On May 2, the president released his target bottom line numbers for NASA, the National Science Foundation, and other federal agencies. This budget includes a 44% cut over FY25 to the NASA budget and a 56% cut to NSF. If Congress takes these recommendations, entire programs will need to be eliminated, including dozens of NASA missions and numerous ground-based facilities.
We are at a weird moment in time. Historically, presidents have said what they want to happen, Congress has done what they wanted, and researchers have gone on a never-ending roller coaster of fearing for our careers to seeing Congress rescue some or all of us to sometimes seeing the president still manage to kill off programs.
What makes this budget process unique is we have no NASA administrator to advocate for their programs to congress, and we are seeing programs all across the government getting ended even though they are congressionally approved and funded – a kind of cancellation that appears to steal the power of the purse from Congress while concentrating power in the executive branch.
As part of agency contractions, NASA employees received offers to participate in a deferred resignation program, voluntary early retirement, or a voluntary separation incentive program. The one-two punch of announcing a budget with desired massive mission cancellations and the receipt of a “wouldn’t you like to leave NASA on your own terms email has many employees realizing their days are likely numbered. At other agencies, these kinds of letters were followed by massive rounds of layoffs, and.. I am seeing friends who have spent their entire careers on NASA projects leaving the agency they have dedicated their lives to.
At the time that I’m recording this on June 12, a large portion of the astronomical community is gathered in Anchorage for the American Astronomical Society’s summer meeting. NASA isn’t there, however. Rather than celebrating recent discoveries, we are mourning future discoveries that may never be made… if this budget goes forward and cuts are made without congressional intervention.
I have to admit, I would love to see the band-aid just ripped off of this wound to our research community. Fear is infecting all our decisions as we try to plan for the future. We need Congress to pass a budget so we know how… and if … things will move forward.