Latest news with #budgetcut
Washington Post
2 days ago
- Health
- Washington Post
The world should strive to end PEPFAR
Last week, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief narrowly escaped a devastating $400 million budget cut thanks to Republican Sens. Susan Collins (Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), who voted alongside their Democratic colleagues to protect the program. That was a relief: Since its creation under President George W. Bush in 2003, the anti-HIV/AIDS program has saved an estimated 26 million lives and enabled 7.8 million babies to be born HIV-free.
WIRED
3 days ago
- Business
- WIRED
A Top NASA Official Is Among Thousands of Staff Leaving the Agency
Stephen Clark, Ars Technica Jul 22, 2025 8:00 PM Makenzie Lystrup's departure from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center comes soon after the resignation of the director of JPL. Aerial view of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Courtesy of Bill Hrybyk/NASA You can add another name to the thousands of employees leaving NASA as the Trump administration primes the space agency for a 25 percent budget cut. On Monday, NASA announced that Makenzie Lystrup will leave her post as director of the Goddard Space Flight Center on Friday, August 1. Lystrup has held the top job at Goddard since April 2023, overseeing a staff of more than 8,000 civil servants and contractor employees and a budget last year of about $4.7 billion. These figures make Goddard the largest of NASA's 10 field centers primarily devoted to scientific research and development of robotic space missions, with a budget and workforce comparable to NASA's human spaceflight centers in Texas, Florida, and Alabama. Officials at Goddard manage the James Webb and Hubble telescopes in space, and Goddard engineers are assembling the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, another flagship observatory scheduled for launch late next year. 'We're grateful to Makenzie for her leadership at NASA Goddard for more than two years, including her work to inspire a Golden Age of explorers, scientists, and engineers,' Vanessa Wyche, NASA's acting associate administrator, said in a statement. Cynthia Simmons, Goddard's deputy director, will take over as acting chief at the space center. Simmons started work at Goddard as a contract engineer 25 years ago. Lystrup came to NASA from Ball Aerospace, now part of BAE Systems, where she managed the company's work on civilian space projects for NASA and other federal agencies. Before joining Ball Aerospace, Lystrup earned a doctorate in astrophysics from University College London and conducted research as a planetary astronomer. Makenzie Lystrup at a panel discussion with agency center directors at the 2024 Artemis Suppliers Conference in Washington, DC. Courtesy of Joel Kowsky/Nasa Formal Dissent The announcement of Lystrup's departure from Goddard came hours after the release of an open letter to NASA's interim administrator, transportation secretary Sean Duffy, signed by hundreds of current and former agency employees. The letter, titled the 'The Voyager Declaration,' identifies what the signatories call 'recent policies that have or threaten to waste public resources, compromise human safety, weaken national security, and undermine the core NASA mission.' 'Major programmatic shifts at NASA must be implemented strategically so that risks are managed carefully,' the letter reads. 'Instead, the last six months have seen rapid and wasteful changes which have undermined our mission and caused catastrophic impacts on NASA's workforce. We are compelled to speak up when our leadership prioritizes political momentum over human safety, scientific advancement, and efficient use of public resources.' The letter is modeled on similar documents of dissent penned by employees protesting cuts and policy changes at the National Institutes of Health and the Environmental Protection Agency. 'We urge you not to implement the harmful cuts proposed by this administration, as they are not in the best interest of NASA,' the letter reads. 'We wish to preserve NASA's vital mission as authorized and appropriated by Congress.' The signatories who chose to identify themselves don't include any current senior-level NASA officials, and there's nothing to suggest any link between the letter and Lystrup's departure from Goddard. Writing on the Wall But it's important to note that Goddard Space Flight Center, located in Greenbelt, Maryland, just outside of Washington, DC, would suffer outsize impacts from the Trump administration's proposed budget cuts. The White House's budget request for fiscal year 2026 asks Congress for $18.8 billion to fund NASA, about 25 percent below this year's budget. Funding for NASA's science directorate would be cut from $7.3 billion to $3.9 billion, a reduction that would force the cancellation of dozens of NASA missions currently in space or undergoing development. Appropriations committees in both houses of Congress advanced spending bills earlier this month that would restore NASA's