Adams Looks for Answers on NASA Human Spaceflight

Washington, D.C. – During a Science, Space and Technology Committee hearing today, Representative Sandy Adams (FL-24) sought answers on the past, present, and future of NASA human spaceflight.

Representative Sandy Adams: Thank you Mr. Chairman- On behalf of Florida’s Space Coast and the tens of thousands of men and women in Florida that have actually dedicated their lives to the advancement of this country’s space program, I want to thank all of you for your service.

Questions directed to Dr. Griffin: When you were Administrator at NASA did you or your deputies ever ignore one of the authorization bills?

Did you ever get subpoenaed by a House or Senate committee for outright ignoring their requests for information?

Were you or your deputies ever accused by a Senator in your own party of sabotaging a NASA project just because you didn’t agree with Congress?

Did you ever decide to ignore the role or will of Congress when they asked for your plans to implement the next step in President Bush’s vision for NASA?

Can you think of any reason to slow roll a project that has been authorized and demanded by Congress in Federal law?

Can you think of any reason why it would be acceptable for a NASA Administrator or his or her deputy to ignore Congress?

Well, as you probably guessed, I’m kind of miffed at the fact that NASA has done everything in their power to slow us down. I know there was an authorization bill that was passed before I got here, and we are just now learning that they may have come up with a plan for the SLS. So, I was just curious in past administrations how that worked…

Questions to Dr. Zuber: Dr. Zuber, some have argued, the President specifically, that there is no need for the United States to go back to the moon. The argument is basically, “been there, done that”. And you’ve heard that here today from people questioning that logic. Do you agree with this assessment, and do you think there is anything more that landing on the moon could teach us?

Questions to Mr. Armstrong and Captain Cernan: How do we get NASA to move forward with a solid mission if the authorization bill passed last year and we are just now hearing of SLS. Is there any way that we can encourage them to come forward with a solid mission, a vision, I guess, so that we can encourage our young, our youth, to get more involved again?