The House Appropriations Committee has handed the subcommittee that holds the purse strings for NASA and NSF a 1990 budget allocation $701 million less than what President Bush asked for and $1.2 billion short of what the subcommittee's chairman has said is needed for veterans' and housing programs as well as for science.The subcommittee on Veterans Affairs, Housing, and Independent Agencies received approval for $53.125 billion in outlays for domestic discretionary programs and $48.05 billion in budget authority for Fiscal Year 1990. Those are the non‐defense parts of the federal budget that Congress can shape to fit its priorities.