Donna Edwards

This is not right for the American people.

We could have FEMA at this table today if we put a clean continuing resolution on the floor.

They are running this Congress, and they are running us in the ground, and the American people find this completely unacceptable.

Not to have FEMA at the table because of a Government shutdown is unacceptable.

It is unacceptable in this country that we have a handful of renegades who are running this country.

This is completely unacceptable.

It is unacceptable in this country for almost a million workers to be out of jobs today because the Government is shut down.

I appreciate that EPA is continuing its investigations of hydraulic fracturing. I think that the EPA's investigations are really critical to the Federal Government's responsibility to ensure that drinking water and groundwater across the…

I think, Mr. Chairman--Chairman Shuster, Mr. Chairman, it is really incumbent on us to figure this out.

I happen to be from the great State of Maryland, which I think did something both spectacular and really politically difficult over this last session of our general assembly in terms of spending.

It is hard for me to believe that you can separate or slash funding of climate research when all of our weather scientists and our forecasters indicate the kind of interconnectivity that Dr. Sullivan has discussed.

I am concerned about the legislation that we are discussing today. And, as indicated in the testimony of our witnesses, the legislation is really flawed in its execution in my view.

It is vital that any new NASA Authorization match that same standard.

Doing otherwise would not only be a disservice to the men and women at NASA, its contractor workforce and the American people, but would effectively set the agency on a path to failure.

I think we both agree that a strong NASA is critical to the nation and that this Authorization is a vitally important opportunity to set the policy direction and authorize funding needed to ensure America's global leadership in space.

Thank you, Dr. Squyres and Mr. Young. It is always good to have you here...

NASA has been and should continue to be the Nation's crown jewel for spurring innovation, highly skilled and good-paying jobs, and inspiring the next generation of scientists.

But the people who are the experts didn't contribute to making the decision about what should be cut or not?

There is only one jurisdiction in the National Capital region that is treated differently, and that is Prince George's County in Maryland.

I would urge each of you in your agencies, but most especially GSA, to be in the driver's seat, to be in the driver's seat when it comes to making those determinations.

Our job has to be to make certain that the GSA is treating the entire region with the fairness that taxpayers deserve.

What is the overall cost to the taxpayer and how are we saving the taxpayer money?

There has been way too much documentation. I don't want to go into it again.

I share Dr. Squyres' concerns about, you know, aligning the budget and the workforce to the work that we are charged with doing.

That's why I'm delighted to hear the NASA Administrator, Charles Bolden, speaking more often about Mars as the ultimate destination for human space exploration.