U.S. House committee advances bill on space cooperation with Taiwan

Washington, Feb. 4 (CNA) A bill aimed at strengthening space cooperation between the United States and Taiwan cleared the committee stage in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday.

The Taiwan and American Space Assistance Act, or TASA Act, was included as an amendment to the NASA Reauthorization Act of 2026, which the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology passed in a 37-0 vote.

The TASA Act was first introduced in September 2025 by Republican French Hill of Arkansas and Democrat Gabe Amo of Rhode Island.

In a press release last November, the congressmen said that because of the U.S. government's "one China policy," NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) had "limited" authority to work with the Taiwan Space Agency, which was launched in 2022.

The TASA Act would not only give NASA and NOAA additional authority, but would also instruct them to "work with Taiwan in areas of mutual benefit, including satellite programs, space exploration programs, and atmospheric and weather programs," the congressmen said in the press release.

Specifically, the bill would provide an avenue for "voluntary exchange of personnel from NASA and the NOAA to the Taiwan Space Agency to further advance Taiwan's space capabilities," according to the press release.

The TASA Act was one of 41 amendments added to a bill authorizing US$24.4 billion in funding for NASA -- a slight dip from last year's budget of US$24.88 billion but significantly more than the US$18 billion put forth by U.S. President Donald Trump in his 2026 budget proposal.

Having cleared the committee stage, the amendments must now be passed by the full U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate, then signed into law by the president, in order to take effect.