U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has been named chair of the Subcommittee on Space, Science and Competitiveness, where he will oversee NASA and other science programs.
While Cruz said in 2013 it is "critical" for the U.S. to continue to lead in space exploration and development, and has publicly stated his support for NASA, he is known for favoring small government and has attempted at least once to cut the agency's funding, reported The Guardian.
In July 2013, Cruz attempted to amend a spending authorization bill in order to reduce NASA's funding, but the amendment was shot down, reported the Examiner.
The senator's views on climate change, which NASA is involved in studying, are skeptical in nature, leaving many concerned about future funding for some of the agency's smaller programs on climate research, reported UPI.
NASA recently started five new global projects to study how the earth's atmosphere affects global warming, one of which will study greenhouse gases over the eastern part of the U.S., reported The Washington Post.
"The last 15 years, there has been no recorded warming," Cruz told CNN in 2014. "Contrary to all the theories that - that they are expounding, there should have been warming over the last 15 years. It hasn't happened," he said.
Cruz was appointed on Jan. 8 and is expected to be confirmed by the end of the month.
It was also announced that Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., will serve as chair to the subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries and Coast Guard, which oversees the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The NOAA analyzes atmospheric and oceanic conditions and extensively studies climate change trends - something that Rubio doesn't believe in.
"I do not believe that human activity is causing these dramatic changes to our climate the way these scientists are portraying it," Rubio said in 2014, reported the LA Times.
