Political Quotes

“I join our colleague from Texas in asking the Senate to take up and pass the Space Frontier Act of 2019. We are asking to expedite consideration of this bill in order to allow for the House to take it up and pass it tonight. I thank Senator Cruz, Senator Markey, and the chairman of the Commerce Committee, Senator Thune, for working with all of us on this bipartisan issue. It updates the commercial launch and Earth observation regulations. It extends the International Space Station through 2030. This is no minor task to get that national laboratory that is orbiting high above the Earth--six human beings are on board right now doing research. All the people participating, including the commercial sector, know they will have that national laboratory all the way to the end of the decade of the 2020s, which is going to allow them to plan and invest. Who knows what discoveries they will make in this unique environment of zero gravity. The act also expands opportunities for partnerships with NASA under the Agency's enhanced use authority. Reforms in this bill will help commercial space companies, very likely in the near future, to have two launches a day. As a result, jobs will continue to soar as the rockets soar off the launchpads. Extending the life of the station well through the next decade, as this bill does, will also ensure that America remains a leader in space exploration.…”