[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 85 (Tuesday, June 9, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H6342-H6345]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1530
                SUPPORTING INTERMEDIATE SPACE CHALLENGE

  Mr. TONKO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
resolution (H. Res. 411) supporting the goals and ideals of the 
Intermediate Space Challenge in Mojave, California.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 411

       Whereas the Intermediate Space Challenge in Mojave, 
     California, is a program designed to capture the imagination 
     of youths regarding outer space;
       Whereas the aspiration of the Intermediate Space Challenge 
     is to introduce, instill, and energize youths' interest in 
     the engineering, mathematics, and science career fields;
       Whereas the Intermediate Space Challenge focuses on 4th, 
     5th, and 6th grade students during their formative years;
       Whereas the Intermediate Space Challenge provides students 
     the opportunity to visit the Mojave Air and Space Port, a 
     3,300 acre flight research center;
       Whereas aviation legends and private space pioneers such as 
     Burt Rutan, Dick Rutan, Brian Binnie, and Mike Melvill have 
     worked with and spoken to students participating in the 
     program;
       Whereas the Intermediate Space Challenge enables students 
     to work together in a team environment to choose a team name, 
     create team banners, craft an essay, and develop and use 
     their math and science skills to construct and launch a small 
     rocket under appropriate supervision; and
       Whereas the program judges student rocket teams on banner 
     designs, essays, and rocket construction and performance: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) supports the goals and ideals of the Intermediate Space 
     Challenge;
       (2) commends the volunteers who run the Intermediate Space 
     Challenge and the Mojave Air and Space Port for opening its 
     facility to the young leaders of the future in the science 
     and engineering fields; and
       (3) encourages teachers and school administrators across 
     the country to implement similar programs to stimulate 
     students and infuse them with a love of engineering, 
     mathematics, and science.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Tonko) and the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Platts) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York.


                             General Leave

  Mr. TONKO. Mr. Speaker, I request 5 legislative days during which 
Members may revise and extend and insert extraneous material on House 
Resolution 411 into the Record.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. TONKO. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support the goals and ideals of the 
Intermediate Space Challenge in Mojave, California. The Intermediate 
Space Challenge Program captures children's imaginations as it relates 
to science, math, space, and experimental learning.
  The competition began in response to the Ansari X Prize manned 
spaceflight contest in 2004, won by Mojave's own SpaceShipOne in 2004. 
In twin flights from the Mojave Air and Space Port, the spacecraft 
designed by Burt Rutan took pilots Mike Melvill and Brian Binnie to 
space and back, claiming a $10 million prize.
  Marie Walker originally founded the Intermediate Space Challenge. She 
coordinated with Stu Witt, Mojave Airport's general manager, and they 
planned the first challenge in 2004. It has been a great success in the 
Mojave community. Now in its fifth year, students look forward to the 
annual competition, with younger students anticipating the time when 
they are old enough to participate.
  The Intermediate Space Challenge hosts a student rocket launch 
competition, where fourth, fifth, and sixth-grade students compete to 
build a model rocket that reaches the highest point during launches. 
Points are awarded on rocket altitude, color, marketing strategy, and 
spirit. In some cases, the handmade rockets reach up to 600 before 
parachuting downward.
  Individual awards are given in each category, with the overall winner 
announced at the end of the event. The challenge allows students to 
work in teams, create a team banner, craft an essay, and develop their 
small rocket. During the events, many of the students get a chance to 
view professional rockets and hear how they operate.
  The Intermediate Space Challenge fosters great interest in science, 
in technology, in engineering, and in math among these students and 
certainly is expected to serve to develop the next great aerospace 
adventurer of our time.
  Mr. Speaker, once again, I express my support for this resolution, 
and I want to thank Representative McCarthy for bringing this 
resolution forward. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. PLATTS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution, especially 
in light of our critical need for additional scientists, 
mathematicians, engineers and related professions. This program that we 
are recognizing through this resolution is so important to encouraging 
young people to pursue study in these fields.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 411, a 
resolution supporting

