Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of NASA and the Constellation Program. I am disappointed that the administration seeks to discontinue manned space exploration. Last week, an administration official was quoted in The Orlando Sentinel as saying it was not necessary for us to return to the moon. Language like this is a slap in the face. It's disrespectful for the lives lost, the thousands of hours of research and development that have gone into manned space flight. As we are being challenged internationally by China, Russia and others, this administration is not accepting the challenge as President Kennedy did in the 1960s. This administration is asking us to walk away from this challenge, and we will not do so. We, the scientists, the American public, deserve to be number one in space exploration. The things that NASA has done for medicine, for regular space flight, for regular airlines, the safety, all that's concerned in our society, has been touched by NASA. The very idea that this administration is lowering the expectations of America as far as manned space flight is concerned is a disgrace and we, in Congress, will reject it. ____________________”