[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 405 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 405

   Commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Mission, and 
    supporting the week of July 16 through July 20 as the Apollo 50 
                           Celebration Week.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 23, 2019

Ms. Matsui (for herself, Mr. Shimkus, and Ms. Roybal-Allard) submitted 
   the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
                     Science, Space, and Technology

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
   Commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Mission, and 
    supporting the week of July 16 through July 20 as the Apollo 50 
                           Celebration Week.

Whereas Congress enacted the Act of August 12, 1946 (60 Stat. 997; ch. 955, 1), 
        to establish a National Air Museum, later known as the Smithsonian's 
        National Air and Space Museum (NASM), to commemorate and memorialize the 
        American story of human flight in the atmosphere and in outer space;
Whereas Congress enacted the Act of July 29, 1958 (commonly known as the 
        National Aeronautics and Space Act) (72 Stat. 426-438; 42 U.S.C. 2451 et 
        seq.), to declare a policy of peaceful space activities designed for the 
        benefit of humankind and to establish the National Aeronautics and Space 
        Administration (NASA);
Whereas, in July of 1960, NASA announced the creation of the Apollo Program, the 
        Nation's first orchestrated initiative to ferry humankind out of Earth's 
        orbit and to the Moon;
Whereas, on July 20, 1969, the Apollo 11 Mission succeeded in landing the 
        spacecraft Eagle on the surface of the Moon, piloted by two American 
        astronauts, the first humans to ever make landfall on another celestial 
        body;
Whereas, on July 20 and 21, 1969, those brave Americans became the first humans 
        to set foot on the surface of the Moon, forever changing Earth's 
        relationship with the heavens;
Whereas this momentous event was watched in wonder by hundreds of millions of 
        people back on Earth, including the hundreds of thousands of NASA 
        civilian and military staff and partners who made the Apollo Program 
        possible;
Whereas the Apollo Program continued through December of 1972 and spurred the 
        greatest development of human scientific and technological understanding 
        of any decade to that point, leading to advances in rocketry, 
        spaceflight, avionics, telecommunications, and computers, on which the 
        American public still relies today;
Whereas the National Air and Space Museum opened on the American Bicentennial in 
        July 1976 as a birthday gift to the country in celebration of the 
        Nation's highest achievements, under the leadership and vision of Museum 
        Director, NASA astronaut, and Apollo 11 Command Module Pilot Michael 
        Collins;
Whereas NASA continues to pursue space exploration on behalf of the American 
        people to increase humankind's understanding of the heavens; and
Whereas the National Air and Space Museum continues to memorialize the history 
        of American discovery and invention, and seeks to educate and inspire 
        new generations of innovators and explorers to ensure that our future 
        achievements in space are fully empowered by the achievements of the 
        past: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) congratulates the National Aeronautics and Space 
        Administration (NASA), the Apollo astronauts, and the American 
        people on the 50th anniversary of the successful Apollo 11 
        Mission;
            (2) recognizes and celebrates the 50 years of cultural and 
        technological history, legacy, and achievements of the Apollo 
        Program;
            (3) recognizes the achievements of all the administrators, 
        astronauts, engineers, scientists, and staff members who 
        contributed to the success of the Apollo Program;
            (4) reaffirms the commitment of the House of 
        Representatives to the policy declared in 1958 of peaceful 
        space exploration for the benefit of humankind;
            (5) applauds the culmination of a year's long effort by the 
        National Air and Space Museum to lead a once-in-a-generation 
        national conversation on the legacy of the Apollo Program and 
        to challenge a new century of pioneers to take our next giant 
        leap;
            (6) requests the Secretary, Smithsonian Institution, the 
        Administrator, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 
        the Executive Secretary, National Space Council, and the 
        Secretary, Department of the Interior, to coordinate and make 
        such appropriate arrangements as to express the Government's 
        recognition of the Apollo Program's achievements in and around 
        the Nation's capital and the National Mall during the Apollo 50 
        Celebration Week;
            (7) requests the Secretary, Department of the Interior, to 
        make unique and one-time arrangements for the display of NASA 
        and Smithsonian artifacts, displays, digital content or film 
        footage, as appropriate, in and around the vicinity of the 
        National Mall, including the surface of the Washington 
        Monument; and
            (8) respectfully requests that the Clerk of the House of 
        Representatives transmit an enrolled copy of this resolution to 
        the Secretary, Smithsonian Institution and Director, National 
        Air and Space Museum.
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