Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, very quickly, since my colleague from Indiana says that he will withdraw this amendment, I want to take this time to once again congratulate the chairman of the committee, the gentleman from Wisconsin and the gentleman from California for making sure that this Russian issue was settled within the committee and facing off with the administration, because H.R. 1275 does contain a number of tough provisions regarding the Russian participation in the Space Station Program. Cooperation with the Russian Government does offer many benefits to this country in terms of the space program. However, that cooperation has to be based on each party living up to its commitments. The space station provisions in this bill send a strong signal to Russia that we expect them to deliver on their promises. The provisions also direct NASA and the administration to prepare credible contingency plans in case the Russian contributions are further delayed. So I think we have accomplished what my colleague would set out to accomplish by this amendment. I am opposed to the amendment.”