[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 134 (Tuesday, October 24, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1893]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


  CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 4635, DEPARTMENTS OF VETERANS AFFAIRS AND 
HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, AND INDEPENDENT AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS 
                               ACT, 2001

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                               speech of

                    HON. F. JAMES SENSENBRENNER, JR.

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 19, 2000

  Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, as the House proceeds to consider the 
Conference Report accompanying H.R. 4635, the Veterans Administration 
and Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Act of Fiscal Year 
2001, I wish to highlight several provisions of this legislation that 
are important to our nation's science enterprise.

             National Aeronautics and Space Administration

  By providing a total of $14.3 billion for NASA in FY01, this bill 
increases NASA's budget above the President's request by some $250 
million and represents an increase of $683 million over the previous 
fiscal year. This is a significant increase for NASA and represents 
continued strong Congressional support for the agency's mission, 
following on the heels of passage of H.R. 1654, the NASA 
reauthorization bill, which is now awaiting the President's signature.
  The bill fully funds the Space Shuttle, the International Space 
Station, Mars exploration, and the Space Launch Initiative. Equally 
significant, this bill provides the resources necessary to permit NASA 
to fund a broad range of space science programs, life and microgravity 
research activities, earth science, and aeronautics research. It is 
vitally important that NASA continue to maintain an array of ongoing, 
basic research and development programs.
  There are some areas of concern NASA must continue to deal with, 
including serious programmatic slips in the X-33, X-34, and the X-37 
programs. NASA must also endeavor to improve its management under the 
``faster, better, cheaper'' paradigm, insuring that missions are 
designed without taking on unreasonable levels of risk.
  I am also greatly concerned about NASA's apparent efforts to sole-
source a $600 million research contract under the ``Living With a 
Star'' program. NASA appears to be bending acquisition rules to 
preclude our national community of research and development 
laboratories from competing for this very important initiative. I am 
disturbed by NASA's actions and will continue to monitor this contract 
to insure that their justification for sole-source meets the spirit and 
letter of the law.
  That being said, I support increased funding for NASA as provided in 
H.R. 4635 and compliment Veterans Administration and Housing and Urban 
Development Subcommittee Chairman Walsh for his efforts to strengthen 
NASA's programs. The funding levels and initiatives contained in this 
bill bode well for NASA's future.

                      National Science Foundation

  Concerning the National Science Foundation, I support the provisions 
in the conference report providing a Fiscal Year 2001 funding level of 
$4.4 billion, the largest NSF budget ever and an increase of $529 
million over the previous fiscal year.
  I think it is important that the role of NSF in providing the 
intellectual capital needed both for economic growth and biomedical 
research be more widely recognized. We are in the midst of one of the 
Nation's longest economic expansions that owes much to the 
technological changes driven by basic scientific research conducted 10 
to 15 years ago. Many of today's new industries, which provide good, 
high paying jobs, can be linked directly to research supported by NSF 
in the 1980s and 1990s. Moreover, many of the breakthroughs in 
biomedical research have their underpinnings in research and 
technologies developed by investigators under NSF grants.
  I wish to emphasize, too, the critical research in information 
technology carried out under the National Science Foundation's 
auspices. Future developments in computational research will help 
scientists in the U.S. advance the boundaries of all fields of science, 
and is vitally important that the U.S. maintain a leadership role in 
information technology. Reflecting this commitment, the Science 
Committee successfully passed H.R. 2086 through the House, legislation 
calling for new government emphasis in this important field. H.R. 4635 
significantly increases funding for information technology research, 
and again I commend Mr. Walsh for his support of NSF and IT research 
spending.
  Mr. Speaker, while I support the funding levels provided for National 
Aeronautics and Space Administration and the National Science 
Foundation, there are also provisions in this bill that I oppose. 
Unfortunately H.R. 4733, the Energy and Water Appropriations bill, has 
been added to the Veterans Administration and Housing and Urban 
Development Appropriations bill. Of particular concern is the National 
Ignition Facility. The Department of Energy has badly mismanaged this 
program, potentially wasting over $900 million of taxpayers' money 
without any clear indication that NIF will actually work. NIF is over 
budget, behind schedule, and may not work. In the face of these 
difficulties, I think it is wrong to reward DOE's incompetence by 
providing--as this conference report does--$199 million for the 
project.
  I voted against overturning the President's veto on the Energy and 
Water Conference Report just last week and I will vote against this 
measure today. I regret that H.R. 4733 has been made part of the 
Veterans Administration and Housing and Urban Development 
Appropriations bill.

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