[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 80 (Wednesday, June 22, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: June 22, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                             SPACE STATION

                                 ______


                            HON. JIM BACCHUS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 22, 1994

  Mr. BACCHUS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, as the House prepares to vote 
yet again on whether to move forward with the space station program, I 
want to share with my colleagues the following statement by the Hon. 
Tom Mariani, mayor of the city of Titusville, FL:

   Statement of Tom Mariani, Mayor of the City of Titusville, Florida

       Titusville is known as ``Space City, USA.'' It is located 
     at the entrance of the John F. Kennedy Space Center, Florida. 
     Since the inception of the Space Program, the citizens of 
     Titusville have witnessed ``first hand'' the manned and 
     unmanned launches of our country's space missiles starting 
     with the Mercury/Atlas series. For this reason and many more, 
     the continued funding of the space station is a top priority 
     for the vast majority of Titusville's space oriented 
     citizens.
       My comments are directed to those members of Congress who 
     have turned their backs on, or who intend to turn their backs 
     on, the dreams of many young students interested in space 
     exploration, the aerospace workers throughout the country and 
     the space research scientists.
       Much has been said and much more has been written in the 
     long debate to justify continuation of the Space Station 
     Program. I would like to quote from the final report of the 
     Advisory Committee on the ``Future of the U.S. Space 
     Program,'' dated December 1990.
       ``The question thus becomes one of what can and should the 
     U.S. afford for its civil space endeavors in a time of 
     unarguable great demands right here on earth, ranging from 
     reducing the deficit to curing disease and from improving 
     education to eliminating poverty. The answer to this question 
     is made all the more difficult because the Space Program 
     touches so many aspects of our lives and contributes to the 
     accomplishment of goals ranging from improving education to 
     enhancing our standard of living and from assuring national 
     security to strengthening communications among the people of 
     the world.''
       I believe this statement, in a nutshell, defines the issue 
     of whether the space station should be supported. The 
     question is clear, does Congress believe the future of our 
     country's Space Program depends upon continuation of the 
     Space Station? Consider this analogy, a basketball team 
     depends upon five players working together to achieve success 
     on the court. Experience has shown that if a team has at 
     least one outstanding player they will be a winner and many 
     times will be in the hunt for a national championship. When 
     considering NASA's overall Space Program, the outstanding 
     project is the Space Station. It is at the heart of the 
     entire program around which the future of space exploration 
     is dependent. The Station will provide the focus, the 
     baseline, and a catalyst to achieve our Nation's space 
     exploration goals and objectives. Congress has a decision to 
     make. Do they want to be in the hunt for a national 
     championship. We need a star player. The Space Station will 
     provide that player on the NASA team. Cut the Space Station 
     and NASA will be one of many of the fine teams playing the 
     game, but not a champion. The ball is in the Congressional 
     court. Support the Space Station and give our country a 
     national champion.

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