Political Quotes

“Mr. President, in a few moments, I am going to ask unanimous consent for the Senate to pass S. 2800, which is the bipartisan NASA Authorization Act. Before doing so, I want to make some brief remarks about how important this legislation is to American leadership in space and to our continued space exploration efforts. Well over a year ago, I joined with Chairman Wicker, Ranking Member Cantwell, and Subcommittee on Aviation and Space Ranking Member Sinema, and we began writing the NASA Authorization Act, using as a foundation the bipartisan bill that I had previously authored with Senators Cornyn, Rubio, Markey, and then-Senator Bill Nelson, from the last Congress, as our starting point. We solicited input from hundreds of stakeholders, from individuals and academics to industry partners and even our international allies. Hundreds of pages of suggestions, proposed edits, and comments were submitted. Over many months, our staffs worked diligently through each and every submission, trying to incorporate the feedback to the greatest extent possible, and what resulted is this bill, which was marked up last year and unanimously reported. What we have achieved together is legislation that enjoys deep and broad bipartisan support and that sets bold goals for NASA and the United States in space. It provides the direction and the infrastructure necessary to meet them.…”