WASHINGTON, D.C. – Dr. Mary Lynne Dittmar, the executive director of the Coalition for Deep Space Exploration, issued the following statement regarding Senator Barbara Mikulski’s final hearing with the Senate Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations Subcommittee.
“Senator Mikulski has served on the Senate Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations Subcommittee since 1997. It is fitting that her final hearing features NASA, as she has championed the agency’s annual budget since first joining the Appropriations Committee 28 years ago.
NASA and its industry partners have had no better advocate than Senator Mikulski. Her strong vision and leadership in support of both science and human exploration has been instrumental in nearly all of America’s achievements in space over the last two decades. This includes the successful repairs to the Hubble Space Telescope, as well as oversight of the James Webb Space Telescope, the Space Shuttle program and NASA’s new human exploration systems, the Space Launch System and Orion, which will return American astronauts to deep space for the first time in more than four decades. She also has worked tirelessly to promote STEM education with the goal of inspiring more girls and young women to pursue careers in engineering and the sciences.
We look forward to working with Senator Mikulski and her outstanding staff through the remainder of the 114th Congress, and to her continued support of NASA’s human, robotic and science exploration programs in the years to come.”