Welcome to my campaign web site!

Here you can find current information about my campaign and the work I’m doing for the people of the 24th Senate District in the Florida Legislature.

Please take a look at the latest news from the campaign trail, where I stand on the big issues facing Space Coast families today, and sign up to receive regular e-mail updates from the campaign. And of course, always feel free to contact me at any time with any questions or concerns that I can help answer.

Check out what Thad has to say about Property Insurance Reforms

click here to read more

Latest News

Straight talk express: Space summit’s no-holds-barred views provide ideas to move forward

Saturday, February 20, 2010

By Florida Today - Our Views Column

It was just what the doctor ordered:

A blunt, no-holds-barred discussion Thursday on the uncertain future of space in Florida during an Orlando summit that Gov. Charlie Crist convened for top political and industry leaders.

There were entrepreneurs who said President Obama’s plan to shift manned launches to commercial rockets was correct, and Florida had to pull itself out of denial fast and get with the new program or be left in the dust.

There also were state officials and members of Congress who offered proposals on what might be done in Tallahassee and Washington to mitigate the coming loss of about 7,000 jobs at Kennedy Space Center.

Crist deserves credit for calling the session and starting the search for solutions that can be implemented quickly.

He threw his support behind two we believe are essential:

  • Increasing funds for Space Florida, the state’s space recruiting arm, to nearly $33 million to help attract business.

  • Spending as much as another $25 million a year to help new or expanding aerospace business in a bill that state Sen. Thad Altman, R-Viera, and state Rep. Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, are sponsoring.

The Space Florida money would go for workforce retraining and provide a fiscal portfolio to expand job-creating possibilities at KSC’s Exploration Park, Space Flight Science Lab and Cape Canaveral’s commercial launch pads.

The Altman-Crisafulli measure, called the Space Transition and Revitalization Act, would use money from the governor’s discretionary business-development fund, redirected sales-tax revenue from the KSC Visitor’s Center and other sources for similar purposes.

Yes, the state’s budget picture is grim with a $3.2 billion deficit.

But Florida must make a strong, highly visible commitment now or face potential doom in the commercial arena, where other states and eight nations have done far more to create a business-friendly climate.

For instance, the global space business is worth $257 billion annually, growing 25 percent the past five years. But Florida has just $8 billion of that market.

Summit attendees heard that message loudly from space entrepreneurs, including one who said Florida is already five years too late because it has relied on NASA’s federally funded program while ignoring the needs of innovative commercial firms.

Meanwhile, a major fight on the president’s plan will take center stage in Congress this week when the first hearings in the House and Senate are held.

Congresswoman Suzanne Kosmas, D-New Smyrna Beach, whose district includes KSC, told FLORIDA TODAY she’s part of a bipartisan group crafting a proposal to extend the shuttle program if NASA deems it’s safe.

The goal would be one or two shuttle flights a year through 2015, adding another $200 million to the NASA budget for 2010 and $1.5 billion to $2 billion a year starting in 2011. That’s a long shot, cutting deeply against the decision after the 2003 shuttle Columbia disaster to retire the fleet as soon as possible because of safety concerns.

Beyond that, the shuttle workforce is already walking away, major components such as the fuel tank and spare parts are no longer made and the extra funding is probably impossible because of Obama’s freeze on discretionary spending to tackle the federal budget’s red ink.

Along with extending the shuttle, the hearings will focus on salvaging parts of the canceled Constellation program to allow NASA to build a heavy-lift rocket to carry crews out of low-Earth orbit, and picking Mars as the long-term exploration goal.

All of these issues and more should be fully vetted as the difficult process of defining America’s course in space continues.


Contact Thad

Campaign Office
6767 North Wickham Road,
Suite 400
Melbourne, FL 32940

Phone: (321)421-6988

Orange and Seminole County Campaign Office
12301 Lake Underhill Road
Suite 231
Orlando, Florida 32828

Email Thad

2036