[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 109 (Monday, July 20, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H8391]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              THE MOON MEN

  (Mr. POE of Texas asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, on July 20, 1969, America 
accomplished the greatest single technological achievement in the 
history of the world: Americans walked on the Moon. And on that July 
afternoon 40 years ago today, we all crowded around our TV sets and 
radios, listening to mission control in Houston, Texas. At 4:17 p.m. 
the distant word came from Lunar Module Flight Commander Neil 
Armstrong: ``Houston, the Eagle has landed.'' Shouts and cheers rang 
out at mission control in Houston, Texas, and spread out across the 
United States. Six hours later, kids in America, including me, were 
still up way past their bedtime. Neil Armstrong stepped down from the 
ladder of the lunar module in his big, bulky space suit and said: 
``That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.'' He was 
standing on the Moon. Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin then planted the Stars 
and Stripes on the lunar surface.
  These men, along with Michael Collins who was circling in the command 
module, had done something unbelievable. By their achievement, they 
summed up the greatness of America. A country founded by bold explorers 
had, itself, boldly explored the universe. The Moon men proved that in 
America, no mission is impossible.
  And that's just the way it is.

                          ____________________