U.S. Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), along with his fellow co-chair of the Planetary Science Caucus, are “extremely alarmed” by reports of a preliminary White House budget that proposes cutting NASA Science funding by almost half and terminating dozens of programs already under way, like the Mars Sample Return mission and the Roman Space Telescope.
“NASA Science is a cornerstone of our nation’s space program, supporting thousands of jobs nationwide and driving countless scientific discoveries and technological advancements,” said Rep. Bacon and U.S. Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA) in an April 15 statement.
“If enacted,” the lawmakers said, “these proposed cuts would demolish our space economy and workforce, threaten our national security and defense capabilities, and ultimately surrender the United States’ leadership in space, science, and technological innovation to our adversaries.”
Rep. Bacon and his colleague cited an April 11 story in the Washington Post that reported Trump’s Office of Management and Budget had sent a preliminary budget plan to NASA that proposes a 50-percent cut to NASA’s Science Mission Directorate and to eliminate funding for the Mars Sample Return mission led by Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is owned by NASA and administered by the California Institute of Technology.
“The United States must be the first to land and return samples from Mars and return humans to the moon for the first time in more than half a century,” the lawmakers said. “We will work closely with our colleagues in Congress on a bipartisan basis to push back against these proposed cuts and program terminations and to ensure full and robust funding for NASA Science in fiscal year 2026 appropriations.
“Together, we must maintain America’s preeminence in space,” said Rep. Bacon and Rep. Chu.