Steny Hoyer: “I congratulate the Science Committee and Chairman Boehlert and Ranking Member Gordon on bringing to the floor a fair…”

“I congratulate the Science Committee and Chairman Boehlert and Ranking Member Gordon on bringing to the floor a fair, balanced NASA authorization bill. The unanimous vote to report the bill out of the committee is testament to the positive outcome that results when Members work together in a bipartisan fashion to make good public policy. And this is a good bill for NASA, for Goddard Space Flight Center in my district, and the American people. The bill restores our investment in a more vigorous, forward-looking space agency and provides multi- year funding and detailed policy guidance to NASA at a critical time in the history of space exploration. NASA has a unique set of challenges as we seek to return to flight and expand our reach in space. What we do now will determine how well we meet those challenges in the future. That's why I was pleased to see that the bill included $150 million for a new servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope and a directive to NASA to devise a plan to send a crew to repair the Hubble Telescope after completion of the currently planned space shuttle mission. This funding is a clear recognition by the Committee of the unique role that the Hubble Space Telescope plays in broadening our scientific understanding of the observable universe.…”