September 21, 2016

On September 21, the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation (CST) Committee convened a full committee markup on several bills, including a bill to reauthorize NASA, known as the NASA Transition Authorization Act of 2016 (S.3346).

The bill received bipartisan support and was unanimously approved by voice vote. It authorizes $19.508 billion dollars for NASA for fiscal year 2017.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Chairman of CST’s Subcommittee on Space, Science, and Competitiveness, introduced S.3346 on September 15, to reauthorize NASA and minimize any difficulties the agency might encounter during the upcoming presidential transition. The new bill includes language regarding the International Space Station (ISS), future human exploration of Mars, and improved oversight of IT and cybersecurity within the agency.

Sen. Cruz thanked the Committee for their support of S.3346, specifically Section 433 of the bill, which addresses research and diagnoses for ailments associated with long-term space flight, such as cosmic radiation.

Not all Committee Members were in support of every aspect of the bill; Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-MA) expressed concern over a $200 million cut in funding for science, and a $7 million cut for education.

Sources: Congress.gov, Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee