Bill Nelson

I bet you get an answer today.

The administration--and I'm not just speaking of the Coast Guard--has not learned the lessons

Are we prepared for the next Deepwater Horizon spill with that kind of funding?

Last year's level was $289 million for the oil spill response. It's a part of the Coast Guard budget. And they are proposing to fund it from $289 million to $238 million.

And describe how the Station will serve as a platform to develop the propulsion technologies to go to Mars.

Did you say that the human immune system works better in space or less better?

The marketplace today is the U.S. Government and the partners that are on board there.

The key there is there has to be a long-term plan, there has to be dates associated with that long-term plan.

Since the amount of gold on the planet would fill two large swimming pools, if you find an asteroid that has gold in it, I would say our space program would be off and running.

We still have the best research and development in the world in this country, and this technology is what makes this country great.

As with the authorization bill, it was to utilize a lot of the technology that we had already developed.

It has been a very good discussion.

How about telling us, do you all have any feeling about, since we extended in law its life to 2020, what about extending it beyond 2020?

Never before has a robust Government-Commercial partnership been more critical.

Well, you have just made the case, if we are going to Mars in 2030s, of why the Space Station ought to have the life beyond 2020, its legal life now in law.

I want to ask you, what are the other missions and destinations that are necessary as we get ready for a long-distance mission to Mars?

I think it would be worth a good discussion with the private sector about what they think about that

I think, as Mr. Cook said, the partnership between the government and the private sector needs to be there.

Thank you, Senator Cruz.

We must recognize that the U.S. Government plays a critical role in undertaking projects that have no business case.

It is just like the Spanish explorers that found Florida. They were looking for gold, but look what they found.

And are you in a position, from your platform of the 2013 budget and what you project into the future, are you in a position to really encourage the private sector to get involved and develop these space exploration technologies that are…

Human space exploration, we want to get back in that business. It is vital to our space program.

A stable, long-term space policy and supporting programs can and will allow the commercial space sector to flourish.

We had a place called the Marianna Boy's School in Marianna, FL where the grounds were immaculate.