I come to the House Floor today to pay tribute to our beloved colleague, dear friend and one of our nation's preeminent humanitarian icons--the late Congressman Donald Payne. I first met Congressman Payne nearly two decades ago and I will…

I think we are beginning to move in that direction so that we can help them, and they can help us, and we can understand each other's issues.

Cannibalizing the Mars program which has gotten closer and closer to unlocking the secrets of Mars with each mission is a huge step backwards for NASA.

By proposing a cut of more than $300 million the Administration not only threatens the most successful exploration program in NASA history, it also imperils what is certainly the world's most specialized workforce, engineers and scientists…

This is about America's leadership in planetary science. We are the undisputed world leader.

I think that is a terrible abdication of our leadership role.

It is about what we are going to do in the future, and to rely on MSL is to rely on our past.

ESA is going forward and they are going to Russia, and probably China, and asking them to step in where American has stepped away from its leadership role. And I think that is deeply tragic.

I don't understand that answer. That is an answer that says, in order to make budget cuts, we savage the most successful program we have.

It will not be taken by the United States. It will be taken by the Europeans now in partnership with the Russians.

That is a very Orwellian answer, in my view.

I would like to thank Congressman John Lewis and his staff for reserving time this morning for Members of the House to come to the floor to pay tribute to my friend, one of Georgia's former and notable legislators, the late Congressman…