House Slaps NASA's Wrist, But Raises Budget

The House of Representatives has passed a bill that would grant NASA a $17.9 billion budget for 2015. That's $250 million more than the agency received this year, but does not grant the $848 million the agency had requested to replace its international space shuttle program.

The measure, approved on Friday, also exceeds what the Obama administration had recommended for the agency by about $400 million.

According to a Florida Today report through Gannett, the bill comes after Russian officials issued thinly veiled threats that they will stop offering rides up to the International Space Station (ISS) for American astronauts if the United States does not lift the sanctions it has put in place in the wake of Russia's action in Ukraine.

NASA effectively closed the doors of its ISS space shuttle program back in 2011 to reallocate shrinking funds towards their new goal of putting men on Mars. However, since then, the United States has been relying on Russian Soyuz rockets to bring American astronauts to the station, paying Russia $70 million per flight.

The GOP is reportedly backing this house bill, and Frank Wolf, the head of the House Appropriations subcommittee overseeing NASA, said on Friday, "Funds for this program are critical... to end our reliance on the Russians so we can get up there."

However, while this is good news for NASA, the agency also received a slap on the wrist in the same bill, being reprimanded by Wolf for exorbitant commerical airplane flight upgrades that were heavily misrepresented in the 2012 fiscal year.

Records released to Scripps News showed NASA approved one-way premium upgrades costing up to $10,000 per trip on 515 separate occasions over four years, costing the agency more than $3 million.

In trips lasing less than 14 hours, federal employees are required to fly coach, as they are flying on the taxpayer's dime. Regulations also state that government travelers must exhibit as much spending restraint as "a prudent person would exercise if traveling on business," according to Scripps News.

The new bill demands that NASA takes "all necessary steps to promptly rectify any problems in its Premium Class Travel Reports over the past five fiscal years and provide corrected information to the General Services Administration and the Committee as soon as possible. In addition, NASA shall report to the Committee on steps it has taken to reduce the use of premium travel."

The Senate Appropriations Committee is expected to reveal its spending proposal for NASA next week.