General Shelton, with the Air Force technical oversight by DOD and Federally Funded Research and Development Centers, did contractor personnel go through a process of demonstrating the ability to build some of the most complex components…

We treat every launch as if it is our very first.

it is my understanding that the U.S. Government encouraged the use of former Soviet Union capabilities in prior administrations

General Shelton, is it fair to say that the second phase, the so-called phase 1A of the Air Force acquisition strategy, that both the new entrant and the incumbent launch provider were equally hurt in the decision to reduce the number of…

But would you agree that we need a tested and certified domestic alternative that meets all relevant performance criteria before we halt the use of the current engine?

General Shelton, would you please comment on the report that an independent team of DOD experts conducted a study to determine the earliest possible time a new entrant would be close to being certified and capable to launch any or all of…

General Shelton, would you please comment on the readiness of any new entrant to compete, when will they be certified, and will they have all the capabilities to launch all National Security Space (NSS) payloads?

We are now reevaluating that policy, and you all have begun to give us a sense of how we should proceed.

I think you said yes, but I want to make sure I was clear on that.

General Shelton, what would it take to increase the competitive missions back to up-to-14?

We want to thank you all. You have been most enlightening.

I rise today to speak about the repercussions of the Supreme Court's misguided Hobby Lobby decision which allows employers to refuse to cover contraception as a part of their employees' health plans under the false pretense that…

I would propose to my colleagues that we use 5-minute rounds of questions.

Our mission here as a Congress and a country is to assure access to space for both civil and military missions.

did ULA, the EELV incumbent contractor, obtain the blueprints and specifications of the RD-180 engine?

have the engines and all the support provided the foreign and domestic contractors met all U.S. Government requirements for this program?

General Shelton, why did the missions available for competition decrease from the planned up-to-14, to up-to-7?

We had decided to rely on a foreign supplier.

Having additional certified competitors in the marketplace will help lower the cost of delivering payloads into space and, of course, drive innovation.

There's no greater threat to our special way of life, our water supplies and communities than wildfire.

I rise today to speak about a proposal Senator Patty Murray and I have introduced to restore a woman's power to make personal health care decisions based on what is best for her and her family, not according to her employer's personal…

In Colorado the question is not if we will have another mega fire, it's when.

today I wish to pay tribute to the outstanding military service of a group of incredible Coloradans. At a critical time in our Nation's history, these veterans each played a role in defending the world from tyranny, truly earning their…

I am fighting to roll back President Obama's proposed cuts to these programs in this year's appropriation bill.

due to unavoidable family commitments, I was unable to cast votes relative to rollcall vote Nos. 164 through 170 on Monday, June 2, and Tuesday, June 3, 2014. Had I been present, I would have voted yea in each instance. ____________________