[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 80 (Thursday, May 15, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E942-E943]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       STATEMENT FOR INTRODUCTION NASA AUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2008

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. MARK UDALL

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 15, 2008

  Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Madam Speaker, today I am introducing the 
``NASA Authorization Act of 2008'', a bill to reauthorize the programs 
of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for fiscal year 
2009. I am pleased that Science and Technology Committee Chairman Bart 
Gordon, Ranking Minority Member Ralph Hall, and Space and Aeronautics 
Subcommittee Ranking Minority Member Tom Feeney are joining me as 
original cosponsors. Their cosponsorship demonstrates the bipartisan 
nature of the support for NASA in this Congress, and I want to thank 
them for their efforts in helping to develop this legislation.
  In addition to providing funding and programmatic direction for 
fiscal year 2009, this bill is also intended to provide congressional 
guidance for the next Administration relative to NASA. I believe that 
it is critically important for Congress to do so. Without a clear 
statement of congressional priorities and policies for the Nation's 
civil space and aeronautics enterprise, we run the risk of wasting both 
time and scarce resources during and after the transition from one 
Administration to the next. I want to avoid such an outcome if at all 
possible.
  Madam Speaker, 2008 marks the 50th anniversary of the birth of the 
U.S. space program and the establishment of NASA. NASA has accomplished 
a great deal in both space and aeronautical R&D over those past five 
decades, and we can all take pride in what has been accomplished. 
However, we cannot become complacent. If we fail to invest adequately 
in NASA now, it is unlikely that we will see a comparable record of 
accomplishment over the next five decades--at a great opportunity cost 
to the Nation.
  That is because NASA's programs are strongly relevant to addressing 
the Nation's needs. In short, a properly balanced and focused NASA 
portfolio can pay large dividends to our society as well as to our 
standing in the world, and maximizing the value of the NASA portfolio 
to the Nation is one of the main goals of the NASA Authorization Act of 
2008.
  Thus, the bill emphasizes a number of important areas--areas that 
demonstrate the role that NASA can and should play in improving the 
quality of life of our citizens, enhancing our economic vitality, 
demonstrating American leadership in the international arena through 
the pursuit of challenging scientific and technological goals, and 
helping to advance knowledge.
  To that end, the NASA Authorization Act of 2008 establishes a role 
for NASA in leading a cooperative international effort on Earth 
observations research and applications, especially with respect to 
climate change--one of the major challenges facing our generation. It 
builds on the recommendations of the National Academies' Earth sciences 
and applications decadal survey to outline a robust and challenging 
agenda for NASA to pursue that will help us better understand the 
causes and impacts of climate change as well as other Earth system 
phenomena. It is an agenda that will also maximize the opportunities 
for transitioning those research results into applications that can 
benefit our society in a myriad of ways.
  NASA's aeronautics research program is one of the most relevant 
activities that NASA undertakes as it impacts both public safety and 
our national economy, and the bill provides guidance to ensure that 
that aeronautics program will regain its former health and focus so 
that it can continue to contribute to the wellbeing of the nation. That 
guidance takes several forms. For example, the legislation provides 
enhanced funding for aeronautics, but it makes clear that the 
additional funding is to be used to take NASA's aeronautics research 
activities to a sufficiently mature state so that the results of that 
research can be transitioned to the commercial sector as well as to key 
public sector users. One of the most important examples of the latter 
is the interagency initiative to develop the next generation air 
transportation system for the nation, known as NextGen--a program that 
will improve both the safety and efficiency of our air travel system. 
The bill makes it clear that we need to do all we can to ensure that 
the aircraft of the future leave as small an impact on the environment 
as possible, whether it be noise, energy consumption, or harmful 
emissions--and that NASA has a critical role to play in that effort. 
And the bill requires an external review of NASA's aviation safety 
research to make sure that it is doing all that it can to protect the 
flying public.
  Finally, the NASA Authorization Act of 2008 recognizes that America's 
human space flight activities are not, and should not, be an end in 
themselves. We need a results-oriented human space flight program that 
serves the nation's geopolitical goals in addition to advancing 
America's exploration of outer space. I believe that we provide the 
foundation for such a results-oriented approach in the bill I am 
introducing today. Thus, the bill includes provisions to ensure that 
the International Space Station--a unique orbiting R&D facility that 
represents a significant investment of resources by both American 
citizens and those of a host of other nations--will be utilized in as 
productive manner as possible.
  In addition, the ISS is a compelling example of the value of 
undertaking a cooperative approach to space exploration that we would 
do well to emulate as we embark on exploration beyond low Earth orbit. 
To that end, the NASA Authorization Act of 2008 makes clear that any 
human exploration initiative to return to the Moon and venture to other 
destinations in the solar system should be undertaken as a cooperative 
international undertaking under U.S. leadership--and that such a 
cooperative approach will have the best chance of being successfully 
sustained if the President is personally involved in inviting our 
friends and allies to participate in such a venture.
  It is clear that the 21st century will see the emergence and growth 
of ambitious human space flight programs carried out by a number of 
nations. It is not in our national interest to get drawn into rerunning 
a ``space race'' that we already won almost 40 years ago. Instead, we 
should be looking to leverage that emerging global interest to promote 
a peaceful, cooperative approach to space exploration under American 
leadership. Such an approach can provide a compelling ``soft power'' 
rationale for NASA's human exploration program and be an approach that 
will deliver clear benefits to America beyond just the demonstration of 
our technological prowess and national commitment to space exploration.
  Madam Speaker, those are just three ways in which continued 
investment in and support for a properly focused NASA can deliver 
important benefits to the nation, especially if NASA works hand in hand 
with our colleges and universities and our commercial sector. However, 
I would be remiss if I didn't mention the important way in which NASA's 
basic and applied research activities help advance America's 
competitiveness and promote innovation as well as helping inspire and 
educate the nation's next generation of scientists, technologists, 
engineers, and mathematicians. That is why I and many of my colleagues 
consider NASA to be just as much a part of America's innovation agenda 
as the other agencies called out for support in the ``America COMPETES 
Act'' that was enacted into law last year. This bill recognizes that 
reality and puts NASA on the same doubling path as those agencies.

  However, NASA will not be able to contribute effectively in the ways 
I have just outlined unless we not only invest adequately in NASA's 
programs but, equally importantly, direct those investments in ways 
that maximize their utility. Thus the bill contains a number of 
provisions focused on each of NASA's main mission areas to ensure that 
NASA can make the best use of its capabilities to advance the nation's 
space and aeronautics agenda.
  Madam Speaker, I am a passionate believer in the value of America's 
space and aeronautics programs and the role that NASA can

[[Page E943]]

play in delivering significant benefits to the American people. I 
believe that the NASA Authorization Act of 2008 that I am introducing 
today will go a long way towards positioning the agency for a 
productive future when the next Administration takes office, and I hope 
that Members will support it.

                          ____________________