03/04/2026 at 10:00AM
U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, will convene a full committee executive session on Wednesday, March 4, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. ET to consider the following legislation and Coast Guard promotions:
Agenda:
- S. 933, NASA Transition Authorization Act of 2025 (Cruz, Cantwell, Moran, Peters, Schmitt, Luján, Duckworth)
- S. 3923, Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Reauthorization Act of 2026 (Cruz, Cantwell, Sullivan, Blunt Rochester, Moran, Schatz, Sheehy, Rosen)
- Coast Guard Promotions (PN716, PN846)
The NASA Authorization Act of 2026, an amendment in the nature of a substitute to S. 933 (NASA Transition Authorization Act of 2025), is bipartisan legislation to be offered by Chairman Cruz and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.). This legislation is a two-year reauthorization that would reassert American leadership in space by, among other things, directing NASA to establish a permanent Moon Base, advancing the Artemis program, and preserving the International Space Station through at least 2032 when commercial space stations are expected to begin operation.
The bill does not mention of earth science or climate science at all.
The commercialization of space satellite data is continued (sec. 605).
If the NASA budget kills earth/climate science, the administrator can ignore the NAS decadal survey (sec. 603).
The Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Reauthorization Act of 2026 is a package of 17 bipartisan bills aimed at strengthening the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) forecasting, warning, and hazard communication capabilities.