[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 122 (Friday, July 27, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1640-E1641]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  COMMERCE, JUSTICE, SCIENCE AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 
                                  2008

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. MARK UDALL

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 25, 2007

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 3093, making 
     appropriations for the Departments of Commerce and Justice, 
     and Science, and Related Agencies for the fiscal year ending 
     September 30, 2008, and for other purposes:

  Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of this 
bill.
  The bill includes funding for many important programs, and while I 
think some do deserve more funding than the bill provides, I recognize 
that the appropriators had a challenging task in shaping the bill 
because of budget constraints. Overall, I think the bill is a good one 
and I congratulate Chairmen Obey and Mollohan for making these 
difficult decisions in a very constructive manner.

[[Page E1641]]

  As Chairman of the Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee of the House 
Committee on Science, I am pleased that the bill includes $17.6 billion 
for National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) funding. 
NASA's work in human space exploration, space and earth science, and 
aeronautics plays an important role in advancing our knowledge, 
expanding our economy and inspiring Americans both young and old. I 
believe NASA performs important research which allows us to better 
understand our climate, our planet and the universe beyond.
  I am pleased that the Committee funds NASA's Science Mission 
Directorate at $5.7 billion, an increase of $180 million over the 
President's request. This increase will help reverse the recent decline 
in funding for science at NASA. NASA research helps us better 
understand the universe at large, but it also greatly contributes to 
our knowledge of our own planet.
  I am especially encouraged that the Committee recognized the 
recommendations of the National Research Council's recent Decadal 
Survey on Earth Science by targeting $60 million towards the highest 
priority missions recommended in that survey, as well as ensuring that 
work on critical climate instruments that were de-manifested from the 
National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System 
(NPOESS) can continue. The Committee specifically noted the importance 
of the Total Solar Irradiance Sensor (TSIS), which is being built by 
the University of Colorado's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space 
Physics in my district, and instructs NASA to continue to support this 
program. TSIS will ensure that we continue to receive important 
information on the sun and how it interacts with our climate--a data 
stream that has been continuous since 1979 and has contributed to our 
understanding of climate change.
  I am also pleased that the Committee increases NASA's aeronautics 
budget by $146 million over the President's request. Progress in 
aeronautics is crucial to the health of the Nation's air transportation 
industry, which in turn is critical both to the continued strength of 
our domestic economy and to our international competitiveness. The 
additional funding will help NASA contribute meaningfully to the 
development of the Nation's Next Generation Air Transportation System, 
which will enhance the capability of our air transportation system to 
handle the enormous increases in air travel projected over the next 20 
years. Moreover, this bill recognizes that aeronautics R&D at NASA can 
help develop more environmentally compatible commercial aircraft, with 
significantly lower noise, emissions, and energy consumption compared 
to aircraft in commercial service today, and the bill provides funding 
to support that R&D.
  This bill also provides significant funding for the President's 
exploration initiative at NASA by providing the President's full 
request of $3.9 billion. I support the President's Vision for Space 
Exploration and believe human space exploration is a worthwhile 
undertaking. The funding in this bill will keep the Crew Exploration 
Vehicle on track in FY 2008. However, I am concerned that the 
administration's current plan for the shuttle replacement system, the 
crew exploration vehicle (CEV), is not scheduled to be finished until 
2015. This will leave a potential 4 to 5 year gap when the United 
States will be dependent on other countries to travel to and from the 
International Space Station. It is within the administration's power to 
send over budget requests in FY 2009 and FY 2010 to address this gap 
within the context of a balanced overall NASA program, and I hope that 
the administration will do so.

