Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) (center), Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) (left) and Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) speak at a press conference after the Senate passed it's version of a government spending bill, after removing the House's provision to defund the Affordable Care Act, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on September 27, 2013. UPI/Kevin Dietsch | License Photo

WASHINGTON, Jan. 11 (UPI) -- Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has been made the chair for the Senate subcommittee on Space, Science, and Competitiveness, which oversees NASA.

Cruz said in 2013 it is "critical" the United States show continued leadership in space exploration and development. However, his opinion on climate change, which NASA is heavily involved in studying, has been a skeptical one.


"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 is also a politician who believes in reducing government spending, so it is unclear how he will view NASA's budget.

It has also been announced Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., will chair the subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard, which oversees the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The NOAA is responsible for analyzing atmospheric and oceanic conditions. The NOAA is also heavily involved in analyzing climate change trends, which is something Rubio also doesn't support.

"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.