I hope that this committee will have the opportunity to discuss all of NASA's programs and plans that comprise its $18 billion budget request for Fiscal Year 2016.

I remain committed to ensuring that these systems are safe.

I used to be a skeptic of commercial crew and cargo transportation to support NASA requirements. And while I am now supportive of the commercial space transportation industry's partnership with NASA, I remain committed to ensuring that…

I want NASA and its commercial partners to succeed so that NASA and the nation will regain human spaceflight access to low-Earth orbit once again.

Safety has and will continue to be a priority of this Committee, and the NASA Authorization Act of 2015 directs that safety be the highest priority of the commercial crew program.

We still have some challenges obviously and possibilities for gaps in coverage, and so that remains a concern for the Committee.

I have waited six years on this Committee to hear that, and I want to thank our witnesses and obviously our Chairpersons and Ranking Members.

I think we have come a long way since then, and so I really wanted to be able to salute NASA and NOAA.

We are going to have to pay for our infrastructure, or you are going to have to watch for blocks of concrete falling on your vehicles.

I think it is going to take some combination of funding ideas.

I believe that this test flight shows Americans that tangible progress is in fact being made on returning humans to exploration beyond our Earth's neighborhood.

I want to join Chairman Palazzo in congratulating NASA, Lockheed, United Launch Alliance, and the entire government and contractor team on successfully conducting the Exploration Flight Test, EFT-1, of the Orion capsule last week.