José E. Serrano

I leave as a chairman, I leave in the majority--I will leave in the majority.

Sixteen years in the State Assembly and 30 in Congress, probably enough.

As a proud Puerto Rican, I am one of them.

An additional $25 billion cost would severely impact vital programs, not only under this subcommittee, but across all non-defense subcommittees.

Since NASA has already programmed the lunar landing mission for 2028, why does it suddenly need to speed up the clock by 4 years?

I remain extremely concerned about the additional cost to accelerate the mission to the Moon by 4 years.

If I accomplish one thing in Congress, it is that little by little it is beginning to change the language.

This is a very important area, one that we take seriously, this committee, and we will continue to do that kind of work in a bipartisan fashion, and I mean that sincerely.

I didn't kill the mission. I just asked some questions that I know that you know need to be answered before we move forward or not.

I am proud of the fact that I was able to deal with issues that ordinary people would think I was stereotypically not capable of dealing with.

I think we are 3 to 7 years away from massive amounts of capital flowing into commercial space industry for human habitation in low-Earth orbit.

I certainly don't want to leave these folks after I leave this year, and Mrs. Lowey leaves at the same time, with having to figure out how to pay the other $25 billion over a period of time.

Would you keep that support if the people knew that eventually it would have to take money from their very-needed situation?

NASA has support from this committee, as our mark showed, as our bill showed.

I don't want to go to the Moon by taking money from people who can't afford to survive in this society to the level that they should survive in this society.

This is not just about finding the money, it is about where this President is known to go find monies when he needs them.

If you keep sending us budgets that hurt these agencies, you may actually get a group of people up here someday soon, who knows when, who would agree, and that would be devastating for our country.

We appreciate and we hope you continue to focus on that and focus on all the states and territories

We could probably find a way to get there during a hurricane, but we are still waiting for their response

I will be leaving this place next year after 30 years in Congress and 46 in public office, and if I accomplished something, it could be that I instilled in folks that territories are not states, but they are American citizens and should be…

These days, to build a wall, money could come from anywhere, so you have to be making an argument all the time on behalf of what you have and what you need.

The reason you alluded to a generous increase is because this Chairman and Mr. Aderholt and our leadership agree in helping NASA and NSF, especially in the STEM field

STEM education provides a pathway for many high-quality and fulfilling careers, while helping boost the U.S. innovation, economic competitiveness, and national security.

I look forward to hearing how annual funding supports your agencies' STEM programs, how you work in coordination with your Federal partners to not duplicate STEM efforts.

The budget proposal included eliminating STEM education programs.