Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration

COMMEMORATING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION -- (House of Representatives - July 09, 2008)

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Mr. McCAUL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I want to thank my colleague and friend from the Houston area for his support in this resolution.

I rise today in support of H. Res. 1315, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, otherwise known as NASA. NASA was founded on July 29, 1958. On May 5, 1961, the first American was launched into space on Freedom 7, and that was Alan Shepard. On July 20, 1969, President Kennedy's dream was fulfilled when Apollo 11 landed on the Moon. Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the Moon at that time, and the first space shuttle Columbia launched on April 12, 1981.

NASA has inspired generations of interest in science and engineering in young people. I remember taking one of the astronauts through my school district all the way from Houston to Austin, Texas, and just the hope and the dreams that she and NASA's program inspires in our young people, particularly in the fields of math and science, is truly an inspiration, I think, for all of us as Members of Congress.

NASA's work has really led to technological and scientific advantages that benefit everyone in society, including satellite communications. We all use cell phones. Lord knows we all use our BlackBerrys here in Congress and elsewhere. We have a great understanding of the human body because of the knowledge gained during man's space flight.

This program, based at the Johnson Space Center in Mr. Lampson's district and not too far from mine, is an important part of the Houston area economy. More than 15,000 people are employed at the Johnson Space Center, and NASA's work is an example of how the government and the private sector can work together to make this world a better place.

It's vital that the Congress act, in my view, to minimize the gap between the retirement of the space shuttle and the start of Orion, to maintain our leadership role in space exploration. And through the International Space Station, NASA currently serves as a model of international cooperation.

NASA's work has greatly expanded our knowledge of our universe. The Hubble Telescope, as my colleague from Houston talked about, launched in 1990, is still providing us with useful data and bringing the schoolchildren the wonders of space. NASA has sent probes to eight different planets in the solar system.

We can't think about the space program without the President who launched it, President Kennedy, and when he explained why space exploration is so important and so necessary, he said, ``The exploration of space will go ahead, whether we join it or not, and it is one of the greatest adventures of all time, and no Nation which expects to be the leader of other Nations can expect to stay behind in this race for space ..... We set sail on this new sea because there is new knowledge to be gained and new rights to be won, and they must be won and used for all people.''

With that, Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. McCAUL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, let me say once again how proud I am have to have introduced this resolution. I appreciate the support of the gentleman from Texas, my friend and colleague, and the support of the colleagues on my side of the aisle as well.

The NASA space program has proven to provide a great return on our investment in terms of Federal research and development dollars, and I would urge this Congress to continue that investment.

A recent article in The Washington Post today outlined that the U.S. finds it's getting crowded out in terms of dominance in space as other nations step up their efforts. China plans to conduct its first spacewalk in October. The European Space Agency is building a roving robot to land on Mars. And India recently launched a record 10 satellites into space on a single rocket. We cannot fall behind. That is not the intent, the purpose, the vision of NASA.

``Space, like Earth below, is globalizing. And as it does, America's long-held superiority in exploring, exploiting and commercializing the final frontier is slipping away,'' according to this article, ``many experts believe.''

And although the United States remains dominant in most space-related fields and owns half the military satellites currently orbiting Earth, experts say the Nation's superiority is diminishing and many other nations are expanding their civilian and commercial space capabilities at a far faster pace.

Michael Griffin said, ``We spent tens of billions of dollars during the Apollo era to purchase a commanding lead in space over all nations on Earth.'' However, this agency's budget is down 20 percent since 1992. According to Mr. Griffin, ``We've been living off the fruit of that purchase for 40 years and have not chosen to invest at a level that would preserve that commanding lead.''

We have authorized funding for NASA. I was proud to support that; I think we can do better. We need to continue to support this very important program which provides not only great scientists and engineers for this country, but allows us to be competitive globally in all areas, including science and technology and energy, but also in the wonders of space.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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