Thank you, Mr. Chairman. After serving at the helm of this subcommittee for so many years, it might take a hearing or two to get used to sitting at this end of the dais!
Today’s hearing is especially important as America stands on the verge of returning to the lunar surface. And as the proud Representative of NASA’s Johnson Space Center, it is also a topic near and dear to me.
Space exploration is not a task for the faint of heart. American astronauts have accomplished great feats in space: They have built space stations, operated the space shuttle, and, of course, walked on the Moon. However, these programs are significant undertakings, both in time and resources.
In 2005, Congress directed NASA to develop a sustained human presence on the Moon as a stepping-stone to future exploration of Mars and other destinations. The name and format of the program NASA would use to accomplish this goal changed with time, but in each of the authorization acts that followed over the years, Congress consistently directed NASA to pursue an incremental approach, using intermediate destinations to develop extensible technologies that would enable humans to explore the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
Given the time and resource intensive nature of any space mission, successfully carrying out a crewed space exploration program requires that the government maintain continuity of purpose over the course of several years.
Changing direction isn’t free and is incredibly taxing on the United States industrial base. For years, as it evolved from the Constellation program, to SLS and Orion, even to an asteroid redirect mission, America’s space program lacked a clear and consistent path.
That is why I was honored to be at President Trump’s side when he signed Space Policy Directive-1, more commonly known as SPD-1 in December 2017. This update to U.S. national space policy instructed NASA to partner with the commercial sector and international community to return humans to the Moon, and eventually push forward to Mars.
SPD-1 aligned with the congressional direction set forth in previous NASA authorization bills and outlined a clear, reachable goal that injected a new sense of urgency and excitement into NASA’s mission.
To ensure the viability of the Artemis program, and the efforts of our commercial and international partners, Congress cannot accept unnecessary cost overruns or schedule delays.
We will continue to evaluate the proposed architecture regularly and provide rigorous oversight to ensure the program remains on track.
With the CCP planning to send taikonauts to the Moon’s South Pole by the end of the decade, the stakes are too high for us to fail.
We cannot afford to let them beat us. As I’ve stated many times before, one of my greatest concerns is that NASA astronauts will arrive at the Moon only to be greeted with a sign that says “No Trespassing” in Mandarin.
Our nation is uniquely suited to provide leadership on the Moon with our commercial and international partners.
Additionally, the U.S. will maintain openness and transparency in its operations on the lunar surface—something we can be certain the CCP will not.
We came close to sending a NASA authorization bill to the President’s desk late last year. Soon, this Committee will once again consider legislation to provide NASA with continued direction for human exploration and many other topics. I look forward to working with my colleagues on the Committee and our counterparts in the Senate to finish the job this year.
We have a great panel of witnesses who are no strangers to this Committee. I thank them for sharing their expertise with us and look forward to a productive discussion today.