Posey Blasts Obama on Outer Space

Led by U.S. Rep. Bill Posey, Floridas congressional delegation sent a letter to President Barack Obama assailing the administration's proposed 2011 budget for NASA.

The lawmakers' letter expressed concern that the plan NASA has laid out fails to provide a manageable transition of the workforce and is likely to repeat the mistakes that plagued Florida at the end of the Apollo program which resulted in the loss of thousands of jobs and serious adverse economic hardships for the state.

There's been no love lost between the president and the Brevard County Republican, who's been branded a "birther" for his early, persistent questioning of Obama's birth certificate -- or lack thereof. Posey has introduced legislation that would require all future presidents to submit a verified copy of their birth certificate as a condition of taking office.

But Posey, a former Florida state senator, is more than a one-trick political pony. As the congressman representing Florida's Space Coast, he's taken a leading role in defending and promoting the industry.

"With the administrations decision to retire the Shuttle at the end of this year and an announcement that they are canceling the Constellation program, the U.S. would be left with a lengthy human space flight gap, no heavy-lift vehicle to launch astronauts and cargo into space, and no clear vision for future exploration," Posey said.

The administrations budget proposal leaves both our state and our nation lacking, the first-term congressman stated. This plan would relinquish our leadership in space, render the U.S. incapable of independently launching Americans into space, compromise our access to the Space Station, devastate our world-class workforce and industrial base that will be difficult to reassemble, and deprive Americans of the economic benefits of a robust space program.

"The rest of the world gets it and is investing in space, but this plan represents a major retreat.

See full document here