On May 7 the Executive Office of the President Office of Management and Budget issued a Statement of Administration Policy on H.R. 5326 − Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2013.
The statement included the following section on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), quoted in full:
The Administration strongly opposes the level of funding provided for the commercial crew program, which is $330 million below the FY 2013 Budget request, as well as restrictive report language that would eliminate competition in the program. This would increase the time the United States will be required to rely solely on foreign providers to transport American astronauts to and from the space station. While the Administration appreciates the overall funding level provided to NASA, the bill provides some NASA programs with unnecessary increases at the expense of other important initiatives.