[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 121 (Thursday, September 30, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10051-S10054]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      COMMERCIAL SPACE LAUNCH ACT

  Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I have had the honor for almost 50 years 
now of being active in aviation. I have had occasion to fly almost 
every kind of airplane that is up there, and it is an experience that 
not many people get a chance to have in their normal lives. Something 
is on the horizon right now that is an opportunity for people to do, 
things that they never dreamed possible; that is, to feel and to 
experience the thrill of flight into space.
  Yesterday marked a very significant day in history. Today, the 
SpaceShipOne, designed by Burt Rutan, who happens to be a friend of 
mine, and piloted by Mike Melvill, who is a 62-year-old pilot, made the 
first flight of the two required flights to claim the $10 million 
Ansari X-Prize for carrying three people, or an equivalent weight, to 
space twice within 2 weeks.
  The brilliant concept of the Ansari X Prize exemplifies the 
excellence that can be achieved through an incentivized approach rather 
than a governmental mandate of punitive approach. To incentivize and 
safely get government out of the way is the philosophy of the 
Commercial Space

[[Page S10052]]

Launch Amendments Act of 2004, H.R. 3752. Tempt not only the pocketbook 
but also the vision of anyone who has the creativity and imagination to 
pursue it.
  Space programs originally sprang to life in the face of international 
competition. The realities of the cold war stimulated creativity, and 
innovation in a dramatic new way. This government and NASA responded 
with successes that dazzled even the most optimistic dreamer.
  Since then, space advances have gone through the same channels with 
the same motivation, but without the urgency and vision of ``The Space 
Race.''
  The Ansari X Prize is a refreshing new appeal to anyone who has the 
faith and vision to respond. It is an appeal that looks for the likes 
of Charles Lindberg--people who will think within the restraints of 
practicality but without the restraints of a rutted concept of how it 
is supposed to be done.
  I am grateful that this competition is doing what it was designed to 
do: spur a budding industry in commercial human space flight. Today's 
flight paves the way for making space flight available to the public, a 
long-time dream of many. Just imagine, ordinary people will be able to 
experience the thrill of flying in space. But despite the existing 
technology to make this dream possible, there are some obstacles.
  One such barrier stems from this body. The text of my bill, S. 2772, 
the Space CHASE Act, should pass the Senate right now as an amendment 
to H.R. 3752. H.R. 3752 readily passed the House of Representatives in 
March by a vote of 402 to 1. The House of Representatives and the 
Federal Aviation Administration have agreed to the improvements 
embodied in my Space CHASE Act, so it is better than the bill that 
passed the House by 402 to 1. However, some Democrats are blocking this 
legislation that is vital to the fledgling commercial space industry.
  The legislation would define FAA licensing rules for suborbital 
flights, as well as require passengers to sign waivers of legal 
liability. Without such a waiver, the investors fear excessive lawsuits 
by trial lawyers. Without investors, many of these fledgling 
entrepreneurial space companies will not be able to get off the ground, 
both literally and figuratively.
  Unfortunately, some Democrats want to cater to the trial lawyers who 
want the ability to file frivolous lawsuits and collect millions of 
dollars should something go wrong on a flight. Perhaps even more 
frustrating is that they will not explain exactly why they are 
objecting.
  Aviation Week is a magazine I have subscribed to for many years. It 
is a publication I have grown to respect. I have read it with frequency 
over the years. It has an excellent article in its September 27, 2004, 
edition. It states:

       One or more Democrats on the Senate Commerce Committee are 
     holding up this bill, and, maddeningly, no one will say 
     publicly what they object to.

  They are holding it up, and they won't say why they are holding it 
up.

       If they do not pass it, part of their legacy may be that of 
     having strangled an infant industry in the crib.

