Charles F. Bolden Jr.

The budget you consider today furthers the goals that we share of extending our reach into space.

It says American companies can, in fact, do what foreign companies do.

It frees us up to focus our efforts on getting humans beyond low-Earth orbit to places like an asteroid.

I am dedicated to this, and we are doing what we promised we would do.

Anyone who is not concerned about what is going on with our partners and our non-partners would be foolish.

I would say that we have not funded climate change, Earth science to the level that it should be funded for what we need to do to respond to the Nation's needs.

James Webb has the potential to expand our understanding of our universe many times more than the Hubble Space Telescope has done.

The Space Station Program is the most incredible technological achievement of this Nation and the world.

I yearn for the day when you and I will agree that we have that President.

The Nation needs to become unafraid of exploration. We need to become unafraid of taking risks.

This is a time of opportunity for NASA to shape a promising future for the Nation's space program.