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Interview With Sen. McCain

Aired February 03, 2003 - 13:10   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's turn our attention to Washington, a large part of that story is unfolding there. And as the story progresses, there will be a long and perhaps at sometimes heated debate in Washington over what is next for NASA and more specifically, for humans in space. And one person who is going to be at the center of the debate is our guest, along with Jonathan Karl in Washington.
JONATHAN KARL, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Miles, much of the debate will be taking place at the Senate Commerce Committee. John McCain, the chairman of that committee, joins me right now. That is the committee that obviously has oversight over the space program, over NASA.

Senator McCain, you're going to have hearings next week. What's your first question? Who is your first guest?

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: It will obviously be Mr. O'Keefe, the administrator of NASA. And we'll be, of course, asking the obvious questions about the causes of this tragedy, whether it could have been prevented or not, what factors, and there will be a broad range of questions. So it will be centered on the immediate tragedy.

Then we will be having hearings in the future about the future of space exploration. And let me quickly say, America is committed to space exploration. The question is is how and in what fashion the future of the space station, the shuttle, unmanned space exploration, et cetera, and that's a policy issue that's probably overdue.

KARL: Now, NASA had a safety advisory board that has gotten much attention that warned of future danger to the space shuttle program, warned that cost cuts had really jeopardized the program, the safety of the program, and there have been conflicting reports as to whether or not members of that advisory panel were fired, or as NASA said, had simply served out their term. What's your understanding?

MCCAIN: My understanding is that there is two different versions, and I am sure we will reconcile that in the hearings. And by the way, on the issue of NASA budget cuts, we have looked at the budget request by the president and what Congress has appropriated over the last six years.

That's not my committee, that's the Appropriations Committee, and they have been pretty much in line with small cuts. Meanwhile, we've had dramatic cost increases associated with the space station from $18 billion original estimates to $24 billion estimates. So all of this needs to be sorted out, but I wouldn't immediately jump to the conclusion that we have cut back on safety, but that is a very serious issue that needs to be looked at.

KARL: Is it time to rethink the nature of the shuttle program?

MCCAIN: I think that after a tragedy like this, everything is in play. There are two phases. One, what happened, and how do you prevent reoccurrence, and then, two, look at the entire policy. But that will take some time.

KARL: Now, you have seen the quotes from Richard Blomberg (ph), who was on the panel looking into the safety situation. He says, "I have never been as concerned for space shuttle safety as I am right now." The current approach is planting seeds for future danger. That was back in April 18 of last year. Was he clairvoyant? I mean, is this...

MCCAIN: When ever you hear that, you have to take him seriously. You have to take him seriously. Obviously, that will be part of our hearing process.

KARL: OK. We'll be watching. Senator McCain, thank you. I am sure we'll be talking to you a lot in the days ahead -- Miles, back to you.

O'BRIEN: All right. Thank you very much, Jonathan Karl.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired February 3, 2003 - 13:10   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's turn our attention to Washington, a large part of that story is unfolding there. And as the story progresses, there will be a long and perhaps at sometimes heated debate in Washington over what is next for NASA and more specifically, for humans in space. And one person who is going to be at the center of the debate is our guest, along with Jonathan Karl in Washington.
JONATHAN KARL, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Miles, much of the debate will be taking place at the Senate Commerce Committee. John McCain, the chairman of that committee, joins me right now. That is the committee that obviously has oversight over the space program, over NASA.

Senator McCain, you're going to have hearings next week. What's your first question? Who is your first guest?

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: It will obviously be Mr. O'Keefe, the administrator of NASA. And we'll be, of course, asking the obvious questions about the causes of this tragedy, whether it could have been prevented or not, what factors, and there will be a broad range of questions. So it will be centered on the immediate tragedy.

Then we will be having hearings in the future about the future of space exploration. And let me quickly say, America is committed to space exploration. The question is is how and in what fashion the future of the space station, the shuttle, unmanned space exploration, et cetera, and that's a policy issue that's probably overdue.

KARL: Now, NASA had a safety advisory board that has gotten much attention that warned of future danger to the space shuttle program, warned that cost cuts had really jeopardized the program, the safety of the program, and there have been conflicting reports as to whether or not members of that advisory panel were fired, or as NASA said, had simply served out their term. What's your understanding?

MCCAIN: My understanding is that there is two different versions, and I am sure we will reconcile that in the hearings. And by the way, on the issue of NASA budget cuts, we have looked at the budget request by the president and what Congress has appropriated over the last six years.

That's not my committee, that's the Appropriations Committee, and they have been pretty much in line with small cuts. Meanwhile, we've had dramatic cost increases associated with the space station from $18 billion original estimates to $24 billion estimates. So all of this needs to be sorted out, but I wouldn't immediately jump to the conclusion that we have cut back on safety, but that is a very serious issue that needs to be looked at.

KARL: Is it time to rethink the nature of the shuttle program?

MCCAIN: I think that after a tragedy like this, everything is in play. There are two phases. One, what happened, and how do you prevent reoccurrence, and then, two, look at the entire policy. But that will take some time.

KARL: Now, you have seen the quotes from Richard Blomberg (ph), who was on the panel looking into the safety situation. He says, "I have never been as concerned for space shuttle safety as I am right now." The current approach is planting seeds for future danger. That was back in April 18 of last year. Was he clairvoyant? I mean, is this...

MCCAIN: When ever you hear that, you have to take him seriously. You have to take him seriously. Obviously, that will be part of our hearing process.

KARL: OK. We'll be watching. Senator McCain, thank you. I am sure we'll be talking to you a lot in the days ahead -- Miles, back to you.

O'BRIEN: All right. Thank you very much, Jonathan Karl.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com