I would encourage you to hurry up because NASA has to make some decisions pretty soon about what its follow-on vehicle--if we're going to have a manned space program, they're going to have to start deciding that pretty quick.

I certainly believe that the Government has to have the strong independent cost-estimating capability that Secretary Teets talked about.

Will he have review of this formal process before it goes on up to the Secretary of Defense?

Mr. Secretary, do you expect to keep both contractors in the EELV for the next 5 years?

It seemed that everybody in the world wouldn't allow there to be any reserves.

Do you understand that there are those kinds of reserves in this program, or are they not?

We may have the beginning of a serious failure of oversight here.

I suspect that Senator McCain might consider an offset of allowing both contractors to go forward in exchange for the resignation of some high level officers of the company.

When you shape up those figures, would you share them with the committee?

But the funding requirement isn't written down. It's not a specific funding requirement.

I would be a strong advocate that when programs are initiated that there be full recognition of the funding required to do the program at that time.

I would merely reflect, in conclusion, as we conclude this hearing, the image that is seared in my mind's eye of the view out the window of our spacecraft back at Planet Earth on the 24th flight of the space shuttle, when I was privileged…