Do you like where they are at this point in time?

I remember in this subcommittee years back when people were naysayers about the Hubble telescope. They said, 'Oh, gosh, that is a waste of money.' But it hasn't been a waste of money. It has been on the cutting edge of exploration.

NASA serves as an inspiration to many across the globe.

one of the reasons that we request cooler heads prevail, if we were to pull out, then there is no more of the type of operations that go on, on the International Space Station today.

A true commitment of resources, coupled with strong oversight, is required for these efforts to stay on schedule and on budget.

I am concerned that the budget request for SLS is a sign that NASA intends to advance a funding profile that supports a Joint Confidence Level well below the 70 percent threshold.

Should we or the Russians choose to pull out, the International Space Station as we know it no longer exists.

Since retiring the space shuttle, we have relied solely from the Russians to get our astronauts to and from the International Space Station.

This calls into question the administration's level of commitment to a forward-thinking, inspirational space program, I believe.

What will take you out of low-Earth orbit? SLS?

We hope we won't get that far.

I really want to thank you again, you and Senator Mikulski, for the leadership you have displayed with this subcommittee.

Once SLS is operational, NASA will be able to provide critical heavy-lift capabilities to short-, medium-, and long-range missions.

Neither of these approaches, in my view, is acceptable.

I will work with you and Senator Mikulski. Senator Mikulski and I have worked together for NASA, working to make sure, to the best of our ability, that NASA is well-funded.

I wish we could find more money for all of our programs. We are in tough budget times, as you well know.

The budget request maintains a resource level that underfunds SLS and inserts unnecessary budgetary and schedule risks into the future of human exploration.

And we hope that things work out between us and Russia and the rest of the world, but if Russia were to cut ties with the U.S. or we were to cut ties with them, and they would no longer be able to provide our astronauts transportation to…