Barbara Mikulski: “I rise again this year in support of America's space program and in opposition to the Bumpers amendment that strikes the…”

“I rise again this year in support of America's space program and in opposition to the Bumpers amendment that strikes the funding for the space station. How ironic it is, at this time of great space discoveries like the possibility of life on Mars, that my colleague wants to eliminate one of NASA's greatest programs. Once again, I will come to the defense of the American people who depend on the space station in so many ways. What do I mean? I am talking about jobs. Killing the space station is about jobs, and jobs in the United States of America. It is about putting people out of work or keeping people on the job, many thousands of men and women who work directly in the program or in factories that work on the space station itself. There are many thousands whose jobs result from the multiplier effect of the station's construction. Most are middle class, blue and white-collar workers who make family level wages, with health security, and we want to be sure that they have paycheck security, health security and can count on this job.”