S. 933, NASA Authorization Act of 2026

Bill Summary

S. 933 would authorize appropriations totaling about $24.7 billion in 2026 and $25.3 billion in 2027 for current and new activities of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and would provide direction on those activities. The bill also would expand and extend NASA’s authority to enter into enhanced-use lease (EUL) agreements through December 31, 2035. Under current law, that authority expires on December 31, 2032.

Estimated Federal Cost

The estimated budgetary effects of S. 933 are shown in Table 1. The costs of the legislation fall within budget function 250 (general science, space, and technology).

Basis of Estimate

For this estimate, CBO assumes that the bill will be enacted in 2026 and that the authorized amounts will be appropriated. Estimated outlays are based on historical spending patterns for those activities.

Spending Subject to Appropriation

S. 933 would authorize appropriations totaling $24.7 billion for 2026 and $25.3 billion for 2027. In 2026, NASA received appropriations totaling $24.4 billion for similar activities. On that basis, CBO is showing the effects of the difference between the amounts the bill would authorize for 2026 and the amount provided in 2026—$232 million. CBO estimates that implementing the bill would cost $25.4 billion over the 2026-2031 period, assuming appropriation of the specified amounts (see Table 2).

The bill would authorize the appropriation of $24.7 billion for 2026 as follows:

• $7.8 billion for space exploration—the same amount provided in 2026;
• $7.3 billion for science programs—$50 million more than the amount provided in 2026;
• $4.2 billion for space operations—the same amount provided in 2026;
• $3.0 billion for safety, security, and mission services—$107 million more than the amount provided in 2026; and
• $2.1 billion for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education as well as technology, aeronautics, and other activities—$75 million more than the amount provided in 2026.

In total, S. 933 would authorize the appropriation of $232 million more than the amount provided in 2026.

The bill would authorize the appropriation of $25.3 billion for 2027, as follows:

• $8.0 billion for space exploration;
• $7.5 billion for science programs;
• $4.3 billion for space operations;
• $3.2 billion for safety, security, and mission services; and
• $2.4 billion for STEM education as well as technology, aeronautics, and other activities.

Finally, S. 933 would establish new requirements and programs for human space exploration, development of commercial operations in low-Earth orbit, science programs, and aeronautics, among others. CBO expects that the specified authorization of appropriations for 2026 and 2027 would be sufficient to cover the costs of those new programs and activities.

Direct Spending

CBO estimates that enacting S. 933 would increase direct spending by $100 million over the 2026-2036 period (see Table 3).

Enhanced-Use Lease Agreements.The bill would extend, through December 31, 2035, NASA’s authority to lease underused property to nonfederal entities. NASA’s EUL authority currently is set to expire on December 31, 2032. Those agreements allow NASA to collect cash payments for rent or, in lieu of cash, to accept in-kind services, for example to provide renovations or construction of facilities. The authority to accept in-kind projects allows NASA to enter into contracts with third parties to finance capital projects on behalf of the government. CBO considers those arrangements a type of borrowing authority for facility renovations or construction. CBO classifies that borrowing authority as direct spending. CBO estimates that enacting the provision would increase direct spending by $35 million over the 2026-2036 period.

In-Kind Services. NASA also is allowed to accept in-kind services in lieu of cash payments from nonfederal entities. The bill would expand that authority, which currently applies only to facilities for renewable energy, to include facilities used for infrastructure used to test rocket propulsion and would extend the authority through the end of 2035. Although NASA could use other authorities to enter into similar agreements with third parties, CBO expects that the bill would increase the agency’s acceptance of in-kind services under EUL agreements.

Some facilities developed under EUL agreements would be located on federal land (and thus under NASA’s control) and used, at least in part, by NASA or other federal agencies. In CBO’s view, the cost of developing and constructing such facilities should be attributed to the federal government and the private sector in proportion to how much the different entities would use those facilities. Thus, the portion of the total cost attributed to governmental use should be recorded in the budget.[1] (The costs attributed to private activities would not be considered governmental.)

Using information from NASA and nonfederal entities about proposed leasing plans and the costs of similar facilities, CBO estimates that over the 2033-2036 period, third parties would invest about $2.5 billion in facilities for energy production and for infrastructure used to test rocket propulsion under EUL agreements. The budgetary effects of governmental transactions financed by third parties would depend on the extent and nature of federal support. In CBO’s view, transactions supported entirely by third parties should not be recorded in the federal budget because the cost of those activities is fully borne by nonfederal entities.

However, CBO expects that some third parties would recover at least a portion of their investments through federal contracts for specialized facilities used by NASA or other agencies; for example, to launch satellites or other federal payloads into space. In addition, based on the experience of NASA and other agencies that accept in-kind services under EUL agreements, CBO expects that expanding the list of permissible in‑kind services could result in the maintenance, renovation, or new construction of facilities that are used by the federal government. CBO considers such financing of projects on behalf of the federal government that are for governmental use to be similar to an agency using federal borrowing authority to improve physical infrastructure. CBO therefore regards such transactions as direct spending and considers that the full cost of long-term commitments that obligate the government to make payments in future years should be recorded in the budget.[2]

CBO cannot predict how the government might use or benefit from new projects or whether NASA would use the extension of its EUL authority under the bill instead of using other financing and leasing authorities to fund the construction of specialized facilities. For this estimate, CBO incorporated the expectation that in-kind arrangements for projects covered under the bill would be likely to occur once every 10 years and that the government would receive benefits that reflect about 5 percent of the investment in any facility. Based on the federal government’s potential share of benefits from new projects and historical spending patterns for similar activities, CBO estimates that enacting the provision would increase direct spending by $35 million over the 2026-2036 period.

