New spending caps to create challenges for NASA

WASHINGTON — NASA and congressional officials are still grappling with the implications of a debt-ceiling agreement that enacts spending caps, but acknowledged it likely means the agency will get less money than it requested for 2024.

The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, signed into law by President Biden June 3, suspends the debt ceiling through the end of 2024, allowing the government to continue to borrow money and thus avoiding a fiscal crisis. As part of the agreement to suspend the debt ceiling, the bill caps non-defense discretionary spending at 2023 levels for fiscal year 2024 and increases that cap by 1% for 2025.

NASA requested $27.185 billion in its fiscal year 2024 budget proposal, a 7% increase over what it received in 2023. That full increase now appears unlikely with the new spending caps.