According to pro-space movement sources, one such amendment would cut the Goldin administration's request for $100 million increase for "Russian program assurance" and transfer the funding to the so-called "Future X" experimental Single-Stage-To-Orbit (SSTO) follow-on to the X-33. A second amendment by Rohrabacher would strip the bill's proposed new powers for the NASA Administrator in new "transfer authority". The proposed power, already approved by the full Appropriations Committee, would give Goldin the ability in the future to move up to $150 million from other NASA program accounts for use on the space station project. A third amendment would allegedly cut $50 million from the space agency's Mission To Planet Earth program to force NASA to but Earth Science sensing data from commercial providers.

Sources at NASA headquarters tell SpaceCast Goldin is enraged with the move. "They (the pro-space movement) doesn't know what the hell they'd be doing" in stripping the funds from the Russian station assistance account, according to one source. "They don't understand how delicately balanced this thing is".