The Hill News

For 30 years, Florida’s space coast has been at the center of NASA’s shuttle program. The men and women of Florida’s 24th District have put their blood, sweat and tears into making our country the leader in space exploration. Now that the program is coming to an end, tens of thousands of people in central Florida are facing devastating layoffs; layoffs that could have been avoided if the current administration had adequately prepared the space coast for this painstaking transition. 

Through proper planning and responsible action, these layoffs could have been avoided. If only NASA and President Obama had planned for this transition instead of simply canceling the Constellation Program without a viable alternative, jobs along the space coast could have been preserved. Consequentially, families in Florida’s 24th District have been left to fend for themselves and NASA will be left paying as much as $62.7 million per seat to the Russians for trips to the Intern! ational Space Station and back. That money could be used to employ Americans to build American rockets to safely fly American and international crews. 

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