  I compliment the chairman of the committee, Senator McCain. He has 
been very helpful. But there are some Democrats we can't identify, as 
the Aviation Week publication states.
  I ask unanimous consent that these four pages of Aviation Week be 
printed in the Record at the conclusion of my remarks.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  (See exhibit 1.)
  Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I also want to call to the attention of 
the Senate a letter from nine discrete enterprises that are on the 
cutting edge of this burgeoning industry. They all endorse the text of 
my Space CHASE Act and call for the immediate passage of my legislation 
as a substitute language for a thus-perfected H.R. 3752.
  I commend these entrepreneurs by name: Jeff Greason, XCOR Aerospace; 
John Carmack, Armadilla Aerospace; Elon Musk, Space X; George French, 
Rocketplane, Ltd.; Eric Anderson, Space Adventures; Honorable Andrea 
Seastrand, California Space Authority; Bill Khourie, Oklahoma Space 
Industry Development Authority; Brian Chase, Space Foundation; Greg 
Allison, Chairman, Executive Committee, National Space Society.
  I ask unanimous consent that their letter also be printed in the 
Record at the conclusion of my remarks.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  (See exhibit 2.)
  Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, it is a shame when we pander to trial 
lawyers and allow them to kill an industry before it is able to get off 
the ground.
  I urge these Democrats to stop the obstruction and pass this 
important legislation that will let the American people have the 
freedom to experience space, the final frontier.

                               Exhibit 1

        [From Aviation Week & Space Technology, September, 2004]

                  Commercial Space--At a Tipping Point

       ``I have such faith in the private sector that I've dreamed 
     of the day that government monopoly would be replaced by 
     commercialization or at least some form of partnership.'' 
     Those words, on the prospects of private manned spacecraft 
     and industrial space stations, were penned by President 
     Ronald Reagan in a letter to Aviation Week & Space 
     Technology's publisher in March 1985.
       It has taken two decades, but now there are tangible 
     indications that such a dream could indeed become a reality. 
     Many of them are detailed in this week's cover story (see p. 
     54) and in the lead article of our World News and Analysis 
     section (see p. 26) But one of the most visible indications 
     is yet to come.
       This week, Scaled Composites' SpaceShipOne is set to make 
     the first of the two required flights to claim the $10 
     million Ansari X-Prize far hauling three people (or an 
     equivalent mass) to the edge of space twice within two weeks. 
     The prize could be won as early as next week. Designer Burt 
     Rutan and/or the team's backer, Microsoft billionaire Paul 
     Allen, may even climb in for the ride.
       Should Rutan's crew stumble, there are others fast on their 
     heels. A half-dozen or more serious competitors have spent 
     many times the prize money in developing their vehicles. That 
     is exactly what Peter Diamandis had in mind when he organized 
     the X-Prize Foundation a decade ago to seed a private human 
     spaceflight industry, and our hat is off to him.
       Dating even further back, there were entrepreneurs saying 
     that making human spaceflight both reliable and affordable 
     was possible with existing technology. The problems, they 
     said, were not technical but financial and political, even 
     psychological.
       Unintentionally, NASA made it hard for these pioneers to 
     attract capital. First, the agency was a competitor because 
     it operated its own expensive vehicle, the space shuttle. 
     Then, when NASA tried to develop a new, cheaper-to-operate 
     reusable vehicle, it opted to include challenging cutting-
     edge technologies, making program execution difficult and 
     expensive. As one might expect, when entrepreneurs went 
     looking on Wall Street for money for their simpler projects, 
     they were rebuffed by potential investors who believed human 
     spaceflight was inherently costly, dangerous and prone to 
     failure.
       On top of that was a chicken-and-egg problem of economics. 
     To drastically lower the costs of spaceflight, a vehicle 
     needs to fly frequently. But to find enough customers to fly 
     frequently, one needs to have low prices, and that requires 
     low costs. The solution seemed to lie in new markets, and the 
     one many believed could jump-start the private sector was 
     ``space tourism.''
       When the Russians began selling spare seats on Soyuz 
     spacecraft to dot.com zillionaires and rock stars, it became 
     harder to posit the economic impossibility of space tourism. 
     But it was the first suborbital flight of SpaceShipOne to 100 
     km. altitude, back in June, that removed the giggle factor 
     from discussions of space tourism. Pictures of pilot Mike 
     Melvill sitting atop his privately financed craft and waving 
     victoriously made the front pages of newspapers aroung the 
     world.
       Meanwhile, things had changed in the government. Many in 
     Congress ``got religion'' on commercial space (more about 
     that later). NASA began working seriously with startups such 
     as Bigelow Aerospace on manned spacecraft. And Adminstrator 
     Sean O'Keefe bought into the prize paradigm, seeing to it 
     that the agency itself would sponsor some of these fledgling 
     enterprises.
       This week, Robert T. Bigelow will make some news on that 
     front. He plans to announce a $50-million ``America's Space 
     Prize,'' an orbital analog to the X-Prize. To be sure, taking 
     humans into orbit and bringing them back safely is orders of 
     magnitude more difficult than taking them on a suborbital 
     ride, but don't dismiss the salutary effects of $50 million.
       Prizes have an important and glorious place in the history 
     of flight, dating to the days of the Wrights, Curtiss and 
     Santos-Dumont. The revolution in public understanding of the 
     practicality and possibilities of aviation that Charles A. 
     Lindbergh wrought in laying claim to the $25,000 Orteig Prize 
     in 1927 is widely seen as having been a necessary ingredient 
     for the growth of an airline industry.
       We night now be poised at a tipping point in public 
     understanding of the commercial possibilities of human 
     spaceflight. But if the X -Prize is to be remembered as 
     something more than a stunt, there must be a legal

