The House Science, Space and Technology Committee on Feb.4 passed House Resolution 7273, the NASA Reauthorization Act of 2026, on a voice vote. After a discussion of the various amendments that have been tagged onto the bill, the committee voted unanimously to pass the bill. While there was the usual “drumbeat” about beating China in space, along with a number of amendments that call for tighter measures for technology control and working with Taiwan in space, the bill would reverse many of the cuts in the NASA budget that have been implemented by the Administration.
The bill includes an amendment to maintain the Goddard Space Center in Maryland and to maintain the planetary and science programs that have been an important part of NASA’s operations. There are also amendments calling for expanding STEM educational programs supported by NASA. One amendment calls for maintaining the ISS beyond its scheduled lifetime and moving it to a higher orbit for continued use in cis-lunar space. Another calls for a statutory authority for a formal cooperation between the DOE and NASA (with a view to nuclear propulsion systems). One amendment by Virginia’s Don Beyer for moving Space Shuttle Discovery from the Air and Space Museum near Washington, D.C., to Houston was withdrawn.
Ranking Democrat Zoe Lofgren commented on the bill’s passage by the committee: “Much like the space enterprise itself, through collaboration, hard work, and a good measure of patience on both sides, we have once again achieved good legislative results. Our nation’s investment in civil space has, and will continue to contribute significantly to innovation and economic prosperity here on Earth.”
