Kay Bailey Hutchison: “my friend and colleague, the senior Senator from Florida, and I are today introducing a far-reaching bill to reauthorize…”

“my friend and colleague, the senior Senator from Florida, and I are today introducing a far-reaching bill to reauthorize the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for 5 years, from fiscal year 2006 through fiscal year 2010. This legislation is already the product of close bipartisan cooperation among Republicans and Democrats, which should be a surprise to no one, for space exploration is something that is important to all Americans, and promises and provides benefits to all of us, to all of humanity. This bill represents an important opportunity for the Congress to play its fundamental role, in conjunction with the executive branch, in establishing the policies and principles that will guide our Nation's exploration and utilization of space. The President has outlined an ambitious new Vision for Exploration that enables us to see where we can be 30 and 40 years ahead, with a renewed US presence on the Moon and crews and habitats on Mars, and perhaps even beyond. I support and endorse that vision and believe it describes a course America must take into the future. This legislation expresses the sense of the Congress that such a broad, visionary goal is important and necessary to help stimulate our efforts today to develop the capabilities and the skills to reach that goal, and to reap tremendous benefits and rewards for all of us here on Earth as we do.…”