Congressman DeLay Hails NASA Funding Victory

Contact: Jonathan Grella

Phone: (202) 225-0197

Washington, DC: Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-TX) delivered the following statement after NASA realized significant funding increases today during the
VA-HUD Subcommittee markup:
“I’m glad that we’re able protect a legacy of excellence: America’s record of achievement in human space flight. The changes in this bill will ensure that we continue
realizing our potential in space. The proposed budget attempted to reduce costs but the price to our progress in space would have been far too steep. This bill
increases funding for critical priorities and also preserves programs that are vital to the future of NASA.

“I appreciate the Chairman’s [Rep. James Walsh, R-N.Y.] leadership in initiating an investigation to ensure that this agency is working to achieve our goals in space
with the maximum efficiency. We need to fund the space program adequately, but we’ve got to be certain that those dollars are going as far as they possibly can.
“The bill that we mark-up today takes several important steps toward securing our ability to continue exceeding our known limits in human space flight. One key
component is the crew return vehicle. This bill provides sufficient resources to continue developing the seven-person crew return vehicle. We’ve boosted the crew
return vehicle budget to $275 million. If we were forced to rely on the Soyuz capsule alone, we’d be jeopardizing the future of research in space. Without a
seven-person crew return vehicle, space research simply cannot be done adequately. That crew return vehicle is vital and this bill restores it.

“I also appreciate the Chairman’s willingness to address the long-term shortcomings at the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center. This building is
literally falling to pieces and this bill carries the resources to begin correcting the problems at the VAB. We need to refurbish that facility and this bill gives us a solid
start. Recently, we heard naysayers decrying the future of NASA, but their gloom and doom predictions haven’t come to pass. This bill supports the future
excellence of American space technology and preserves Houston’s title as the world’s capital city of space exploration.”

SATELLITE VIDEO FOOTAGE OF REP. DeLAY AVAILABLE:

4:00 – 4:15 PM Central Time

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Downlink Frequency 3860

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