Bill Nelson: “While the Senator from Texas is still on the floor, I just want to say how, personally, this Senator is going to miss…”

“While the Senator from Texas is still on the floor, I just want to say how, personally, this Senator is going to miss her after the calendar year 2012, since she is retiring from the Senate. I say that with the utmost respect and affection for the Senator from Texas because what a great partner she has been in setting policy for this Nation's space program. Had it not been for the Senator from Texas, we would not have that policy etched into law in the NASA bill that we passed last year and which now is the skeletal structure that we hang all the appropriations on going forward, giving a clear path, a clear direction, a clear roadmap for our Nation's space program. So I just wanted to thank the Senator from Texas in front of the Senate.”