Rep. Dave Weldon: Lawmakers Should Act After CAIB Work Is Completed

Washington, DC – Rep Dave Weldon, M.D. released the following statement regarding the Joint House-Senate Columbia Accident hearing held today.

We are now twelve days into this investigation. An investigation the likes of which has never been conducted before, on an accident the likes of which we have never seen before. Nevertheless, Congress acted under its oversight power to call NASA to give an update, and accounting of where the investigation is and to give an account of the current status of the entire agency.

“I have the utmost faith in the ability of Admiral Gehman and his panel to be successful in their investigative work and be independent. When the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) reaches its conclusions, Congress should review the report and proceed with the appropriate hearings. I think those hearings will be the most productive to the agency as we all work to chart NASA’s future in human space flight,” concluded Weldon.