Kay Bailey Hutchison: “last Friday, when I spoke to my colleagues about the NASA authorization bill, the Senate, in the press of other business…”

“last Friday, when I spoke to my colleagues about the NASA authorization bill, the Senate, in the press of other business at the end of the session, was unable to take up the conference report on S. 1281, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2005. Since then, the House of Representatives has adopted the report under suspension of the rules, demonstrating wide support for the compromise bill. I am very pleased that the Senate is now poised to approve the conference report as well. I want to thank my ranking member on the Science and Space Subcommittee, Senator Nelson of Florida, for all his help. Chairman Stevens and Senator Inouye were active participants throughout this process, and I certainly appreciate their efforts. Senator Lott was a key member of the Senate team that has brought us to this point. My subcommittee staff, Jeff Bingham and Tom Cremins, and Senator Nelson's staff, Jean Toal Eisen and Chan Lieu, work so well together and have done so much to bring us to this point, and I want to say thank you to them. When President Bush announced a new Vision for Space Exploration in January of 2004, he was not simply describing a new mission for NASA; he was describing a pathway to a future for the next generation. The legislation embodied in this conference report represents a statement by the Congress that the Vision for Space Exploration is the right vision for America in the new age of space.…”