[[Page S10053]]

     framework in place for market-based spaceflight to grow.
       There is a measure pending in Congress that would go a long 
     way to providing that framework--the Commercial Space Launch 
     Amendments Act of 2004 (H.R. 3752)--but it has been stalled 
     in the Senate for months. It would spell but FAA licensing 
     rules for suborbital flights. Most critically, the bill would 
     make it clear that paying passengers are ``spaceflight 
     participants'' who understand the risks. And it would require 
     them to sign waivers of legal liability. Without this 
     provision, the prospect of relatives of passengers suing and 
     collecting millions in damages following an accident would 
     likely scare off investors. And without outside investors, 
     many of today's space entrepreneurs will go out of business 
     in the not-too-distant future.
       This bill is not some wild-eyed libertarian scheme. It 
     passed the House in March by a vote of 402-1. Science 
     Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert of New York, perhaps the 
     ``greenest'' Republican in the House, even went along with a 
     provision that would exempt these launchers from some 
     environmental regulations. Admitting he first thought the 
     legislation ``flighty,'' Boehlert says he came to see it as 
     essential: ``This is about a lot more than `joy rides' in 
     space, although there's nothing wrong with such an 
     enterprise. This is about the future of the U.S. aerospace 
     industry.''
       One or more Democrats on the Senate Commerce Committee are 
     holding up this bill, and, maddeningly, no one will say 
     publicly what they object to. Democrats say they want the job 
     growth the Bush administration has failed to deliver. If they 
     do, they ought to pass this bill. If they do not pass it, 
     part of their legacy may be that of having strangled an 
     infant industry in the crib.
                                  ____


                               Show Time

                           (By Craig Covault)

