In 2005, the US Congress mandated NASA to achieve by the year 2020 specific levels of search completeness for discovering, cataloging, and characterizing dangerous asteroids larger than 140 meters (460 ft) (Act of 2005, H.R. 1022; 109th),[11][2] but it never appropriated specific funds for this effort.[12] NASA did not prioritize this mandate, and directed the NEOCam project to compete for funds against science missions unrelated to planetary defense or disaster mitigation planning.[13][5]