[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 63 (Wednesday, April 18, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2244-S2245]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                    Nomination of James Bridenstine

  Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, I rise to support the upcoming confirmation 
this week of my friend  Jim Bridenstine to be Administrator of NASA.
  We are now in our second year without a Senate-confirmed 
Administrator of NASA. Not only has that been bad for the United 
States, but it is also bad for the commercial space industry, NASA, and 
all of us who prioritize restoring and strengthening America's 
leadership in space. NASA needs a strong leader, and it will have that 
strong leader in  Jim Bridenstine.
  I serve as the chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee's Space 
Subcommittee, and I am proud and deeply gratified that President Trump 
chose to nominate Representative  Jim Bridenstine to lead NASA. I can 
think of very few people I know who are more inspirational than Jim. 
Unfortunately, throughout Representative Bridenstine's confirmation 
process, we have seen cynical politicians attempting to malign his 
character, despite the fact that he has spent his entire adult life in 
public service.
   Jim Bridenstine is a veteran and a war hero. He is a man of deep 
character and deep integrity. Having served our Nation in combat as a 
fighter pilot, he earned the respect of the men and women who served 
under his command.
  Representative Bridenstine's combat missions included airborne 
battlefield command and control and tactical air control flights in 
support of the liberation of Iraq, controlling over 180 kill box 
interdiction and close-air support missions, resulting in the 
destruction of countless tanks, armored vehicles, and time-sensitive 
fixed targets.
  Representative Bridenstine later transitioned to the F/A-18 Hornet 
while on Active Duty, serving at the Naval Strike and Air Warfare 
Center, TOPGUN command, where he flew both the E-2 and F28. There, he 
received fitness reports from his commanding officers, which rated him 
as ``the number one Hawkeye pilot and weapons and tactic instructor'' 
and ``the most tactically skilled pilot in the E-2 community.'' That is 
a remarkable record, and it is one that has been followed by honorable 
and distinguished service in the U.S. Congress.
  Throughout my time in the Senate, I have been blessed to meet with a 
number of astronauts. It is worth noting that quite a number of those 
astronauts at NASA have backgrounds very similar to that of 
Representative Bridenstine. He will be able to lead them as one who has 
served in missions similar to the ones they have served in and are 
serving now. I have no doubt he will be an effective leader of NASA and 
will work to ensure the safety of the men and women who step forward to 
save our country; that he will work to lead NASA in a way to ensure 
that America continues to lead in space, and, in particular, that NASA 
and the commercial space sector, working hand in hand, will move 
forward to implement the bipartisan commitment this Congress has made 
that man will go back to space and go to Mars and that, in particular, 
the first foot that sets on the soil of Mars will be an American 
astronaut landing to explore that next frontier.

[[Page S2245]]

  I urge my colleagues to put aside partisan politics. If this vote 
were on the merits, Representative Bridenstine should be confirmed 100 
to 0 on the merits. I urge my colleagues to come together so we can 
have a strong leader of NASA, an honorable war hero, and a leader who 
will lead space exploration going forward.