[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 1005]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   NASA AND THE CONSTELLATION PROGRAM

  (Mr. GRIFFITH asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. GRIFFITH. 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.

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