GREENBELT, Md. — Members of Maryland’s congressional delegation are expressing confidence that Congress will ultimately reject the sharp cuts proposed by the White House to NASA science programs, citing competition with China as a significant concern.
Speaking to reporters outside the main entrance to NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Sen. Chris Van Hollen and Reps. Steny Hoyer and Glenn Ivey, all Maryland Democrats, reiterated their opposition to the nearly 50% cut in NASA science programs that the administration included in a “passback” budget document delivered to the agency last week.
“If you cut the science programming in half, you hurt our country in many ways,” Van Hollen stated.
He emphasized that such cuts would not only affect national security but would also hinder the innovation economy and diminish U.S. leadership around the globe.
Van Hollen and his colleagues argued that reductions in NASA science funding would give China an advantage in space research and exploration.
“China is already working on mimicking the success of the US space program over time, including the success of our space science programs,” he commented.
“With the current geopolitical landscape, this is no time for the United States to retreat when it comes to space science.”
Rep. Glenn Ivey, whose district includes Goddard, articulated a similar sentiment, highlighting the urgency of maintaining U.S. leadership in science and technology.
“Are we going to decide that we want to continue to maintain the lead in science and technology over the rest of the world, or not, because right now, China’s right at our heels?” he asked.
Ivey noted China’s significant investments in space science, which he believes exceed U.S. investments.
While the proposed cuts primarily focus on science programs, Rep. Steny Hoyer pointed out that such reductions would negatively impact other aspects of NASA’s operations.
He quoted former NASA administrator Bill Nelson, who described the budget proposal as potentially leading to severe complications for NASA: “They’re going to run NASA into a very deep ditch if they proceed with this kind of savagery.”
Any effort to overturn the proposed reductions in the NASA budget will require collaboration with Republican lawmakers, who currently hold narrow majorities in both the House and Senate.
Van Hollen, who serves as the ranking member on the commerce, justice and science (CJS) subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee, mentioned that he has met with his Republican counterpart, Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.).
“He, I believe, fully understands the importance of the Goddard space science mission,” Van Hollen noted.
Van Hollen concluded, “I believe that Republicans will recognize that a 50% cut to the NASA science budget is harmful to the national security and other interests of the United States.”
After touring Goddard, which hosts significant missions like the Roman Space Telescope and DAVINCI Venus probe that are threatened by proposed cancellations, the members expressed their concern regarding the impact on the community should the budget cuts be enacted.
Hoyer clarified that their visit to Goddard was initiated by the lawmakers and not by NASA’s lobbying efforts.
However, the delegation clearly conveyed their worries about the consequences of the budget proposal on Goddard and the surrounding economic landscape.
Van Hollen remarked that while the proposal did not specifically call for the closure of Goddard, it would substantially “decimate” the center and would “clearly have a harmful impact on a local economy, regional economy and all the people who work at NASA.”
He expressed concerns that the cuts to the science budget, which primarily affects Goddard and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, could be perceived as “political retribution” against two heavily Democratic states.
“You can be sure that we will make the case that political retribution has no place in the appropriations process,” he asserted.
“I think our Republican Senate colleagues and Republican House colleagues recognize that that is a very dangerous road to go down.”
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