[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 110 (Friday, July 30, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H6744-H6745]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        DO NOT CUT NASA'S BUDGET

  (Mr. ROGAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks and include extraneous 
material.)
  Mr. ROGAN. Mr. Speaker, the House is recommending a $1.4 billion cut 
out of NASA's budget. This is wrong. With the string of accomplishments 
and world firsts under its belt, NASA has exceeded its goals of both 
this decade, 40 years ago to send men to the moon and return them 
safely to earth.
  Under these proposed cuts, one of NASA's primary installations, the 
Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California will be the hardest 
hit. Their vital research leading us into the next century would be 
decimated by this action. The American people need to know that this is 
wrong, and I intend to join with my colleagues to fight these cuts.
  NASA and JPL have proven that, in an era of diminishing Federal 
budgets, we can achieve results, in NASA Directors Dan Goldin's words, 
that are ``faster, better and cheaper.'' We must not reward NASA's 
efficiency by further slashing their budget.
  I urge my colleagues and the House leadership to reinstate full 
funding for NASA, JPL, and America's crucial space science programs. 
Those who wish to cut funds for NASA and JPL are the heirs of those who 
scoffed at Columbus because they thought the earth was flat.
  Mr. Speaker, I include the following article for the Record:
                                          Thursday, July 29, 1999.

                          NASA Deserves Better

     America's record budget surplus has left the nation more able 
     than ever to reach for the stars, but to the astonishment of 
     scientists a House appropriations subcommittee on Monday 
     approved a spending bill that increases most federal agency 
     budgets but takes a $1.4-billion bite out of NASA's budget. 
     That's 11%. Worse, the cut tends to target the agency's most 
     cost-efficient and significant projects. Officials at 
     Pasadena's Jet Propulsion Laboratory say the change would 
     sharply set back JPI research.
       The decision of the Republican-dominated subcommittee to 
     scrap the Triana satellite was easy enough to understand. In 
     that oddball project, a camera on the satellite would 
     broadcast a live picture of Earth over the Internet, an idea 
     conceived by Vice President Al Gore. Its demise wouldn't slow 
     the forward march of science, but the subcommittee's other 
     cuts would. They include: $100 million for the Space Infrared 
     Telescope, which would enable scientists to detect ``brown 
     dwarfs,'' substellar objects that the existing Hubble and 
     Chandra space telescopes have trouble seeing. Their number 
     and density must be known in order to calculate the mass of 
     the universe and thus its age and ultimate fate. $200 million 
     for the Earth Observation system. This proposal for a network 
     of satellites--conceived in the Reagan administration and 
     officially initiated by President George Bush--would create 
     Earth's first integrated system for understanding how clouds 
     and other fine particles affect global temperatures and 
     climate. The answers could help nations prepare for 
     hurricanes, droughts, global warming and other climate 
     changes.
       NASA director Daniel S. Goldin turned NASA into a model for 
     efficient, small government projects. In the 1960s NASA used 
     4% of the nation's budget to put a man on the moon--an 
     inspiring endeavor that nonetheless yielded only marginal 
     scientific returns. Today the agency's far more economical 
     missions reap huge amounts of worthwhile

[[Page H6745]]

     data while consuming less than 1% of the federal budget.
       That's why members of the full House Appropriations 
     Committee should restore NASA's funding when they take up the 
     agency's budget on Friday. Democrats on the committee are 
     expected to support restoration, but Republican members might 
     need persuading. You can encourage them by calling the 
     numbers below.
       To take Action: Reps. Jerry Lewis (R-Redlands); Ron Packard 
     (R-Oceanside); and Randy ``Duke'' Cunningham (R-San Diego).

                          ____________________