The health of our astronomy and astrophysics enterprise is important to the nation's overall industrial and scientific base.

We live in a time of extraordinary discovery and progress in astronomy and astrophysics.

Thank you very much. And Chairman Bowman, thanks very much for holding this hearing. This is the most exciting hearing I've seen in 2021 in terms of the potential.

I keep talking about, you know, we have a little more than $1 billion for fusion energy coming out of a--blessed by the Science Committee and included in Build Back Better, and in a bill that could be approaching $2 trillion, this is the stuff that's most transformational, so I'm really excited that you guys are leading on this.

Well, thank you. Yes, I get discouraged by how slowly we move here, so my new legislative strategy is build, try, break.

Today we're talking about one bold effort that could get us much closer to achieving that Mars goal, space nuclear propulsion.

If the United States is serious about leading in a human mission to Mars, we have no time to lose.

Space nuclear propulsion can produce thrust far more efficiently than conventional chemical systems, allowing for shorter trip times to Mars.

If we're serious about deep space exploration to Mars with humans, which I am serious about, and I know everyone on this Committee is, we need to take bold steps to make it happen and make it sustainable.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, very much.

Every Democrat and every Republican talks about--willing to keep these great new Ph.D.'s in our physical sciences here. How come we can't pass the equivalent of the STAPLE Act in the U.S. Congress?