[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 98 (Friday, July 11, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H5137]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           A TRIBUTE TO NASA

  (Mr. FORD asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. FORD. Mr. Speaker, I rise this morning to praise the men and 
women of NASA, and to applaud the vision and leadership of NASA 
Administrator Dan Golden.
  The landing of the Pathfinder explorer on Mars and the subsequent 
exploration by the Sojourner rover, named after that great American 
hero, Sojourner Truth, demonstrates that the United States is the 
global leader in science, technology, and space exploration. It is 
especially fitting, Mr. Speaker, that the United States is making one 
of its most substantial achievements in space at the same time that 
President Clinton is expanding NATO, our most successful military 
alliance in contemporary history.
  In 1960, at the height of the cold war, President Kennedy challenged 
the Nation to send a man to the Moon by the end of the decade. Spurred 
by strategic competition with the Soviet Union, we met that challenge. 
Today, however, Mr. Speaker, the cold war is over, but the challenge to 
inspire our people in the national interest still exists today.
  If we expect to build on the successes of the Pathfinder mission and 
to make NATO a success well into the 21st century, we must recommit 
ourselves to educating our people, educating our young people, and 
educating those who are going off to college. A national commitment to 
education will enable us to produce the scientists, engineers, 
astronauts, and diplomats that will ensure our national security and 
make future space exploration a reality.

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