics The budget request is just a proposal; it must still be approved by Congress The proposal would also make deep cuts to popular education and science programs
Take out on the FY2019 budget request Hot Topics: Return Humans to the Moon Cancel WFIRST Reduced funds for the ISS Reduced funds for education! Podcast on FY2019 budget review: https://www.panoply.fm/podcasts/ppy3921129017/episodes/2frts CQp1GksGe6sE4cW8k
Summary Space policy has many players: it s a web Dominated by politics not logic or science It is intensely social and even personal (JFK, LBJ) Internal and external advice for science input Process takes many years to approval and then more to completion Advocacy, selection, legislation, management, delivery and execution