Sen. McCain comments on Shuttle Hearings

Sen. John McCain was interviewed on CNN this morning about a variety of topics – including today’s hearings on the Columbia accident.

When asked if budget cuts at NASA had anything to do with the Columbia accident McCain said that this is a “legitimate question – one of the first things to be asked of Sean O’Keefe. We have a two phase inquiry. The first is what caused the tragedy. The second is a long overdue policy debate: What is role of shuttle”? Will there be a follow on?, Will we be doing exploration?, What is the use of the ISS? What are the budgetary considerations? These policy decisions need to be made as soon as possible.

WIth regard to the independence of the CAIB, McCain said “I think they have some outstanding people, and they have made the right moves. Sean O’Keefe has great credibility, as do the members. I don’t think that they should make the mistake of the previous panel (Challenger) and withhold informaiton. There was an email sent over heating. They are not revealing that. If they do not come forth and share information then there will be a lot of skepticism.”