One Small Step to Protect Human Heritage in Space Act

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 1694, the One Small Step to Protect Human Heritage in Space Act.

As an original cosponsor of the House companion bill, H.R. 3766, I certainly appreciate the importance of respecting the historic significance of the Apollo missions.

Mr. Speaker, I represent Johnson Space Center, or JSC, the home of NASA's Mission Control and the men and women who made the Apollo missions possible. JSC has a long history of developing spacecraft and conducting missions in space.

From the very earliest Mercury missions that put the first Americans in space through Gemini and Apollo missions, as well as the space shuttle and International Space Station era, Houston has been the anchor of our Nation's human spaceflight program. As NASA develops the next generation of human spaceflight capabilities, Houston and JSC will remain America's tether to deep space.

But while it is important to recognize and respect the accomplishments of the past, we should not simply rest on our laurels. We have a lot more to do.

Mr. Speaker, America does not look longingly in the rearview mirror of history. We stand on the shoulders of giants and carry the torch lit by those before us farther into the unknown. The bill before us correctly balances these two competing interests: respecting the past and enabling the future.

The Outer Space Treaty, drafted at the dawn of the space age, lays out important principles for all spacefaring nations. It calls for establishing the Principle of Due Regard, which respects the activities of actors in space and creates a process for signatories to the treaty to undertake appropriate consultations before any action that would potentially cause harmful interference with another party to the treaty.

More importantly, the treaty establishes, in its opening article, the overarching principle that outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, shall be free for exploration and use by all states without discrimination of any kind on the basis of equality and in accordance with international law, and there shall be free access to all areas of celestial bodies.

This bill directs NASA to continue developing recommendations and best practices that protect this freedom while also respecting the Principle of Due Regard and informing the practice of consultation ahead of potentially harmful interference with the Apollo landing artifacts. The bill also calls on NASA to include these recommendations in all contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, and partnerships.

The bill does not create any additional regulatory authority. Instead, the bill offers a carrot rather than a stick. If the private sector wants to leverage the vast experience and resources that NASA offers, they simply must abide by NASA's own internal policies.

NASA is not a regulatory agency, and this bill does not grant any other agency any new power or mechanism to influence commercial space activities. This will allow our Nation's emerging and vibrant commercial space sector to continue to innovate, while also respecting the rich archaeological, anthropological, historical, scientific, and engineering accomplishments of the Apollo program.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Lucas, Senator Peters, Senator Cruz, and Chairwoman Johnson for working with me to get this bill across the finish line.

I also thank Chairwoman Kendra Horn for her leadership over the last 2 years. Her tenure as chairwoman for the Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics was marked by significant change and accomplishments for our Nation's space program.

Her steady and fair treatment for all Members' interests should serve as a shining example to this distinguished body. She will be missed, and I wish her the very, very best in the future.

Mr. Speaker, I recommend swift passage of this measure, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. KENDRA S. HORN of Oklahoma.

Mr. Speaker, I want to begin by first thanking Ranking Member Babin, as well as Chairwoman Johnson and Ranking Member Lucas and Senators Peters and Cruz, for their work on this.

Particularly, I thank Ranking Member Babin. It has truly been an honor to be able to work with his on these issues and to do so in a constructive way that advances policy that is good for the United States, for discovery, for innovation, and for our leadership in a way that we can come together.

Space is one of those areas where it is and should be bipartisan, where we can come together for the best interests of our Nation, to continue to advance discovery and to encourage innovation.

Mr. Speaker, this bill does just that. It finds the right balance between preserving the heritage of the Apollo era, for a reminder of what we can accomplish when we come together to work, to advance technology, to do what has never been done before, while not placing too much burden on our ability to move forward into the future and advance that discovery.

Our Nation's space program has long served as a source of inspiration and innovation and helped make sure that we, as a nation, are a leader in technology, innovation, and discovery.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage swift passage of this bill. I encourage all of my colleagues to vote ``yea,'' and I yield back the balance of my time.

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