Nasa Enhanced Use Leasing Extension Act of 2021

Floor Speech

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Mr. CARTER of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, Louisiana, is known as America's rocket factory.

For over 55 years, Michoud has manufactured large vehicles and components for NASA, from the Apollo program to the space shuttle to the Space Launch System, or the SLS.

Michoud is the main manufacturing and assembly site for SLS, which will take us to the furthest reaches of our solar system.

This site employs approximately 3,500 people but supports more than 6,000 jobs nationwide. This includes government civil service workers, contractors, and staff of other government agencies, as well as commercial firms, including firms from Louisiana that create a significant number of jobs and economic opportunities.

The National Center for Advanced Manufacturing, a partnership between NASA, the State of Louisiana, Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, and the University of New Orleans, also calls Michoud home. The total economic output of Michoud is over $830 million.

All this to say, Michoud is an indispensable part of the New Orleans' economy, New Orleans' community, and our Nation's space program.

Sites like Michoud would benefit greatly from the passage of H.R. 5746, which reauthorizes the enhanced use leases needed to keep up production.

I am proud to be an original cosponsor of this bill and ask that all Members support this bill. I urge a ``yea'' vote for this incredibly important piece of legislation to maintain and to continue the work that we have done at Michoud with NASA for our country.

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