[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 106 (Monday, July 26, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1650]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




COMMERCIAL SPACE TRANSPORTATION COMPETITIVENESS ACT OF 1999 (H.R. 2607)

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. DANA ROHRABACHER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 26, 1999

  Mr. ROHRABACHER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to introduce the Commercial 
Space Transportation Competitiveness Act of 1999.
  Last year, the American people learned that two U.S. companies had 
helped Communist China improve its Long March launch vehicles. And 
we've all heard about the immediate and long-term impacts this is 
having on our national security.
  But this travesty was merely the symptom of a greater challenge. In 
Communist China, we have a ruthless dictatorship that is using 
commercial space activities to help its military someday compete with 
the United States. In America, however, we have a space transportation 
industry that has grown up as an extension of the government, and 
therefore hasn't been dynamic enough to meet the launch needs of our 
vibrant commercial satellite industry. Sadly, these two facts created 
the circumstances that led to the technology transfers we have learned 
about.
  Ever since I entered Congress over a decade ago I have championed the 
issue of improving America's space transportation capabilities. With 
leadership and support from colleagues like my late friend George 
Brown, the Committee on Science has reported, won House passage, and 
seen enactment of several legislative initiatives over the past decade. 
The legislation I am introducing today is another significant step 
towards the goal stated by the Select Committee led by Chris Cox and 
Norm Dicks;  improving U.S. ``space launch capacity and competition.''
  The aerospace industry--along with the FAA--has testified before the 
Space & Aeronautics Subcommittee on ways to improve U.S. launch 
competitiveness. The message we have heard loud-and-clear is that their 
top priority is the renewal of the government-industry risk sharing 
plan known as ``indemnification.'' Mr. Speaker, this bill extends 
indemnification authority for a full 5 years beyond its scheduled 
expiration this December.
  I do wish, however, that we had more time to fully consider this 
issue. Industry has been signing launch contracts for nearly 3 years 
that presupposed an automatic renewal. With little time for debate 
about whether this is the right risk sharing plan for the future, the 
Science Committee was put in a tough spot that I for one don't want to 
see repeated in 5 years.
  So this bill also directs that various government agencies and 
industry sectors present Congress with the broadest possible range of 
ideas as to whether and how this risk sharing regime should change in 
the future. Make no mistake about this: we want to give U.S. industry a 
stable business environment so they can be more competitive in the 
international marketplace. However, we also want to start the process 
now of planning for risk sharing in 2005 and beyond.
  This legislation authorizes funding through Fiscal Year 2002 for the 
FAA's Office of the Associate Administrator for Commercial Space 
Transportation. Over the past two years, Patti Grace Smith has 
dramatically reformed and improved this office. She and her staff have 
worked hard to keep up with rapid growth in U.S. commercial space 
transportation, while drafting regulations to help industry move 
forward into the era of reusable launch vehicles. For these reasons, we 
have provided this office with a steady increase in funding over the 
next 3 years.
  The other non-user agency that works with the commercial space 
transportation industry is the Office of Space Commercialization (OSC) 
within the Department of Commerce. Last year the Congress created this 
office in law, and this bill provides OSC with steady funding but 
requires the office to lay out more specific programmatic objectives 
and results so the Congress can judge its progress.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to offer this legislation to help make 
America's commercial space transportation industry more competitive. I 
want to thank Science Committee Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner for his help 
and encouragement in developing this bill. I would also like to thank 
Chairmen John McCain and Bill Frist in the Senate, and also Senator 
John Breaux, for actively focusing on commercial space transportation 
issues. We look forward to joining with them soon to send a mutually 
agreeable version of this legislation to the White House for the 
President's signature.

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