       The Scaled Composites SpaceShipOne suborbital vehicle that 
     will attempt this week and next to twice rocket above 100 km. 
     to claim the $10-million Ansari X-Prize highlights a major 
     new wave of commercial space activity taking stride into 
     early October.
       The initiatives include the planned announcement this week 
     of a new, much larger $50-million ``America's Space Prize'' 
     to spur private development of an orbital space transport 
     that by 2010 could carry 5-7 astronauts to an orbiting 
     station.
       The new America's Space Prize is being initiated by 
     millionaire developer Robert T. Bigelow who wants a low-cost 
     manned transport to take crews to Bigelow Aerospace 
     inflatable space modules under development in North Las 
     Vegas, Nev. (see cover and p. 54).
       Until recently, individual commercial space ``wannabes'' 
     struggled for technical competence and respectability.
       But a more business-like approach by commercial space 
     company managers coupled with their innovative use of 
     technology is enabling them to capture bigger government 
     contracts, such as the $42 million just awarded by the 
     Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) for quick 
     reaction launch developments.
       The new commercial companies are also increasingly 
     ``breaking down the hidebound bureaucracies'' of NASA and the 
     larger aerospace companies, says Courtney Stadd, NASA's 
     former chief of staff. He says commercial space is beginning 
     to do this with a more diverse, and increasingly capable base 
     of dynamic new companies, staffed with younger engineers more 
     representative of the future than the past.
       They are forming in effect ``a new national incubator for 
     technology and talent'' that aerospace industry can draw upon 
     for major innovation, says Stadd, who has long been 
     affiliated with commercial space start-ups.
       Private/commercial ventures like SpaceShipOne carry an 
     inherent high-risk of failure, including the risk of a fatal 
     accident, But the new commercial space industry is far more 
     steeled to accept and recover from failure than it was 
     earlier, Stadd said.
       Several new commercial space milestones have just occurred 
     or will occur by early October. They include:
       SpaceShipOne X-Prize flights. The flights to capture the X-
     Prize are set for Sept. 29 and Oct. 4. at Mojave, Calif. 
     Propulsion subcontractor SpaceDev of Poway, Calif., itself a 
     small commercial space company, has delivered to the Burt 
     Rutan team three new SpaceShipOne systems carrying more 
     synthetic rubber fuel and nitrous oxide oxidizer than used 
     during the demonstration flight June 21 (AWST June 28, p. 
     28).
       This is to provide more performance earlier in the profile 
     when the vehicle is in the lower, more dense, atmospheric 
     phase of flight. More performance at lower altitude is 
     necessary so the engine can more assuredly propel the 
     slightly heavier X-Prize configured vehicle higher than 62 
     mi. altitude.
       Canadian Da Vinci X-Prize attempt. The Canadian Da Vinci 
     Project plans to make its first try for the X-Prize with 
     launch of a manned rocket from a balloon 80,000 ft. over 
     Kindersley, Saskatchewan, as early as Oct. 2. SpaceDev's 
     ``Dream Chaser'' manned vehicle. In a major new 
     development, SpaceDev has just signed an agreement with 
     the NASA Ames Research Center for technology collaboration 
     in the design of what initially would be a new higher-
     performance commercial manned suborbital vehicle capable 
     of carrying 3-5 people to about 100 mi. altitude. This 
     compares with about 62 mi. for the 1-3-person 
     SpaceShipOne.
       The new vehicle will be designed using the basic 
     aerodynamic shape of the Orbital Sciences/U.S Air Force X-34 
     demonstrator that never flew before cancellation. The X-34 
     concept, but not the original hardware, will be redesigned 
     for manned vertical launch on suborbital flights as early as 
     2008, depending upon the flow of commercial or government 
     funding for the program, said Jim Benson, SpaceDev chairman 
     and CEO. SpaceDev and Ames will work on potential utilization 
     of the vehicle by NASA, USAF or the private sector. Benson's 
     ultimate objective is to scale the Dream Chaser design to an 
     orbital vehicle.
       SpaceX Falcon 1 to Vandenberg. The first privately 
     developed low-cost Falcon 1 unmanned orbital launch vehicle 
     has been completed by SpaceX at its El Segundo plant and is 
     to be taken late this week or early next to its launch pad at 
     Vandenberg AFB, Calif. This major milestone could lead to the 
