President Clinton Reinforces Senator Obama’s Plans to Preserve and Reinvigorate Space Program
Stumping in Orlando and Fort Pierce, the Former President Encourages Support for an Obama-Biden Administration
ORLANDO – TODAY, speaking in Orlando and Fort Pierce, President Bill Clinton spoke to Floridians about reasons a Barack Obama and Joe Biden administration would benefit Americans. The former President strongly supported Obama’s policies on the economy, energy independence and health care. Possibly the most salient of issues for Floridians was the former President’s support of Barack Obama’s vision for a robust space program.
“He has a plan to support the space industry, which I think is important not just to Florida but to America. This is a very big deal,” said Clinton during his speech in Orlando. “We have a vested interest in staying on the frontiers of technological change and many of the answers to our environmental and other challenges will be found by continuing the push into space.
“Every president has to tend to the present, but keep an eye on the future even when it may not be so popular to do so. The last thing we ought to do is to reverse our investments in medical research and development and other kind of scientific research and into the space program. We need to keep pushing America into the future. That’s how we’re going to bring the economy back. That’s how we’re going to become energy independent.”
President Clinton’s remarks come less than a week after The New York Times reported that Barack Obama’s leadership on space issues helped to push through a critical piece of legislation for NASA, ensuring Americans will have access to space after the retirement of the Space Shuttle. Obama had sent a letter to Congressional leaders Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi, urging passage of a waiver to allow NASA to buy flights to space on Russian spacecraft if necessary to keep Americans in space. According to Senator Bill Nelson, that letter removed the legislative roadblock. “I think Obama changed the game,” Nelson said. President Clinton’s remarks reinforce the view, already expressed by Senator Nelson and former Ohio Senator John Glenn, that Senator Obama understands the space program and will lead NASA boldly into the 21st century.
To listen to President Clinton’s full remarks from Fort Pierce, click here. You can also view Sen. Obama’s commitment to the NASA space program by clicking here.
