[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 48 (Thursday, March 25, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E483]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      NASA'S CONSTELLATION PROGRAM

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                          HON. JASON CHAFFETZ

                                of utah

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 25, 2010

  Mr. CHAFFETZ. Madam Speaker, the most fundamental responsibility of 
the Federal Government is to ``provide for the common defence.''
  America's national defense strategy fundamentally depends on 
supremacy in space. Our troops on the battlefields in Afghanistan and 
Iraq depend on crucial intelligence-gathering and communication 
capabilities, which in turn rely on a robust space program.
  But the current Administration proposal would cancel the 
Constellation program, NASA's safest and most proven means to return to 
space.
  We've spent billions to build an International Space Station. Do we 
want to rely upon the Russians whenever we need to return? Under the 
Administration's proposal, we would.
  Do we want to be buying rocket parts from China because we have 
decimated our national industrial base? Or do we want to maintain the 
strong industrial sector on our own?
  Do we want our military to rely on others to send vital navigation 
and communication satellites into orbit? Or do we want our country to 
decide when and how those vital coordination satellites are launched 
into space?
  We need to restore the Constellation program and maintain our 
superiority in space.

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