Kosmas, Calvert Write Bipartisan Letter To The President Calling For Increased Funding     

Congresswoman Suzanne Kosmas (D-FL) and Congressman Ken Calvert (R-CA) sent a bipartisan letter to President Obama Monday  calling for additional funding for NASA’s human spaceflight program.  The letter, signed by 81 members of the U.S. House of Representatives from across the country, is an indication of the strong national support for human spaceflight and its many benefits.

Rep. Suzanne Kosmas

The letter comes in response to the report by the Review of Human Space Flight Plans Committee, which found that NASA is unable to conduct a meaningful spaceflight program under current budget levels.  The letter calls for the President to support the committee’s recommendation of a $3 billion annual budget increase in order to maintain America’s global leadership in space exploration and to ensure NASA’s continued contributions to our economy and national security.

“It is critical that we work together to support the long-lasting technological, economic and national security benefits of human spaceflight,” said Congresswoman Kosmas.  “Our letter sends a strong message to the President that Congress will continue to fight to maintain America's leadership in space exploration in order to inspire this and future generations to imagine, innovate, and create new science and technology for the 21st century and beyond.”

Rep. Ken Calvert

“NASA’s human space flight program has been the nation’s leading catalyst for innovation and technology based on over 50 years of broad public support and strong bipartisan political leadership,” stated Rep. Calvert, the former Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics.  “The agency’s work is linked to larger issues like national security and American competitiveness.  The valuable research done at NASA is also the genesis of tens of thousands of high-tech jobs in America and millions of dollars into our economy.”

Kosmas and Calvert are co-chairs of the NASA House Action Team, a bipartisan group of legislators from across the country who have made advocating for NASA one of their top priorities.  Their letter, signed by 42 Democrats and 39 Republicans, also calls for an extension of the International Space Station at least through 2020 in order to maximize the return on the nation’s investment in the station.

FMI: www.kosmas.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=224&Itemid=1