WASHINGTON – Rep. Steven Palazzo plans to use his chairmanship of a House panel on space this year to again promote a return-to-the-moon mission and lobby against President Barack Obama’s plan to use an asteroid as a stepping-stone to Mars.
Palazzo, R-Miss., also chaired the House Science, Space and Technology Subcommittee on Space in the last Congress, but this year he sees a possible boost for his priorities in the GOP’s takeover of the Senate.
“With the expanded majorities, we’re going to continue to put an emphasis on America remaining the leader in space,” Palazzo said in a recent interview. “America’s leadership in space is no longer just a matter of national pride, it’s become a matter of national security.”
One pressing issue this year, he said, will be helping NASA craft a “road map.”
Hattiesburg American
1/24/15
