We asked that he consider not the cancellation of the Constellation program, but the restructuring of it.

We will be, for the first time in nearly 50 years, for a period of years unable to go into low-Earth orbit.

We also asked the President for the safe completion of the current Space Shuttle manifest even if it has to be flown into next year.

Our 50-year legacy of leadership in space is on the line, and we need to have a credible plan to make the next step forward.

We are going to relinquish our status as leaders and pioneers in space exploration.

American exceptionalism demands that we do better than the proposal that has been put forward that does not have the plans to implement it in a safe and secure way.

I have been critical of NASA's financial and program management.

We asked for the extension of the International Space Station's life, instead of it being cutoff in 2015 as previously planned.

It is time to have an honest conversation about the Space Shuttle and its importance to our short-term capabilities.

We cannot assume the agency will have unlimited resources for every mission it wants to undertake.

If the leadership we have acquired through our investment is simply allowed to fade away, other nations will surely step in where we have faltered.

I unfortunately cannot take as optimistic of a view of the President's plan.

I think NASA was conceived brilliantly with the idea of simply doing something that had never been done before.

We here in the legislative branch are going to try to continue to work with the Administration to refine his plan and change some parts of it.

We asked that he consider a strong vision statement. In fact, we specifically said a vision of going to Mars.

We must leverage our existing capabilities and workforce to reach our goal.

We need its scientific minds to be involved in solving today's and tomorrow's challenges in energy, medical research, robotics.

I have yet to find a person in NASA, the Defense Department, the Air Force, the National Academies, industry, or academia that had any knowledge of the plan prior to its announcement.