Tom Harkin: “I say at the outset that a vote for the Bumpers amendment is a vote for space exploration. A vote against Bumpers is a…”

“I say at the outset that a vote for the Bumpers amendment is a vote for space exploration. A vote against Bumpers is a vote for the status quo. It is a vote for the myopic approach to space exploration and it is a vote for wasteful spending for science that can be done better and cheaper. I am foursquare with Senator Bumpers on his approach on the space station. It is a boondoggle and a waste of money. Maybe Senator Bumpers and I are not foursquare on the issue of space exploration itself. That may be for another time and another debate. But on this issue, Senator Bumpers is absolutely right. I have been a longtime supporter of aviation, aviation research, aviation technology, pushing the boundaries of aviation technology through science and technology and also for space. For 10 years, I served in the House on the House Science and Technology Committee. I was proud to chair the Aviation and Materials Subcommittee of that committee. I was proud to work to try to get more and more funds for space exploration. But I watched, during those 10 years in the House on the Science and Technology Committee, I watched in dismay as NASA shifted, gradually but determinatively, shifted from a civilian space agency to an arm of the military.”