     first launch by late November, if a static firing on the pad 
     can be completed before the Western Range closes for upgrades 
     throughout December, says Elon Musk, CEO of Space Exploration 
     Technologies (SpaceX).
       Musk told Aviation Week & Space Technology he now has four 
     firm contracts with deposits for Falcon missions, including 
     one just signed with the Malaysian Space Agency. Two others 
     are from the U.S. government and one from Bigelow Aerospace 
     for launch of a Genesis one-third scale inflatable module.
       Commercial Zero-G flights. Amerijet International of Fort 
     Lauderdale, Fla., has just become the first commercial 
     airline ever to receive FAA certification for commercial 
     parabolic weightless flight operations. The flights are to 
     begin Oct. 9, at about $3,000 per person. The project will 
     use a Boeing 727-200 to conduct parabolic tourist flights out 
     of the Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood, Fla., International Airport 
     in connection with the Zero-6 Corp.
       NASA Commercial Transportation Call. NASA has just issued a 
     comprehensive ``request for information'' sounding out the 
     aerospace industry for new concepts in commercial space 
     transportation services related to the agency's new 
     exploration initiative. It is the single most comprehensive 
     call for commercial space transportation concepts ever made 
     by the agency. Responses, on which new contracting can be 
     based, are due back next September.
       Darpa/USAF Rapid Launch Awards. Nearly $42 million in 
     development contracts are just being awarded to four 
     companies, mostly commercial space start-ups, as Phase II in 
     the Darpa/USAF Falcon Small Launch Vehicle (SLV) program. The 
     effort is designed to lead to a much more rapid launch 
     capability for 1,000-lb. critical U.S. military satellites 
     for less than $5 million per mission.
       Except for Lockheed Martin, which received $11.6 million, 
     all of the winners are small start-up companies. Lockheed's 
     concept builds on its Michoud, La., development of a hybrid 
     powered system burning nontoxic fuel and liquid oxygen (AWST 
     Feb. 3, 2003, p. 54).
       There is a range of innovative launch concepts among the 
     commercial start-up companies that won, but only AirLaunch 
     would deploy its two-stage ``QuickReach'' liquid propellant 
     booster from a C-17 that could be staged from literally any 
     friendly airfield around the world.
       It won $11.3 million to explore the concept that could 
     provide great launch flexibility. Several small commercial 
     space companies including Space Vector Inc. of Chatsworth, 
     Calif., and Universal Space Lines of Newport Beach, Calif., 
     are part of the AirLaunch team.
       Another winner was Microcosm of El Segundo, Calif., that is 
     developing the simple liquid oxygen/kerosene pressure-fed 
     ``Scorpius'' engine system. Microcosm won $10.4 million to 
     further develop its 52-ft.-long Sprite launcher using a six-
     barrel cluster of the engines to provide 120,000 lb. of 
     liftoff thrust.
       SpaceX, also based in El Segundo, won $8 million for its 
     Falcon launcher. The project, by coincidence, has the same 
     name as the overall Air Force/Darpa program.
       All of the selected companies are to conduct 10-month 
     preliminary design studies toward a downselect to one or more 
     competitors that will perform an actual launch in 2007.
       But since SpaceX is more advanced in hardware fabrication 
     than the other competitors, Darpa and USAF have asked it to 
     perform an ``Early Responsive Launch Test'' with a Falcon 1 
     launch about July 2005. Musk said the objective will be to 
     cut the Falcon's launch pad time by 50%--to just one week.
       This Aviation Week & Space Technology editor recently saw 
     the first Falcon flight vehicle in final assembly at the 
     SpaceX plant in El Segundo.
       It is being readied this week for the trip to Vandenberg 
     AFB and mounting on its launch pad.
       The flight engines have completed their final pre-
     integration qualification tests at SpaceX test facilities 
     near McGregor, Tex., and development engines and components 
     continue to be tested at the site. Earlier turbopump problems 
     have been solved. But some other engine components, earlier 
     made of aluminum, have been switched to Inconel because of a 
     hairline crack found in one several weeks ago.
       The Falcon 1 first stage will likely end up weighing less 
     than its specification weight--a highly positive factor. This 
     is because earlier delays allowed the program enough time to 
     switch a composite interstage for a heavier aluminum 
     structure, saving about 150 lb.

