Congressman Chris Smith, Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, made the following statement today about the disaster involving Space Shuttle Columbia: 

    “My deepest condolences and the prayers of my family and I are with the families of the seven brave astronauts who lost their lives this morning.

    “It is now incumbent upon NASA scientists to do everything that is humanly possible to fully investigate this catastrophe and determine what went wrong.  The work of manned space flight must continue. 

    “This is a tragic day not just for the families of those lost but for all of America.”