funding close to this year's budget of nearly $25 billion. The budget bills must still be voted on by the entire House and Senate before going to the White House for President Trump's signature. Makenzie Lystrup was sworn in as a federal employee using Carl Sagan's Pale Blue Dot at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC. Courtesy of Keegan Barber/NASA However, lawmakers are concerned the Trump administration might attempt to circumvent any congressional budget and move forward with more lasting cuts to NASA and other federal agencies through a process known as impoundment. This would likely trigger a court fight over the executive branch's authority to refuse to spend money appropriated by Congress. The administration is proceeding with offers to federal civil servants of early retirement, buyouts, and deferred resignation. NASA's chief of staff, a Trump political appointee named Brian Hughes, said in a town hall meeting last month that the agency is operating under the assumption that the White House's budget will become reality. So, the story is far from over. Goddard's work is intertwined with NASA's science budget. Nearly 60 percent of Goddard's funding comes from NASA's astrophysics, Earth science, heliophysics, and planetary science accounts—all nested within the agency's science mission directorate. Several NASA facilities operate under Goddard management, including Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, Katherine Johnson Independent Verification & Validation Facility in West Virginia, White Sands Complex in New Mexico, and the Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility in Texas. Another NASA facility girding for cutbacks is the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a federally funded research center managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California. JPL has been the architect of most of NASA's robotic missions exploring the Solar System, such as the Voyager probes, a series of increasingly sophisticated Mars rovers, and most recently, the Europa Clipper mission that left Earth last year on the way to study the enigmatic icy moon of Jupiter. JPL's center director, Laurie Leshin, stepped down June 1 after ordering layoffs of more than 10 percent of the lab's workforce last year, largely due to budget uncertainty over the future of NASA's Mars Sample Return program. The Trump administration's budget proposal calls for canceling the robotic Mars Sample Return program in favor of eventually bringing home rock specimens from the red planet on future human expeditions. This story originally appeared on Ars Technica.
New York Times
14-07-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Facing Painful Cuts, the V.A. Reported Dubious Savings to DOGE
Starting in 1983, the Rev. Roland Freeman gave communion to the sick and last rites to the dying at Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals around Denver. In January, the chaplain died at age 85. Four months later, the V.A. turned his death into a budget cut. After the agency reported the termination of his contract, the Department of Government Efficiency, President Trump's cost-cutting group, posted it on its online 'Wall of Receipts' used to celebrate reductions in wasteful or fraudulent spending. DOGE said the V.A. saved taxpayers $98,700 — the remaining four and a half years of Father Freeman's contract. The savings might be short-lived. The V.A. would not say whether it would replace him. In recent weeks, as DOGE's founder, Elon Musk, formally left Washington and the group's power waned, the V.A. still sent in dozens of similarly dubious claims. The veterans agency claimed credit for canceling contracts that had not been canceled, including those that provided veterans with prosthetic legs and wheelchairs. It also reported ending contracts for reasons unrelated to DOGE. They expired on schedule, or were cut off after a vendor shut down, or in Father Freeman's case, died. DOGE still posted those claims on its website, adding $6 million to V.A.'s savings. Over the past six months, The New York Times has documented how that group's Wall of Receipts, the only public accounting of DOGE's work, has been plagued by errors. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
NASA IV&V in Fairmont faces drastic funding cut
Jul. 5—dbeard @ MORGANTOWN — NASA's Katherine Johnson Independent Verification & Validation Facility in Fairmont could see a drastic budget cut under President Trump's Fiscal Year 2026 Discretionary Budget Request. But members of West Virginia's Congressional delegation are working to prevent it As part of an overall proposed NASA budget cut, Johnson IV &V would see its funding fall from its current $43.3 million (from FY 2024) to $13.8 million in FY 2026 — just one third of the current budget. NASA is working on answers to questions from The Dominion Post about the ramifications of the cut and will provide those next week. In its 2026 Budget Technical Supplement, the agency says, "In FY 2026, NASA plans to significantly reduce and restructure both the NASA