An interesting proposal. Unfortunately, there is little chance of any of it coming to pass. For better or worse it seems America's days of exploring space are drawing to a close.
Perhaps that should not be surprising. Much of our nation's political leadership, academia, and media worship in the Holy Church of Settled Science. There the twin idols of Evolution and Global Warming reign supreme, and the heretics ("deniers") are warned to keep out. A nation with this kind of leadership is incapable of a sustained exploration of space, and will soon lose interest in even trying.
But perhaps private companies like SpaceX can turn the tide, and help America recover its heritage of bold, independent thinking. We'll see.
