Business Insider: Ted Cruz's Plan For NASA Is Epic
Now that the Republicans have taken over Congress, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) will be chairman of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Science, Space, and Competitiveness, which oversees the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
Cruz issued a press release on Wednesday outlining his plans for the space agency. In his statement, which was titled "Focus NASA on Its Core Mission: Exploring Space, and More of It," Cruz said he wants to expand the US space program.
"In 1962, President John F. Kennedy laid down a marker for space exploration that inspired a generation of Americans to reach for the stars, recognizing that the race to the heavens was nothing less than a crucial front in the battle between freedom and tyranny," Cruz said.
Cruz, who is widely seen as a potential 2016 presidential candidate, went on to argue that NASA's partnership with Russia on the International Space Station has endangered American space exploration and innovation.
"More than 50 years later, we have lost sight of that clarion call," Cruz's statement said. "Russia's status as the current gatekeeper of the International Space Station could threaten our capability to explore and learn, stunting our capacity to reach new heights and share innovations with free people everywhere. The United States should work alongside our international partners, but not be dependent on them. We should once again lead the way for the world in space exploration."