Engineering and Safety Center and Independent Verification and Validation program as part of the effort to consolidate the overall Agency Technical Authority program. In FY 2026, NASA will allocate $9.9 million for IV &V to ensure the program can provide software assurance support to the future Moon to Mars programs." The Dominion Post reached out to Sens. Shelley Moore Capito and Jim Justice, and Rep. Riley Moore for comments on the proposal. Capito spokeswoman Kelley Moore (no relation) said Capito "is aware of the proposed cuts to NASA that would impact the mission and the facility at Katherine Johnson IV &V." She has been in contact with leadership at the facility, Goddard Space Flight Center, which oversees the work at IV &V, and NASA Headquarters. "It has also been conveyed to NASA and to the Senate Appropriations Committee that Sen. Capito will oppose any cuts to this facility that would impact workforce or its mission, " Moore said. Moore noted that since NASA does not have an administrator or a nominee at this time, there has not been a budget hearing where this topic could be raised. "Regardless, Sen. Capito is working hard to protect this facility that she so proudly helped name around this time in 2019." Justice did not respond to several requests for comment. Moore said, "I am closely tracking the proposed cuts to NASA's Fairmont facility. I have been in constant communication with the appropriations subcommittee chairman who oversees its funding, and will use my position on the Appropriations Committee to fight for the important work being done there." Here's a breakdown of the numbers that factor into IV &V's budget — with several layers of authority above IV &V. IV &V overall falls under NASA's Safety, Security and Mission Services. That budget was cut from $3.131 billion in FY 2024 to $3.092 billion in FY 2025 and will fall to $2.118 billion in FY 2026 the federal fiscal year begins Oct. 1). Under SS &MS, is Engineering Safety & Operations. Its budget will fall from $1.088 billion in FY 2024 to $620.3million in FY 2026 and $446.5 million in FY 2027. And under ES &O, the Agency Technical Authority funding will fall from $196.1 million in FY 2024 to $69.6 million in FY 2026. "The Agency Technical Authority program protects the health and safety of NASA's workforce by evaluating programs, projects, and operations to ensure safe and successful completion. ATA capabilities provide expert technical excellence, mission assurance, and technical authority agency wide." IV &V falls directly under the Agency Technical Authority, with funding from several accounts. Funding from the Safety, Security and Mission Services account will be cut from $39.2 million to $9.9 million — for software assurance support for Moon and Mars programs, as mentioned above. Funding from the Exploration account will go from $3.3 million to $2 million. Funding from the Space Operations account will go from $800, 000 to $700, 000. One account source will see an increase: Science account funding will go from $0 in FY 2024 to $1.2 million for FY 2026. A footnote hints at some flexibility: "The IV &V program will work with Mission Directorate to adjust FY 2026 allocations as the FY 2026 operating plan is developed." Some information provided to The Dominion Post noted that cuts to IV &V have been proposed in the past, but not to this extent.
Travel Weekly
01-07-2025
- Business
- Travel Weekly
Senate passes Trump's 'big, beautiful' budget bill without restoring Brand USA cuts
The U.S. Senate narrowly passed President Trump's budget bill that reduces Brand USA's federal funding from $100 million to $20 million for the 2026 fiscal year. The original legislation introduced by the White House -- which Trump has repeatedly referred to as his "one, big, beautiful bill" -- included full funding for Brand USA. But in June, as part of the budget reconciliation bill process, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation proposed cutting the organization's budget from $100 million to $20 million. A divided Senate broke even on the bill, leaving Vice President JD Vance to cast the tiebreaking vote, 51-to-50. It now goes to the House, where it faces an uncertain future. If passed, it will head to the president's desk to be signed. Since its inception in 2009, Brand USA's private-sector donations are matched by up to $100 million in federal funding, which is provided by a $17 portion of every Electronic System Travel Authorization (ESTA) fee that is collected from international travelers. The current bill does not specify what the ESTA fees would be used for instead of Brand USA. Geoff Freeman, CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, said during the IPW conference earlier this month that the organization was doing "everything in our power to protect Brand USA. "And we've got more allies on Capitol Hill than we do opponents," he said. The House Rules Committee said in a post July 1 that it will meet that day about the bill. In the meantime, Brand USA is forging ahead with a new marketing campaign aimed at boosting inbound travel.
