Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2008

COMMERCE, JUSTICE, SCIENCE, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2008 -- (Extensions of Remarks - July 27, 2007)

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SPEECH OF
HON. ADAM B. SCHIFF
OF CALIFORNIA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
THURSDAY, JULY 26, 2007

The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 3093) making appropriations for the Departments of Commerce and Justice, and Science, and Related Agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2008, and for other purposes:

* Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. Chairman, this is an important bill that funds many crucial priorities for this Nation. I offer my congratulations to the gentleman from West Virginia, Mr. Mollohan, for crafting a bill that balances important investments in law enforcement and economic development with the need to maintain our Nation's scientific and technological leadership.

* Nowhere has Chairman Mollohan shown more foresight and wisdom than in his decision to increase our national investment in NASA, which has been at the forefront of humanity's exploration of the cosmos for the past 39 years.

* Earlier this year, I told NASA administrator Michael Griffin that I viewed the President's budget request for NASA as a floor and not a ceiling. That request, for $17.3 billion, was $1.4 billion below the congressionally authorized level and, in my view, shortchanged too much science on the one hand, while allowing no margin for error whatsoever in terms of human spaceflight.

* This budget crunch at the space agency has been brewing for several years. To start, the costs resulting from Hurricane Katrina and the Space Shuttle Return-to Flight after the Columbia tragedy were never recouped by NASA. Second, several big-ticket and vital missions have exceeded cost estimates and, third, the addition of the Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission adds an additional funding burden to NASA.

* At the same time, the FY 2007 Joint Resolution reduced NASA's human spaceflight program budget by $670 million, the practical effect of which will be at least a 6-month delay in the launch of the new Orion and Ares I, a delay that will increase the 4 year ``gap'' in American human spaceflight capability and increase our reliance on the Russians to launch and recover crew for the International Space Station.

* And, Mr. Chairman, even as we speak, the People's Republic of China is working hard to become a dominant space power--both in the civilian sector and in the military use of space.

* This budget crunch has brought us to a point of reckoning. Congress and this Nation are going to need to make some decisions about the value of space to our national life. I know that there is broad and deep support for NASA and its mission and I also believe that we should begin to ramp up the NASA budget to make our push back to the Moon a reality, while continuing to answer the great fundamental questions about our own planet and our place in the cosmos.

* It is the area of space science that most concerns me and where I think that Chairman Mollohan has been especially responsive to the needs of America's scientific community. I have a special concern for space science as my colleague from California, Mr. Dreier, and I represent the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), which is the crown jewel of NASA's efforts to explore the solar system and the universe beyond.

* One of the most exciting endeavors that NASA is engaged in is the search for the presence of planets around neighboring stars. NASA's search for planets and life beyond our solar system is having increasing and dramatic success with over 105 planets now discovered.

* For years, JPL has been working on a planet hunter spacecraft and the Space Interferometry Mission program has successfully passed all its technological milestones and is thus ready for development. SIM is expected to examine 2000-3000 stars for planetary systems to fulfill a critical step in the search for Earth-like planets.

* This mission has been supported by Congress in the last two years and by the Academy Decadal Astrophysics reports in 1990 and 2000. To this point NASA has spent approximately $300 million on the program. Unfortunately, the President's 2008 budget request for NASA drastically scaled back funding for the program--essentially putting it on ice. Thankfully, Chairman Mollohan has restored funding for SIM and directed NASA to proceed with development.

* JPL has also been the epicenter of our efforts to explore Mars. The rovers Spirit and Opportunity have been exploring the Red Planet for the past 3 1/2 years and next month the Mars Phoenix Lander will begin its journey to Mars. I am happy to report that the bill fully funds the Mars program, which allows for a new mission to be launched about every 2 years.

* Finally, NASA does not currently have an outer planets mission in development and I am happy that the bill provides $10 million to begin work on such a mission.

* Mr. Chairman, I know that many of my colleagues have expressed support today for NASA and its mission and have elaborated at length on the technological and other spinoffs from the space program. I would like to urge all of you to remember another crucial spinoff from the space program--international goodwill.

* The United States is not universally loved around the world at the moment. However, one area in which our prestige remains undiminished is in space exploration. The ESA, the Canadians, the Japanese, the Indians and many others want to partner with us. Our space program also continues to generate enormous interest and enthusiasm worldwide. In the first 2 months after Spirit and Opportunity landed on Mars in January 2004, JPL's rover website registered almost 9 billion hits from around the world. At a time when America needs ways to communicate with a growing and increasingly younger global audience, our space program is an important public diplomacy asset.

* I thank the Chairman and urge my colleagues to support the bill.

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