David Weldon: “I thank Chairman Boehlert for yielding me this time, and I commend him and Ranking Member Gordon for the hard work they…”

“I thank Chairman Boehlert for yielding me this time, and I commend him and Ranking Member Gordon for the hard work they did. It was a long process moving this piece of legislation through. I also want to commend Subcommittee Chairman Calvert. I know he worked very hard on this. It is now almost 2 years since President Bush first enunciated a vision to go back to the Moon and on to Mars; to develop a new space vehicle to replace the space shuttle. We in the House quickly recognized when the President put forward this ambitious plan, and it was a wonderful thing the President did in doing this, because many people felt it was the first time since Jack Kennedy's original call to go to the Moon by the end of the decade of the 1960s, that it was the first time since then that a President had boldly stood up and proclaimed a vision for NASA. We knew then, Members of the House, that we would need new authorizing legislation, particularly for the process of retiring the space shuttle and bringing a new man-rated launch vehicle on line that would have the capability of carrying men and women into space. This legislation is very important. It is very needed.…”