Congressman Artur Davis Sends Statement of Support to the Augustine Commission Urges Support of NASA

Statement

Congressman Artur Davis Sends Statement of Support to the Augustine CommissionUrges Support of NASA

As an Alabamian and as an American, I am proud to support NASA, and North Alabama's own Marshall Space Flight Center. Since the agency's inception in July of 1958, NASA has lead the world to the far reaches of space, and in doing so has set new standards for scientific research and discovery. It is because of what scientists and engineers have accomplished here in North Alabama at the Marshall Space Center that America remains the undisputed world champion in space exploration. And our edge in space has emboldened, us, as John Kennedy said it would, to chart new paths in the fields of aviation, defense technologies, telecommunications, medicine, and across every research disciple that requires human genius.

Here in Alabama, our support of NASA has created a high-wage, high-tech job base that was once beyond our reach. A state that once languished is now contributing to America the Ares I, Ares V, and Orion Space Capsule projects that will assemble the International Space Station. To be designed and manufactured here in Alabama, these projects represent an essential component of America's next generation space fleet and they deserve America's commitment.

We must be mindful that in Washington, we have to constantly fend off proposed cuts to these investments. A country that dreams as boldly as we do simply cannot forgo the investment in a marvel like the International Space Station. When it comes to space, you lose ground when you fail to move forward. Scaling back our standing as the global leader in space research and space defense systems would be a huge step in the wrong direction.

When President Kennedy called on us to put a man on the moon at a time when freedom's survival was uncertain, we responded with an unprecedented investment in an unproven space program. The result was another testament to America's capacity to bend even part of the universe to our will. Today, as the world shrinks and circumstances change rapidly, there should be a few simple truths about our will as it relates to the final frontier: We are not willing to cede our position on the cutting edge of aerospace technology. We are not willing to hand over our role as the leader in the sciences. We are not ready to choose retreat over another push toward the outer reaches of knowledge. I believe we are equal to the challenges that face us in these times so I urge the Augustine Commission to support full funding of NASA and the Marshall Space Center for continued progress in its current mission.

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