Sandy Adams: Congress Must Make Manned Space Exploration Funding a Top Priority

While Congress continues to look to cut the budget, freshman Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Sandy Adams joined Republican U.S. Rep. Pete Olson of Texas in sending House Budget Committee Chairman U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin a letter arguing that the budget needs to make human space exploration a major priority.

I strongly encourage Chairman Paul Ryan and the rest of my colleagues to make human space exploration a top priority as we continue our discussion on our Republican budget for the 2012 fiscal year, said Adams. Human space exploration has contributed greatly to our nations economy, national security, and has fueled American ideas for innovation and technology. NASAs human space flight program has been an American flagship and a symbol of strength for our country and has inspired children to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. While I believe there are ways we can trim NASAs budget specifically within the Earth Science account we mustnt do so at the expense of human space flight, which is a proven economic driver and job creator.

The National Aeronautic and Space Administration's primary mission has always been human space flight," chimed in Olson. In this time of limited resources, we must take a common-sense approach to federal spending by cutting duplicative programs. Climate research is currently conducted in 16 different federal agencies. NASA's strength is proving American exceptionalism through human space exploration. The U.S. has been a global leader in space flight, and here at home we have reaped the benefits of this national investment. By streamlining federal priorities we can cut spending in NASA's budget for climate research and maintain a stable human space flight program.