Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. WILSON of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my full support for the passage of H.R. 2726, the Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act.

I want to thank my longtime friend and Florida colleague, Representative Posey, for his outstanding leadership as the sponsor of this bill. I am proud to have worked very closely with him to build bipartisan support for this legislation. I also want to thank Speaker Ryan, Chairman Hensarling, Ranking Member Waters, and the Financial Services Committee for their work to bring this bill to the floor.

Mr. Speaker, the bill before us today authorizes the minting and distribution of commemorative coins to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first manned lunar landing mission, Apollo 11. These coins will honor Apollo 11 crew members, Michael Collins, Buzz Aldrin, and Neil Armstrong; NASA scientists, engineers, and astronauts; and the other 400,000 Americans who made the mission possible.

Surcharges from the sale of these coins will further our commitment to promote STEM education, space exploration, and science discovery. It will honor astronauts who lost their lives in service of our country and support the Destination Moon exhibit, which will feature exciting Apollo 11 artifacts.

As a former elementary school principal and leading advocate for STEM education, I am very happy that this bill supports college scholarships for future scientists, engineers, and astronauts.

Mr. Speaker, the Apollo 11 mission is a testament to our values as Americans. The mission's success reminded the world of our commitment to hard work, determination, and patriotism.

When many questioned whether we could rise to the challenge of putting a man on the Moon within a decade, we came together, worked our hardest, and achieved this daunting task in just 8 years. We left the world in awe and wonder.

When our astronauts were 4 miles past the designated landing spot and mission control told them that they had just 60 seconds of fuel left before the landing would have to be aborted, they did not panic. With unrelenting resolve, they managed to land on the Moon with only 17 seconds to spare. When Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong planted our flag on the Moon, millions of Americans felt a sense of pride that was exhilarating and inspiring.

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Ms. WILSON of Florida. As Members of Congress, we should look to Apollo 11 as inspiration as we work to tackle challenges that seem unsurmountable. I urge all of my colleagues to join me in voting for this bipartisan legislation, which has 298 cosponsors and the support of Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins, Apollo 11's two surviving astronauts.

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