{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://strong.house.gov/media/press-releases/strong-highlights-north-alabamas-leadership-space-exploration", "Strong Highlights North Alabama\u2019s Leadership in Space Exploration", "2026-04-28", "2026", "2026-04", "Republican", "House", "AL", "Dale W. Strong", "S001220", "strong.house.gov", "strong", "https://strong.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2014 Congressman Dale Strong, Vice Chair of the Appropriations Commerce, Justice, and Science Subcommittee, participated in a hearing on Monday, examining the National Aeronautics and Space Administration\u2019s (NASA) fiscal year 2027 budget request.\n\nThe hearing featured testimony from NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, focusing on the agency\u2019s plan to execute the upcoming Artemis missions, return Americans to the Moon, and ensure continued U.S. leadership in deep space exploration.\n\n\u201cJust 17 days ago, the world watched as four astronauts returned to Earth, completing the first crewed deep-space mission in more than 50 years. Every American should be proud of this incredible accomplishment,\u201d said Congressman Dale Strong.\n\nDuring the hearing, Congressman Strong highlighted the critical role of the Marshall Space Flight Center and North Alabama\u2019s workforce in powering America\u2019s space program. He stressed the importance of sustained investment in certified and proven systems like the Space Launch System (SLS) and the Orion spacecraft, as well as the need to sustain the skilled engineers, technicians, small businesses, and contractors who power NASA\u2019s mission.\n\n\u201cThe road to the Golden Age of Space Exploration runs through the Rocket City. Since the first lunar mission, North Alabama has played a starring role \u2013 powering our nation\u2019s space program and diligently working to make human spaceflight possible,\u201d said Strong.\n\nNASA Administrator Jared Isaacman agreed, acknowledging Huntsville\u2019s impact on his own career, \u201cI also want to say that the road that I took to be here today also went through Huntsville when I went to space camp, and I want to say, 12 or 13 years old. So, I have an incredible appreciation of space and the space and rocket center, but also the good work that's done at Marshall Space Flight Center.\u201d\n\nStrong\u2019s questions focused on ensuring NASA\u2019s long-term exploration strategy aligns with the mission to return Americans to the Moon and sustain a continuous U.S. lunar presence. He raised concerns about proposed changes to the SLS, emphasizing that it is currently the only proven, human-rated rocket capable of delivering astronauts, cargo, and critical systems to deep space in a single launch.\n\nStrong also reiterated the need for a clear, executable plan that aligns NASA\u2019s budget, workforce, and mission timeline with the President\u2019s objective of returning Americans to the Moon and staying there.\n\n\u201cArtemis\u2019s mission success depends on strong execution, a stable workforce, and maintaining the schedule. Artemis I and II were successful thanks to the collaboration of small businesses, contractors, and civil servants who delivered on America\u2019s national security and civil space priorities. Small businesses have played a key role, supporting the expertise of civil servants to deliver on NASA\u2019s mission for over 50 years, and we must continue building those relationships and that ecosystem,\u201d said Strong.\n\nIn addition, Strong highlighted the importance of funding advanced propulsion technologies for the next phase of deep space exploration, including Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP), saying in part, \u201cNASA has conducted over 100 tests on NTP-related systems, producing some of the most complete data on flight-like reactor systems in more than 50 years... NTP is proven to be faster and can lift more\u2026\u201d\n\n###", 1, "2026-06-10T06:36:00Z", "2026-06-10T06:37:32Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://strong.house.gov/media/press-releases/strong-highlights-north-alabamas-leadership-space-exploration"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8238619193434715, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}