Ted Poe: “The United States is positioned to raise the white flag of surrender in space exploration. America is the leader in…”

“The United States is positioned to raise the white flag of surrender in space exploration. America is the leader in space technology, but yet there are plans afoot to turn our lead over to the Russians and the Chinese. By foolishly canceling the Constellation Program and when the last NASA shuttle flight occurs, we will have no means to transport our astronauts into space. We will have to hitch a ride with the Russians if we want that transportation. And if one of our security satellites needs repair, who's to say the Russians will even let us buy a coach ticket on their space aircraft. Now even the Iranians have entered the space race. Last month they sent a rat, two turtles, and a worm into space. Keeping our edge in spaceflight is a national security issue. We can not give that away to anybody. After all, when Neil Armstrong landed on the Moon, the first word was 'Houston,' not 'Moscow' or 'Beijing.' And that's just the way it is.”