[[Page H6343]]

the goals and ideals of the Intermediate Space Challenge that takes 
place every year in Mojave, California.
  Each May 4th, 5th and 6th graders from school districts around the 
Mojave Air and Spaceport gather at the Spaceport to show off their 
homemade rockets and compete to see how far the rockets can actually 
fly. Points get awarded based on altitude, color, marketing strategy, 
and spirit of the final product. The Challenge was designed to spark 
interest in the science and engineering career fields early in a 
student's educational career. The hands-on nature of the event allows 
students to see how the concepts they learn about in the classroom can 
be applied to actually make a rocket soar.
  We have all heard about the critical need for American scientists, 
mathematicians, engineers and other professionals in the Science, 
Technology, Engineering or Math--STEM--fields for short. For that 
reason, we passed the America COMPETES Act last Congress. We have also 
continued to think about the importance of STEM throughout the 
reauthorization of the Higher Education Act and I expect it to be a big 
topic of conversation when we start on the reauthorization of No Child 
Left Behind. with several leaders in the area of STEM education on our 
Committee, such as Representatives Ehlers, McMorris-Rodgers and Holt, 
we have ensured that programs such as the Adjunct Teacher Corps got 
incorporated into our education laws. Through the Adjunct Teacher 
Corps, we allow professionals in STEM fields to come into the classroom 
to teach or to provide ongoing professional development to classroom 
teachers who do not have that subject matter expertise. Programs like 
this and the others included in both the Higher Education Act and the 
America COMPETES Act demonstrate the federal government's commitment to 
trying to help fill the shortfall that currently exists in the STEM 
pipeline.
  Programs such as the Intermediate Space Challenge show what local 
communities are doing to try and light that spark at an early age for 
students to become interested in STEM subjects. We should recognize 
these efforts and encourage other communities to utilize their own 
resources to develop hands-on projects. These types of projects show 
students how their classroom knowledge can be translated into real life 
applications. I support the goals and ideals put forward by the 
Intermediate Space Challenge and I encourage my colleagues to vote in 
favor of this resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the prime sponsor 
of this legislation, the distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. 
McCarthy).
  Mr. McCARTHY of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of 
House Resolution 411, a resolution I introduced that honors the goals 
and ideals of the Intermediate Space Challenge at the Mojave Air and 
Space Port located in my district in Mojave, California.
  Mojave Air and Space Port has a long history of firsts, from Burt and 
Dick Rutan's collaboration on the Voyager around-the-world flight in 
1986 to 2004's flight of SpaceShipOne, the first privately funded 
manned spacecraft.
  Nearby are Edwards Air Force Base and China Lake Naval Weapons 
Center, which are cutting-edge research and testing facilities that are 
continuing to push the envelope. In fact, when I visit the National Air 
and Space Museum here in Washington, D.C., I feel at home. There are so 
many aircraft from my district, like SpaceShipOne, Voyager, Chuck 
Yeager's Glamorous Glennis that broke the sound barrier, and the X-15, 
which, incidentally, we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the X-15's 
first flight yesterday.
  The Intermediate Space Challenge started in 2005 under the direction 
of Marie Walker. Marie is the CEO of Fiberset, a Mojave company that 
manufactures composite products and components. She saw an opportunity 
in and around Mojave to bring together fourth, fifth and sixth-grade 
students with aerospace leaders to educate them and inspire them to 
become the next generation of aerospace pioneers. I am proud to 
recognize their hard work on this fifth anniversary year of the 
program, and I appreciate being able to participate.
  Marie Walker and all those who have been instrumental in organizing 
and executing the Intermediate Space Challenge recognized the 
opportunities to grab the attention of our students through the 
Intermediate Space Challenge and get them interested in science and 
engineering.
  Students work in teams to write an essay, create a banner, and then 
build and design a rocket. They get assistance from high school 
students as mentors, so the program engages students from multiple age 
groups. The teams of fourth, fifth and sixth-graders then compete both 
on rocket performance and on a team spirit. Paralleling the X-Prize's 
requirement for a privately funded manned spacecraft to go up into 
space twice in two weeks, students' rockets make two flights.
  During the course of the events, the students hear from special guest 
speakers. Students have heard from aviation pioneers Burt and Dick 
Rutan and the SpaceShipOne astronauts in past years. Through the words 
and actions of these real, live aerospace heroes, students can see that 
the opportunities are limitless.
  I appreciate the support of Chairman Miller and Ranking Member 
McKeon, who are also original cosponsors, and my colleague Jim Costa, 
who has always been supportive of the activities at the Mojave Air and 
Space Port.
  Congratulations to all the students who have participated in this 
event. I look forward to many more years of successful student rocket 
launches, and with that, I am proud to support and bring this 
resolution to the floor.
  Mr. TONKO. Mr. Speaker, does the gentleman from Pennsylvania have any 
further speakers?
  Mr. PLATTS. I do have additional speakers, Mr. Speaker.
  Mr. TONKO. I reserve my time.
  Mr. PLATTS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the distinguished 
gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn).
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania, 
and I do rise to support the Intermediate Space Challenge.
  Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, many of the young people that are growing 
up and participating in this are going to find they are going to grow 
up in a very different America than we have grown up in because of the 
increase in taxes that are taking place every single day and the way 
this crowds out opportunity for young people.
  Indeed, my colleagues across the aisle have become the party of 
punishment, and that is what I am hearing from my constituents as I 
traveled across the Seventh Congressional District this past week, and 
they are very, very concerned.
  What they are telling me is they know that clean air and clean water 
and clean energy are important, and, Mr. Speaker, I think we as 
politicians would say we are even for clean mud. We are just not for 
taxing people out of their house and home to pay for clean energy. And 
that is exactly what this cap-and-trade bill, or cap-and-tax, as we 
call it, cap our growth, tax our people, trade our jobs, and that is 
what it is going to do, as the Democrats put a price on the very air 
that we breathe.
  The cap-and-trade bill that came out of the Energy and Commerce 
Committee last week, the Federal building standards that are in that 
bill are of concern to our Realtors, to our commercial property 
holders, knowing that there will be these standards that are going to 
be very, very difficult for them to comply with, knowing that there are 
going to be energy audits put on their houses, knowing that they are 
going to have to buy carbon credits if they don't have solar panels on 
their roof or a windmill in the yard, knowing that they literally are 
going to see the air that they breathe taxed.
  As my colleague from Georgia had previously said, you know, groceries 
don't grow in a grocery store. They don't grow in a grocery store, Mr. 
Speaker; they grow out in the fields. They require this carbon dioxide 
in order to grow and be green and be healthy and provide the food and 
the forestation that we need here in the United States and certainly 
around the globe.
  The cap-and-trade bill is something that is going to limit 
opportunity. It is something that we are going to see affect jobs and 
future jobs. We know that it is expected to cost us over 1 million jobs 
lost and that we are going to see our unemployment numbers rise 
substantially, and we are going to see our electricity rates go up by 
90 percent.
  When we were in committee, we offered an amendment that would have 
ended cap-and-trade if gas went over $5 a gallon. Mr. Speaker, our 
colleagues across the aisle sought to defeat that.
  We said, let's end it if unemployment goes past 15 percent, and our 
colleagues across the aisle said no, they were not going to end it if 
employment went past 15 percent.

