The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has pushed the boundaries of human knowledge through space exploration and scientific discovery for more than 50 years.  I believe that our nation must continue to make these important investments in the space industry.  Throughout my career, I have consistently supported funding for NASA during each year's budget deliberations, particularly those projects that directly impact northern Alabama and its economy.

Although the cutting-edge missions and projects typically undertaken by NASA are technologically challenging and inherently risky, I believe that we must continue to support funding this critical research.  We cannot afford for other nations, such as Russia and China, to surpass us in scientific research or our understanding of space.

The ability of NASA to achieve successful missions in the space domain has historically been and will continue to be greatly enhanced by the unique contributions of the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville.  Marshall's integral role in developing a heavy-lift and lunar lander capability will further solidify Alabama’s leadership role in NASA's human exploration efforts and directly support the Administration’s Artemis lunar exploration program.  Alabama played a critical role in sending American astronauts to the moon for the first time, and I believe the world-class research and engineering capabilities of the men and women at Marshall will again prove the importance of our state to the space program.

I will continue to work diligently with my Senate colleagues to support efforts to preserve American leadership and superiority in space exploration.