Dana Rohrabacher: “I rise in support of S. 610, the NASA Flexibility Act of 2003. NASA engineers, scientists, and technicians have been the…”

“I rise in support of S. 610, the NASA Flexibility Act of 2003. NASA engineers, scientists, and technicians have been the space agency's true pioneers. These talented men and women dedicated to pushing the technological envelope are credited with opening new vistas of progress for all of humankind. We must look at them as a valuable, valuable asset. With the recent announcement of our President, NASA's workforce will again be looked upon to extend the reach of our capabilities, to extend our reach to the Moon and then farther on into the heavens. Let us hope that the can-do spirit of the past will be reawakened in NASA as a result of the President's visionary goals-setting coupled with what I consider to be a very pragmatic strategy as set forward by the President. Let us hope the young people throughout America will hear the President's words and are excited and activated by this new goal-setting by the President of the United States and thus by the executive branch of the United States Government. As we begin a new chapter in America's space experience, we are doing our job on the legislative end. S. 610 will help ensure that talented and creative people continue to commit their time and services to America's space effort so we can achieve the goals that I just referred to. An aging workforce today threatens the future of our civil space program.”