yee@trident.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee) (02/08/91)
Don Savage Headquarters, Washington, D.C. February 7, 1991 (Phone: 202/453-8400) RELEASE: 91-21 TRULY DELIVERS NASA BUDGET REQUEST TO CONGRESS NASA Administrator Richard H. Truly today briefed members of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology on the President's fiscal year 1992 budget request for NASA. The Committee is chaired by Representative George E. Brown Jr. (D-Calif.). In his statement, Truly said "This request manifests the President's belief that NASA activities make significant contributions to our competitive posture in the global marketplace, to our national pride and accomplishment, to our creative and intellectual spirit, to our understanding of the fragile Earth we inhabit and to our economic and national security." He also said the request reflects Congressional guidance to temper the proposed rate of growth of NASA's budget and to restructure Space Station Freedom, and responds to recommendations of the Report of the Advisory Committee on the Future of the U.S. Space Program. The request is for $15.7 billion, a 13.6 percent increase from the current year appropriation. The majority of NASA's budget, 99 percent, supports already- approved programs, including almost $3 billion for space science programs. Among the areas given special emphasis by Truly were: o The New Launch System to be jointly developed with the Department of Defense, o LIFESAT, a reusable biosatellite which will help determine radiation protection requirements for long-duration space flight, o The Mission to Planet Earth, NASA's contribution to the U.S. Global Change Research Program, which manifests the commitment of the agency and the Administration to this program with important ecological benefits, o A 17 percent increase for NASA's educational activities. Truly said it "represents a sustained commitment on the part of NASA and the President to stimulate young people's interest in science, mathematics and engineering, provide resources for teachers and support university-level activity in these areas." The NASA Administrator described the budget request as one that would make NASA a "more excellent" agency. He said it "represents the desire of the President to forge a consensus on the goals and objectives of the civil space program." - end - EDITOR'S NOTE: The full text of Truly's statement is available from the NASA Newsroom, Room 6043, NASA Headquarters, 400 Maryland Ave., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20546; Telephone 202/453-8400.