[[Page S10054]]

     Also switching the overall thrust frame from steel to 
     titanium has saved another 100 lb. These improvements will be 
     especially helpful when the vehicle eventually begins to 
     launch heavier payloads, Musk said.
                                  ____


                               Exhibit 2

                                               September 21, 2004.
     Senator John McCain,
     Chair, Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation, 241 
         Russell Building, Washington, DC.
     Senator Sam Brownback,
     Chair, Subcommittee on Science Technology, & Space, 303 Hart 
         Building, Washington, DC.
     Senator Ernest Hollings,
     Ranking Member, Committee on Commerce, Science, & 
         Transportation, 125 Russell Building, Washington, DC.
     Senator John Breaux,
     Chair, Subcommittee on Science Technology, & Space, 503 Hart 
         Building, Washington, DC.
       Dear Sirs, we are writing to respectfully urge that the 
     Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation 
     quickly report out and secure Senate passage of a perfected 
     H.R. 3752, the Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act of 
     2004.
       As you know, the U.S. commercial expendable launch vehicle 
     industry is challenged by a highly competitive international 
     market, and NASA's recent orbital reusable launch vehicle 
     development programs have not been successful. Fortunately, 
     the recent emergence of a suborbital reusable launch vehicle 
     industry demonstrates that American entrepreneurs are 
     bringing new private resources and ideas to bear on the vital 
     goal of advancing U.S. space transportation capabilities and 
     competitiveness, largely to pursue new commercial human 
     spaceflight markets.
       The Commercial Space Launch Act of 1984 (CSLA) as amended 
     (49 U.S.C. 70101 et seq.) gives the Secretary of 
     Transportation sole regulatory authority over commercial 
     space transportation, which has been delegated to the FAA's 
     Office of the Associate Administrator for Commercial Space 
     Transportation (ASST). That jurisdiction includes launches of 
     a `suborbital rocket' on a `suborbital trajectory,' but 
     unfortunately those terms were never defined in law. 
     Furthermore, the CSLA is silent on the issue of whether such 
     vehicles might carry persons. Therefore, confusion has 
     developed as to whether some of these suborbital RLVs might 
     be regulated as a rocket or an airplane, or worse still, as 
     both. Last summer a joint hearing of the Senate Science, 
     Technology, and Space Subcommittee and the House Space & 
     Aeronautics Subcommittee heard strong and unanimous testimony 
     that this regulatory uncertainty was a real and unnecessary 
     barrier to private investment in, and therefore the success 
     of, this new suborbital RLV industry, and that Congress 
     needed to fill in the ``legislative gap'' in the CSLA.
       To address this issue, the House Science Committee crafted 
     H.R. 3752 after holding an additional public hearing, a 
     private forum, and extensive individual consultations with a 
     broad range of interested and disinterested parties. The 
     legislation not only creates the regulatory clarity needed by 
     industry, but strikes an important balance among competing 
     public policy objectives.
       For example, the legislation continues the CSLA's priority 
     of protecting the safety of the uninvolved public, and also 
     affirms FAA/AST's authority to set safety-related 
     requirements for crew in these new vehicles. H.R. 3752 and 
     its committee report also directs FAA to promulgate 
     regulations requiring the full disclosure of the safety 
     records of human spaceflight vehicles and their operating 
     companies to all prospective customers, giving them informed 
     consent. (This is very different from the laissez faire 
     approach which existed during the barnstorming days of 
     aviation.)
       The bill also creates a new, streamlined experimental 
     permit regime that allows for expedited review of non-revenue 
     flight test of vehicles so that companies can demonstrate 
     safe operating records before proceeding to revenue flight. 
     It should be noted that flights under experimental permits 
     would not be eligible to receive federal indemnification 
     against third party claims, and even during revenue flight 
     the spaceflight participants would not be eligible to receive 
     indemnification.
       For all of these reasons, H.R. 3752 was sponsored by the 
     committee's bipartisan leadership, and passed the House of 
     Representatives by the overwhelming vote of 402 to 1 in March 
     of this year.
       In recent months, Congressional staff, the FAA, and various 
     industry participants have developed compromise language that 
     would provide greater clarity over regulatory jurisdiction of 
     so-called hybrid suborbital rockets. With these changes, 
     which are attached to this letter, H.R. 3752 is ready for 
     final consideration in and passage by the Committee on 
     Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee and the full 
     Senate.
       We, the undersigned leaders of this industry and supporting 
     public policy organizations, therefore respectfully urge you 
     to support this consensus amendment and send a perfected H.R. 
     3752 to the Senate floor this month for passage by unanimous 
     consent so it can be reconsidered by the House and enacted 
     into law before the November election.
           Truly yours,
         Jeff Greason, XCOR Aerospace; Elon Musk, Space X; Eric 
           Anderson, Space Adventures; Bill Khourie, Oklahoma 
           Space Industry Development Authority; Greg Allison, 
           Chairman, Executive Committee National Space Society; 
           John Carmack, Armadillo Aerospace; George French, 
           Rocketplane, Ltd; Hon. Andrea Seastrand, California 
           Space Authority; Brian Chase, Space Foundation.

  Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________