[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 62 (Wednesday, May 15, 2002)]
[House]
[Page H2476]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     SPACE FLIGHT PROGRAM IS ADRIFT

  (Mr. LAMPSON asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LAMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise every day to talk about Ludwig Koons 
and our need to return him from Italy to the United States, and I want 
to digress from that story, but please remember how important it is 
that we concentrate on bringing our children home.
  Today's message is about human space flight. America's human space 
flight program is adrift with no clear vision or commitment to any 
goals after the completion of the International Space Station.
  Today I will be introducing the Space Exploration Act of 2002 to 
provide a vision and a concrete set of goals for the Nation's human 
space flight program after the International Space Station. This 
legislation sets forth specific incremental goals that are exciting, 
challenging and that build capabilities and infrastructure needed for 
an ultimate human mission to Mars.
  Once America gets started on achieving the first of the human space 
flight goals listed in the bill, we have gotten over the highest hurdle 
to success in the entire initiative. We will once again be moving 
outward beyond low Earth orbit, and in the process, we will revitalize 
our space program, energize our industrial and academic sectors, create 
new opportunities for international cooperation, and inspire our young 
people.

                          ____________________