  I am pleased that the Committee increases NASA's education programs 
to $217 million, up $64 million over the President's request. This 
increase will provide additional funds for the Space Grant program, 
which helps undergraduate students participate in cutting-edge 
research, and in the process trains and inspires the next generation of 
scientists. The Committee also provides $2 million for the NASA 
Aeronautics Scholarships program, which encourages more students to 
pursue graduate degrees in aeronautics. I helped create this program in 
the 2005 NASA Reauthorization Act and am pleased that the Committee has 
recognized its importance.
  The Committee provides $6.7 billion for space operations, which is a 
$100 million cut relative to the President's request. I understand that 
the Committee had difficult decisions to make, but I am concerned about 
the impact that these cuts will have on the International Space 
Station's reserves posture, as well as on the upcoming Tracking and 
Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) procurement. I hope that it will be 
possible to address these problems when the House and Senate move to 
conference on this legislation.
  Funding for the National Institute of Standards and Technology 
(NIST), which has one of its two laboratories based in my district in 
Colorado, is also an improvement on past years. I am pleased that the 
Committee met the President's request of $500 million for research, 
which will help fund components of the Innovation Agenda, such as 
nanotechnology and materials science.
  I also support the bill's inclusion of $109 million for the 
Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) and $93 million for the 
Advanced Technology Program (ATP). MEP serves small- and medium-sized 
manufacturing companies nationally to enhance their ability to compete 
globally. Every federal dollar appropriated for MEP leverages $2 in 
state and private-sector funding, which means that a small federal 
investment of $109 million translates into more millions of dollars in 
benefits for the economy in terms of jobs created and retained, 
investment, and sales. ATP helps businesses develop high-risk, high-
reward research into commercial applications that often have wider 
social benefits.
  And, because of its importance for my own Congressional District, I 
am glad to note that the NIST budget includes $129 million for 
construction and specifically $28 million for the extension of building 
1 at the Boulder facilities. NIST's Boulder laboratories were built in 
the 1950s and are in critical need of modernization to ensure the 
continuation of world-class research.
  After several years of disappointing funding for the National Oceanic 
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), I am pleased that this bill will 
set NOAA back on the right track. The Committee funds NOAA at $3.950 
billion, an increase over both the President's budget and the fiscal 
year 2007 spend plan. There is certainly still room for improvement, 
but I hope that this is the first step forward for increasing NOAA 
funding.
  The office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR), which funds the 
important work being conducted in the NOAA labs in my district, is 
funded at $410 million in the bill--an increase of $52 million over the 
President's request and $46 million over the FY 2007 spend plan. This 
funding will help NOAA continue to perform vital research in climate 
change and other areas.

  In particular, I am encouraged that the Space Environment Center is 
being funded at the President's request of $6.2 million. While this 
funding is still below the $7.2 million that the SEC received in FY 
2002, it is an increase over what Congress appropriated in FY 2006 and 
indicates that the Committee realizes the important work that the SEC 
does on space weather monitoring and prediction.
  The bill also includes important funding for law enforcement, at both 
the federal and state level.
  It rejects the President's proposal to slash the COPS program by 94 
percent and instead provides $725 million, $183 million above 2007. 
This includes funding for such items as: $100 million for the COPS 
hiring program; $175 million for expanding DNA analysis and forensic 
crime lab capacity; and $85 million for beefing up enforcement in 
``meth hot spots,'' places where meth is a serious problem.
  Similarly, the bill includes $600 million for Byrne Justice 
Assistance Grants to assist local law enforcement agencies and which 
the President's budget proposed to terminate. It also includes 
continued funding for the State Criminal Alien Assistance program 
(SCAAP), which assists state and local governments with the costs of 
jailing undocumented immigrants who have committed crimes not related 
to their immigration status--another vital program the President's 
budget proposed for elimination.
  The bill also rejects proposed cuts in the Violence Against Women 
programs and includes vital support for competitive youth mentoring 
grants, delinquency prevention grants, and Justice Accountability Block 
Grants.
  In summary, Mr. Chairman, this is a good bill that provides funding 
for many important purposes. It is good for Colorado and good for the 
country, and it deserves approval.

                          ____________________