Davis Reacts To President Bush's Proposed U.S. Space Initiatives

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Rep. Lincoln Davis, a member of the House Science Committee, today released the following statement regarding President Bush's agenda for the nation's manned space-flight program.

"I applaud President Bush for laying out long-term goals for the United States manned space program. Not since the end of the Apollo era have we seen a proposal as large and bold as this."

"It is my belief the United States needs a clear vision for manned space flight, and I look forward to receiving a more detailed plan for these high reaching goals. I look forward to a serious debate regarding what the exact nature of that program should be. I would also like to add that any decisions on the future of manned space flight must be made in the context of practical benefits gained, budget constraints, the continuing need for the reforms called for by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, and the need to keep NASA's unmanned space programs at productive levels."

"In the coming months, I hope the President will lay out a clearly defined end result, other than a need to explore, to justify the cost for these bold initiatives. We are sitting on record deficits, and it would be hard to support any such initiatives without more concrete details to take back to my constituents."