Quantcast
Channel: The Write Stuff - Orlando Sentinel
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 10

Biden says NASA is about jobs as well as space

0
0

Biden Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden, beaming with confidence, told some 2,000 supporters on Florida’s Space Coast on Tuesday that America’s space program was more than just about sending humans to the moon: it was about jobs.

In the most comprehensive speech on space policy given by any candidate that has yet to visit Brevard County, Biden clearly suggested that a Barack Obama administration might regard NASA as a public works program as much as a program of scientific and technical achievement.

“When John F. Kennedy challenged the nation to go to the moon he noted that the space industry not only demanded the best minds, it also created the best jobs,” he told supporters who braved a chilly October evening to attend the rally at Wickham Park in Melbourne.

"And as it did in the Kennedy administration, I promise we will create a new generation of engineers, mathematicians and scientists and a few astronauts like [Florida Senator] Bill nelson as well in the process. Ladies and gentlemen, it is a goal that will also create jobs."

Republican candidate John McCain, like Biden and Obama, supports giving NASA an additional $2 billion of funding to help the space agency speed the development of a new rocket to replace the shuttle after it retires in 2010. But Biden’s speech was the first time that any candidate had promised that the additional money was for more than just national prestige.

Excerpts of Biden’s remarks on reinvigorating America’s space program:

"When John F. Kennedy challenged the nation to go to the moon, he noted that the space industry not only demanded the best minds, it also created the best jobs.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the objective was not just to go to the moon. But it was to get another 435,000 engineers and scientists and mathematicians.

"When the Shuttle is retired, NASA estimates that 3,500 jobs could be lost – and that doesn’t count the impact on local businesses or the long-term cost of allowing our global leadership to atrophy.

"The Bush Administration has left our space program in a very difficult position. And John McCain, as Chairman of the Commerce Committee hasn’t helped. He oversaw the plan to retire the Space Shuttle before a replacement was ready.

"Well Ladies and gentlemen, Barack Obama and I have a different idea. We’re going to work with Bill Nelson; we’re going to invest an additional $2 billion in NASA to reduce the gap between when the Shuttle is retired and the when the next generation of space flight is introduced.

"We want to reinvigorate our national space program and that includes creating an environment for a vibrant commercial space program.

"What John F. Kennedy said 46 years ago, still resonates with us today: ‘Now it is time to take longer strides … for this nation to take a … leading role in space achievement.’ That’s as true today as it was then. Folks, that’s the goal that Bill Nelson, Barack, and I share.

“And as it did in the Kennedy administration, I promise we will create a new generation of engineers, mathematicians and scientists and a few astronauts like [Florida Senator] Bill nelson as well in the process. Ladies and gentlemen it is a goal that will also create jobs."


Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 10

Latest Images

Trending Articles





Latest Images