TITUSVILLE - Sen. Barack
Obama promised not to cut NASA funding and said Saturday at a town hall meeting
he will rely on Florida Sen. Bill Nelson and revered astronaut and former Sen.
John Glenn to help form his space policy.
"Under my watch, NASA
will inspire the world once again and is going to help grow the economy right
here in Brevard County," said the presumptive
Democratic nominee, speaking to a crowd of 1,400 at Brevard Community
College's Titusville campus.
Obama has changed an
earlier position, in which he planned to delay the
Constellation program five years and use up to $5 billion from the NASA
budget for education.
"Here's what I'm
committing to: Continue Constellation. We're going to close the gap (between
the end of shuttle flight and the next program, Constellation). We may have
additional shuttle flights," he said.
"My commitment is to
seamless transition, where we're utilizing the space station in an intelligent
way, and we're preparing for the next generation of space travel."
In an interview with FLORIDA
TODAY after the speech, Obama would not detail whether he plans to change
President Bush's vision
of returning to the moon and going to Mars. Obama also would not pledge to
sign a $2 billion increase
to NASA's $17 billion budget. The proposal might save some of the 3,400
jobs that are expected to be lost at Kennedy Space Center.
"I don't want to give
clear figures yet. I want to have a thorough evaluation of a combination of
manned and unmanned missions, what kind of exploration would be the most
appropriate, and I want the budget to follow the plan. I'd want to see the proposal
first," he said.
With appearances Friday and
Saturday in Central Florida, Republican candidate Sen. John McCain and Obama
are battling head to head for votes in the crucial Interstate 4 technology
corridor of Florida. McCain spoke at the Urban League convention Friday in
Orlando, and Obama also was scheduled to speak Saturday to the organization.
In Titusville, Obama
entered the town hall meeting with Nelson as the audience pounded on the
bleachers and cheered.
"Yes, we can!"
the crowd chanted.
"I've been working
Barack, telling him it's the I-4 corridor of Florida that will make a
difference," Nelson said.
The presidential candidate
began by pointing out that gas and food prices are soaring, job losses continue
and the average American's income has decreased by $1,000 in the past eight
years. "Are you better off now than you were four years ago or eight years
ago?" he asked the crowd.
"No!" they
shouted.
Obama outlined a short-term
relief plan that includes a $1,000 tax reduction for 95 percent of Americans,
an additional mortgage interest deduction, no income taxes for seniors who earn
$50,000 or less and equal pay for equal work for women. He also plans a $50
billion stimulus proposal: Half would go to local governments, and half would
go to build roads and bridges.
These programs would be
paid for by taxes on windfall profits of oil companies and by repealing the
Bush tax cuts for the wealthy and for corporations.
"All those things are
just in the short term. We've got to bring back our long-term prosperity,"
he said. "I have often said that this election is a defining moment in our
history."
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