[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 106 (Thursday, August 4, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 4, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                   INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION IN SPACE

  Mr. BENNETT. Mr. President, sometimes, in the heat of debate and the 
flurry of technical, detailed exchange of information, we forget that 
sometimes the source of information most useful to us in making our 
decisions comes from the people whose lives are affected by the votes 
we cast.
  As I stated yesterday, when we are talking about the space station, 
we are talking about the future. When we talk about the future we 
should be thinking about those who have the greatest stake in the 
future--the children.
  Even though we voted on space station yesterday, I want to share with 
my colleagues the viewpoint of a 12-year-old student from Fairfax, VA, 
Blaire Bingham. She wrote the following brief essay on international 
cooperation in space:

       Over the past several years, there have been numerous 
     international efforts in space. Shuttle flights carrying the 
     Spacelab Research Facility as an International Microgravity 
     Lab is one, and astronauts of many countries that have flown 
     on both Russian and American spacecraft is another. But what 
     I think is the most important effort is the International 
     Space Station Alpha (ISSA), formerly Space Station Freedom. 
     ISSA is the most recent united project in an effort to bring 
     countries together to build a space station. This joint 
     effort includes the European Space Agency (ESA), the National 
     Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National 
     Space Development Agency (NASDA) from Japan, the Canadian 
     Space Agency (CSA), and the new Russia's Space Agency (RSA). 
     That to me is a huge amount of international efforts which 
     represents almost every country world-wide that has a space 
     program.
       Since different sections of ISSA are coming from different 
     country agencies, I believe ISSA is a sign of unity. When you 
     put the different sections of the space station together, it 
     forms ISSA. If we can do this in space international efforts, 
     then maybe we can do this in our own world. If we can, then I 
     and millions of other kids in this violent world won't be 
     afraid of playing in our playgrounds after school, or of 
     being robbed, kidnapped, or murdered. You see, if ISSA 
     completes its mission and goes up in space, it can show the 
     world that yes, maybe we can be like ISSA, one big peaceful 
     united group.
       Also, the men and women that go up could discover new 
     technologies and even medicines that our children can use in 
     their generation. We might not be around to see it all 
     happen, but at least we would know that thanks to us, their 
     lives are happier. If ISSA or any international efforts are 
     demolished, by not approving the funding for the project, 
     then we would be missing out on many opportunities.
       To tell you the truth, I don't know exactly how we can 
     continue with the efforts to fund ISSA, but I know we can 
     find a way. I may only be 12 years old and I might not be 
     able to do many things that can help international efforts 
     keep going, but I strongly believe that we should continue 
     with them.

  Mr. President, we may not be around to see it all happen, but 
hopefully, because of our actions, our children's lives will be happier 
and better. But to bring that to pass, we must have the courage to 
invest in the future. I thank my colleagues for joining me in voting 
for the kind of future that Blaire Bingham envisioned.

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