Women in Aerospace Education Act

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. VEASEY. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4254, the Women in Aerospace Education Act. I want to thank Mr. Knight and Ms. Esty for introducing this very important piece of legislation.

Women continue to be underrepresented in the aerospace sector. For example, a 2016 analysis revealed that over the past 15 years, women have made up, on average, just 15 percent of NASA's planetary mission science teams.

While there has been increasing interest in supporting women's advancement in all STEM fields, particularly on the Science, Space, and Technology Committee, the low representation of women on NASA's planetary science mission teams has remained largely unchanged. I am heartened by recent efforts at NASA to tackle the issue of diversity on its planetary science mission teams.

The 2016 New Frontiers 4 call for proposals included new language highlighting the benefits of diverse and inclusive mission teams. I was pleased to see that one of the finalists for this competition, the Dragonfly mission to Saturn's moon Titan, is led by a woman.

Additionally, one of the two missions selected in 2017 for NASA's Discovery Program, the Psyche mission to a metallic asteroid, is also led by a woman. The principal investigator of the Psyche mission, Dr. Lindy Elkins-Tanton, is now the second woman to lead a competitive planetary science mission for NASA.

Yesterday's successful landing of NASA's InSight spacecraft on the surface of Mars offers another reason to feel optimistic. The team of scientists and engineers that made the groundbreaking landing possible included 135 women, or about 25 percent of the team. To build on this progress, H.R. 4254 addresses the challenges in recruiting and retaining talented women in aerospace by directing NASA to promote internship and fellowship opportunities to women. The bill also directs NSF to include research experiences at National Laboratories and NASA centers in the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program.

Research has shown that the best teams are those in which good ideas are heard. Gender diversity on NASA's planetary science missions and in the aerospace sector more broadly will lead to more diverse questions and approaches to solutions. To get the best science, we need more women in aerospace, and H.R. 4254 will help to get us there.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my fellow Members to support H.R. 4254, and I yield back the balance of my time.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source