[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 23 (Tuesday, February 28, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E228-E229]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO MARCIA S. SMITH

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. SHERWOOD BOEHLERT

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 28, 2006

  Mr. BOEHLERT. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to draw our colleagues' 
attention to the pending retirement of Marcia S. Smith from the 
Congressional Research Service after over thirty years of service to 
Congress. Marcia is one of the preeminent and most highly respected 
policy analysts in her field, and while she will remain an active 
figure in space and telecommunications policy at the National Academy 
of Sciences, her intelligence, expertise, objectivity and balance will 
be greatly missed on both sides of Capitol Hill.
  Marcia Smith began her career at the Congressional Research Service 
in 1975, after graduating from Syracuse University with a degree in 
political science. She quickly became an accomplished and adept analyst 
in space and aerospace policy, rising to Specialist in Aerospace and 
Telecommunications Policy, first in the Science Policy Research 
Division, and then in the Resources, Science and Industry Division, of 
CRS. In her service to Congress, she has provided background and 
analytic reports, memoranda, committee prints and expert testimony to 
Members of Congress and committees of the U.S. Congress on matters 
concerning U.S. and foreign military and civilian space activities, and 
on telecommunications issues (and formerly on nuclear energy).
  Marcia has been a mentor and advisor to over a dozen CRS analysts and 
researchers during her time in that organization. She was Section Head 
for Space and Defense Technologies from 1987-1991, and Section Head for 
Energy, Aerospace and Transportation Technologies from 1984-1985.
  To give my colleagues an idea of how prolific and proficient Marcia 
Smith has been during service to Congress, she has authored or 
coauthored over 160 reports and articles on space, nuclear energy, and 
telecommunications policies and issues. She has testified as an expert 
witness before House and Senate Committees nearly 20 times, a 
significant number of those times in front of the committee I chair, 
the Committee on Science.
  I would like to point out 2 instances in which Marcia has served both 
Congress and her country in an exemplary manner. In both instances, 
these were circumstances marked by tragedy--when the Space Shuttle 
Challenger was lost at launch on January 28, 1986, and again when the 
Space Shuttle Columbia was lost during re-entry on February 1, 2003. 
Within hours of the Challenger disaster, Marcia was briefing 
congressional staff and talking to Members of Congress about the 
technical, policy, and human costs of this accident. She was widely 
interviewed and quoted by the national and international news media. 
And in the painful months following the accident,

[[Page E229]]

Marcia worked with Congress to provide oversight, investigation, and 
new policy directions in our national space program.
  In 2003, the unthinkable happened again--another shuttle disaster. 
And while this occurred on a Saturday, Marcia spent the entire weekend 
in her office, writing a report that detailed the Columbia program, 
what we knew then of the accident, and potential congressional outcomes 
for re-examining the purpose and scope of human space flight. This 
report was ready for Congress first thing the following Monday morning.
  Let me also add that Marcia has helped Congress in so many other 
areas of space policy that has brought us as a nation forward. She has 
worked with us on the Mission to Planet Mars, international space 
policy and issues revolving around the International Space Station, and 
the President Bush's National Space Policy. She is an expert on the 
NASA budget, and has a working and encyclopedic knowledge of space 
launches and flights, going back to the Sputnik launches and the 
Mercury Program.
  In addition, Marcia Smith has exemplified the type of professional 
growth and development that we in Congress have come to expect from 
senior-level policy experts at the Congressional Research Service. From 
1985-1986, Ms. Smith took a leave of absence to serve as Executive 
Director of the U.S. National Commission on Space. The Commission, 
created by Congress and its members appointed by the President, 
developed long term (50 year) goals for the civilian space program 
under the chairmanship of (the late) former NASA Administrator Thomas 
Paine. The Commission published its results in the report Pioneering 
the Space Frontier.

  Marcia Smith has continued her professional accomplishments even as 
she makes this transition in her career. She is a Trustee of the 
International Academy of Astronautics (and co-chairs the Space 
Activities and Society Committee, and is a member of the International 
Space Policies and Plans Committee and the Scientific-Legal Liaison 
Committee). She has been a member of the Committee on Human Exploration 
(CHEX) of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences' Space Studies Board 
(1992-93, 1996-97). She is a Fellow of the American Institute of 
Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). She serves on AIAA's Ethical 
Conduct Panel, and the International Activities Committee; was a member 
of the International Space Year Committee (1989-1992), the Public 
Policy Committee (1982-1989) and the Space Systems Technical Committee 
(1986-1989); was an AIAA Distinguished Lecturer (1983-1988); and was a 
member of the Council of AIAA's National Capital Section (1994-1996). 
She is a member of the Kettering Group of space observers. She is a 
Fellow of the British Interplanetary Society. She is a member of the 
Board of Directors of the International Institute of Space Law (IISL) 
and of the Association of U.S. Members of the IISL. She was President 
of the American Astronautical Society (1985-1986), on its Board of 
Directors (1982-1985), and Executive Committee (1982-1987,1988-1989). 
She is a Life Member of the New York Academy of Sciences and the 
Washington Academy of Sciences (Board of Directors, 1988-1989). She is 
a member of Sigma Xi (the honorary scientific research society). Ms. 
Smith serves on the editorial boards of the journals Space Policy and 
Space Forum, and is a contributing editor for the Smithsonian 
Institution's Air & Space magazine. She is listed in several ``Who's 
Who'' directories, including Who's Who in the World, Who's Who of 
American Women, and American Men and Women of Science.
  Marcia Smith was also a founder of Women in Aerospace, was its 
President (1987) and member of its Board of Directors (1984-1990), and 
is an Emeritus Member. Women in Aerospace is a nonprofit organization 
dedicated to promoting the advancement of women in aerospace and 
recognizing their achievements. In September 2003, I had the honor of 
presenting Marcia with the Women in Aerospace Lifetime Achievement 
Award. In my remarks, I commented that her unselfishness and service to 
her country served as models for everyone who works for Congress and 
therefore their country. That holds true today as it did then. And, as 
a founding member of Women in Aerospace, Marcia has clearly made a mark 
on supporting the role of women professionals in the space community.
  Marcia once said of her position at CRS, that working for Congress, 
she was extremely busy, put in long hours, often became exhausted--but 
never bored. Members of Congress and the Committees they serve on have 
been the beneficiaries of this work ethic, high levels of thoroughness 
and competence, and keen analytical skills. I would ask that my 
colleagues on both sides of the aisle recognize and thank Marcia Smith 
for the contributions she has made during her time with the 
Congressional Research Service, and her outstanding performance and 
service to Congress, and for the American people.

                          ____________________