[[Page H6344]]

  We said, let's tell everybody what this costs, how much is it 
increasing the cost of your electric power, how much is it increasing 
the cost of the gas you buy, how much is it increasing the cost of the 
food you eat. And our colleagues across the aisle said no, they were 
not going to disclose that and vote for and support that amendment.
  We even offered an amendment that would protect the innovators of 
tomorrow who are going to solve the energy issues that we have before 
us, and they sought not to provide that intellectual property 
protection for all these young boys and girls, many who are going 
through the Intermediate Space Challenge now, many who will be the 
innovators of tomorrow, who will solve the energy issues for future 
decades, who will create the electric cars.
  Indeed, when you look at the electric cars and the lithium ion 
batteries, the three States that hold the most patents for furthering 
this invention are California, Ohio, and my great State of Tennessee. 
Intellectual property protection should have been provided for those. 
Many of those innovators of tomorrow are in this program that we are 
celebrating. It is very sad that the party of punishment doesn't 
provide the protection that those young men and women need to be the 
innovators of tomorrow.
  Mr. TONKO. Mr. Speaker, does the gentleman from Pennsylvania have any 
further speakers?
  Mr. PLATTS. Mr. Speaker, I have one additional speaker.
  Mr. TONKO. I reserve my time, Mr. Speaker.
  Mr. PLATTS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the distinguished 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Latta).
  Mr. LATTA. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman yielding.
  I also rise in support today of what this would mean to our young 
people in this country. In my old State Senate district I represented 
an area in Erie County near Plum Brook Station, which is a large NASA 
testing facility. Just to the east of there, we had NASA Glenn, which 
is in Cuyahoga County.
  The things that we can do and achieve in this country through the 
space program are limitless. However, if we stand by what we are seeing 
happening across Congress today with this cap-and-tax legislation, we 
are in trouble.
  One of the things I am proud of is the fact that in my Fifth 
Congressional District I represent an area where we manufacture solar 
panels with First Solar. We have another company coming on line this 
fall that will also be in solar manufacturing. We also in my district 
have wind turbines, ethanol, hydrogen, biomass, and we are doing all 
these things in the alternative.
  Also though it is very, very important in this country that we have 
that base load capacity that we have to have to be able to manufacture, 
that we have to have if we want to continue to be able to be 
independent in this country, especially when we are talking about 
manufacturing in the new age of space. We have to make sure that we 
have these homegrown companies here today. It is going to be very, very 
difficult to do that if we don't have the manufacturing capacity and if 
we also don't have that base load capacity.
  One of the things we have found, of course, is that we don't have 
that base load capacity in certain areas, and we also don't have the 
ability of being able to go out there on the nuclear facilities. I 
think 1977 was the last time that we had a nuclear facility permitted 
in this country. And the problem that we have today is if we want to 
have more nuclear, to be able to produce more power, to be able to keep 
our manufacturing capacity, it is going to be very tough to do, because 
a lot of these parts are no longer made in this country.

