Congress passes minibus spending bill that rejects proposed NASA cuts

WASHINGTON — Congress has approved a fiscal year 2026 spending bill that largely restores funding proposed for deep cuts to NASA while canceling one major mission.

The Senate voted 82-15 Jan. 16 to pass a “minibus” appropriations bill combining three spending measures, including the Commerce, Justice and Science (CJS) bill. The CJS measure funds NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Science Foundation, among other agencies.

The legislation, which the House approved Jan. 8 by a 397-28 vote, is identical to the minibus introduced Jan. 5. It provides $24.438 billion for NASA, slightly less than the $24.875 billion the agency received in fiscal year 2024 and again in 2025 under a full-year continuing resolution, but far more than the $18.8 billion requested by the Trump administration in May.

The bill restores funding to NASA’s science programs, providing $7.25 billion. NASA’s science account received $7.334 billion in 2025, but the administration’s proposal sought a 47% cut to just over $3.9 billion.

The minibus also rejects proposed cuts to NASA’s space operations account, which includes the International Space Station and support for future commercial space stations. The White House sought a 25% reduction from the $4.22 billion the account received in 2025, but the bill provides $4.175 billion.

Funding for NASA’s space technology account was partially restored. The account, which received $1.1 billion in 2025, faced a proposed cut of nearly 50%. The minibus provides $920.5 million, a reduction of about 16%.

NASA’s exploration programs, including the Space Launch System, Orion and the Human Landing System, receive $7.783 billion, slightly more than the $7.666 billion provided in 2025. The administration had proposed increasing that account to more than $8.3 billion.

“At NASA, it bolsters American leadership in human spaceflight, space science and aeronautics at a very critical moment,” said Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., chairman of the Senate CJS appropriations subcommittee, in floor remarks Jan. 14. “This week, in fact, NASA is rolling out Artemis 2, the next consequential step toward sending astronauts around the moon for the first time in more than 50 years.”

“This bill makes sure America remains on course to lead in space and does not cede ground to our competitors,” he added.

Moran did not mention the administration’s proposed cuts, but the subcommittee’s ranking member did.

“This is another area where we rejected the very deep cuts proposed by the Trump administration, including the 47% cut they had proposed to NASA’s science budget,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. “We won’t have a space program if we don’t understand what’s happening in space.”

Van Hollen also cited report language addressing NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. A wave of building closures and consolidations has raised concerns among employees and elected officials about the center’s future. The report directs NASA to preserve “all the technical and scientific world-class capabilities at Goddard” and calls on the National Academies to conduct a study of the center’s facilities.

“It is a national treasure,” he said of Goddard, “and we need to preserve it.”

The bill was largely met with praise and relief across the space industry after months of uncertainty about potential NASA cuts.

“Investing in NASA and NOAA ensures the United States remains the global leader in space exploration and scientific discovery,” said Eric Fanning, president and chief executive of the Aerospace Industries Association, in a Jan. 6 statement following release of the minibus. “The Aerospace Industries Association is pleased to see bipartisan backing for this legislation, and we encourage Congress to pass it to unleash the power of our industry.”

The legislation, however, is not entirely positive for NASA. It endorses the administration’s proposal to cancel Mars Sample Return (MSR), the long-running effort to return samples collected by the Perseverance rover on Mars to Earth. The program has faced significant cost growth and schedule delays, prompting NASA last year to study alternative architectures.

The accompanying report directs NASA to spend $110 million from its Mars Future Missions account “to support radar, spectroscopy, entry, descent, and landing systems, and translational precursor technologies” to enable future science missions, including those to the moon and Mars.

In a Jan. 8 statement after House passage of the bill, the co-chairs of the congressional Planetary Science Caucus — Reps. Judy Chu, D-Calif., and Don Bacon, R-Neb. — said they welcomed the rejection of broad NASA science cuts but were “disappointed” that the bill accepted the proposal to cancel MSR.

“This is our nation’s highest-priority planetary science mission according to the 2023 Planetary Sciences Decadal Survey and is critical to paving the way for eventual exploration of the planet,” they said. “However, we are encouraged that today’s bill provides funding for future Mars missions, and we look forward to working with NASA, congressional colleagues and all our partners to finally return these samples and maintain American expertise and leadership on the Red Planet.”