Cash Payments. Under EUL agreements, cash payments are recorded in the budget as offsetting receipts; that is, as reductions in direct spending. NASA can spend those receipts without further appropriation for activities such as maintenance and capital improvements. NASA has used its EUL authority to lease buildings and land to nonfederal entities for education, research, and other purposes at no significant net cost to the government. CBO expects that under S. 933, NASA would enter into similar agreements over the 2033‑2036 period and we estimate that enacting the bill would have a negligible net effect on the deficit because the amounts collected would be spent soon after they are received.

Supplemental Lease Authority. S. 933 would expand NASA’s authority to enter into enhanced use leases with other entities (including other federal agencies and state or local governments) by allowing the agency to lease back the properties from the tenants to support its mission. Under current law, NASA has broad authority to enter into leases, including EUL agreements and leases of historic properties under the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). S. 933 would extend NASA’s EUL authority through December 31, 2035; NASA’s leasing authority under the NHPA is permanent.

S. 933 would allow NASA to lease back a given property for up to 50 years. That would increase the likelihood that third-party investments would be used for governmental purposes and would thus increase direct spending relative to current law.

Using information on NASA’s current leases and expected lease payments from nonfederal entities, and based on historical spending patterns for similar activities, CBO estimates that enacting the bill would increase commitments for the construction or improvement of NASA properties by about $10 million annually, resulting in an increase in direct spending of $67 million over the 2026‑2036 period. That estimate incorporates the expectation that annual leasing activity under the bill would decline starting in 2036 as NASA’s EUL authority ends.

Other Provisions. S. 933 would authorize NASA to establish an initiative under which employees of private-sector entities would be temporarily assigned to NASA and NASA employees temporarily assigned to private-sector entities.

Private-sector workers at NASA would be considered federal employees for the purposes of the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), federal workers’ compensation laws, and certain ethics and liability statutes. Under the FTCA, tort claims are paid from the Judgment Fund, which has a permanent, indefinite appropriation to pay monetary awards judicially or administratively ordered against the United States. Claims of $2,500 or less would be paid from agency funds. Workers’ compensation claims under the bill would be subject to reimbursement by NASA from appropriated funds.

For this estimate, CBO considered information about the treatment of federal employees and other personnel covered under the FTCA and federal workers’ compensation laws. Because the bill would limit participation, CBO expects that the number and magnitude of tort claims and workers’ compensation claims would be relatively small. As a result, CBO estimates that enacting that provision would increase direct spending by less than $500,000 over the 2026-2036 period.

Uncertainty

CBO aims to produce estimates that generally reflect the middle of a range of the mostlikely budgetary outcomes that would result if a piece of legislation was enacted. Changes in direct spending under S. 933 could be larger or smaller than CBO estimates.

CBO cannot anticipate the extent to which NASA would use its expanded EUL authority over the three-year extension in place of other methods to finance the construction of specialized facilities.

We also cannot project with certainty the value of third-party investments in NASA’s facilities. Generally, investments of higher value would increase direct spending.

How the federal governmentwould use facilities constructed by third parties under EUL agreements also is uncertain. If the government is the primary user of the services provided by those facilities and thus serves as the main source from which third parties recover theirinvestments, the federal share of indirect financing for and benefits fromthose projects would be higher and would increase direct spending. Ifthe federal government makes little or no use of the facilities’ services, the net effect on direct spending could be insignificant.

Pay-As-You-Go Considerations

The Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 establishes budget-reporting and enforcement procedures for legislation affecting direct spending or revenues. The net changes in outlays that are subject to those pay-as-you-go procedures are shown in Table 4.

Increase in Long-Term Net Direct Spending and Deficits

CBO estimates that enacting S. 933 would not increase net direct spending by more than $2.5 billion in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2037.

CBO estimates that enacting S. 933 would not increase on-budget deficits by more than $5 billion in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2037.

Mandates

The bill contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.

Previous CBO Estimate

On April 10, 2026, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S. 2351, the Space Exploration Research Act, as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on July 30, 2025. Section 714 of S. 933 is similar to that bill. However, S. 933 would extend NASA’s authority to enter into enhanced-use lease agreements through December 31, 2035. CBO’s cost estimates for the two bills reflect that difference.

Estimate Prepared By

Federal Costs: Katherine Chou

Mandates: Brandon Lever

Estimate Reviewed By

Ann E. Futrell
Chief, Natural and Physical Resources Cost Estimates Unit

Kathleen FitzGerald
Chief, Public and Private Mandates Unit

H. Samuel Papenfuss 
Deputy Director of Budget Analysis

Estimate Approved By