                              {time}  1545

  We have to go overseas to buy these if we can get them today. And 
some of the very large components are made in Japan. And there's a long 
waiting list because so many countries are out there wanting to build 
nuclear facilities and keep up that base load capacity. Why is it 
important?
  Well, again, if we don't utilize that all-of-the-above policy of not 
only having the alternatives because we all want to make sure in this 
country that we have a clean environment, but we also want to make sure 
that we have nuclear, clean coal, oil, natural gas and geothermal.
  We've all seen the headlines in the paper of course where, you know, 
CBO score saying that we're looking at $846 billion on this new cap-
and-tax, which would be a massive energy tax on the American people. 
But at the same time, as the gentlelady from Tennessee was just talking 
about, is the tremendous cost on individuals.
  One of the analyses from the Heritage Foundation shows that they're 
looking at around a $4,300 per year tax on an average family. And how 
do they get to that number? It says, our $1,500 number is just the 
direct impact of household energy bills. Your energy bill, your natural 
gas bill, your home heating bill, and of course the amount of gas you 
put in your tank, and that would be around $1,500.
  But also, there is that ripple effect that goes through the economy 
that takes it up to $4,300. And in the year 2035 alone, the cost is 
$8,276, and the cost per family for the whole energy tax aggregated 
from 2012 to 2030 is $116,680.
  And compare it if we did not have a cap-and-tax, the real GDP losses 
increase an additional $2 trillion, from $7.4 trillion under the 
original draft to $9.6 trillion under the new draft.
  Compared to no cap-and-trade, the average economic or unemployment 
increases an additional 261,000 jobs, from 844,000 lost jobs under the 
original draft to 1.1 million jobs under the new draft.
  Also, interesting enough in the paper today in the Washington Times 
is an article, ``GDP hit found with cap, trade.'' This is from the 
Brookings Institution. ``The Brookings Institution on Monday said cap-
and-trade legislation to reduce carbon dioxide emissions would lower 
the Nation's gross domestic product in 2050 by 2.5 percent, compared 
with levels it would reach if the legislation is not implemented.''
  It also says that, ``About 35 percent of crude-oil-related jobs and 
40 percent of coal-related jobs would be lost in 2025.''
  It goes on to say: ``It assumes that the majority of workers would 
find new jobs, but the net job loss would be 0.5 percent over the first 
10 years that the legislation is in effect.''
  I don't think that this country can afford it because, again, to go 
on, you know, when you're looking at reducing the aggregate gross GDP 
by $9.6 trillion, destroying 1.1 million jobs, raising electric rates, 
as the gentlelady from Tennessee just mentioned, by 90 percent after 
adjusting for inflation, seeing gasoline prices up to 74 percent, 
raising residential natural gas prices by 55----
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has again expired.
  Mr. PLATTS. I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.
  Mr. LATTA. I appreciate the gentleman for yielding.
  --raising natural gas prices by 55 percent, raising an average 
family's annual energy bill by $1,500, and again, increase the 
inflation-adjusted Federal debt by 26 percent, or $29,150 additional 
Federal debt per person after adjusting for inflation.
  Mr. TONKO. Mr. Speaker, does the gentleman from Pennsylvania have any 
further speakers?
  Mr. PLATTS. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. TONKO. Mr. Speaker, decades ago, a global space race inspired all 
sorts of ingenuity and innovation. It enabled this country to stretch 
its thinking, provide for lofty opportunities, and emerge with a higher 
level of status in the global community because it had won that space 
race.
  Providing many, many opportunities, it is indeed the inspiration for 
today's House Resolution 411, as witnessed through the Intermediate 
Space Challenge in Mojave, California. Today, we have that same 
opportunity to stretch our thinking, to provide that loftiness, to be 
able to emerge with an innovation economy driven by another sort of 
global race, one called an energy race, which will find the winner to 
be the exporter of energy innovation, energy thinking, energy ideas, 
and energy intellect.
  And so I think the moves forward by this House can perhaps inspire 
another

[[Page H6345]]

saga of intermediate space challenge. But today we recognize and 
support the goals and ideals of that great Intermediate Space Challenge 
through House Resolution 411.
  I would encourage our colleagues to support this resolution. It is 
most meritorious.
  I yield back my time, Mr. Speaker.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Tonko) that the House suspend the rules 
and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 411.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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