[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 21 (Thursday, February 10, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Page S641]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          FAA REAUTHORIZATION

  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, I rise today to speak on behalf of 
Senator Nelson's amendment preventing the establishment of an extra 
advisory committee for NASA.
  It is ironic that in his recent State of the Union Address, President 
Obama spoke of needing a ``sputnik'' moment to push America forward 
while the administration is supporting actions that complicate and 
weaken NASA and outsource its core capabilities.
  Why should we transfer the responsibility for deciding how to affect 
aeronautics research from the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration, the responsible agency? NASA provides the Nation's 
fundamental aeronautics research capability and any further dilution of 
its capabilities will negatively impact not only our research and 
development abilities but America's future space missions.
  Furthermore, the advisory committee's function would directly and 
adversely affect the separate authorization of appropriations, Public 
Law 109-155, for NASA, wherein the Agency's lead role in civil 
aeronautics research was reaffirmed--Sec. 411.
  This is why I voted in favor of Senator Nelson's amendment, which 
passed by a vote of 96 to 1. It is good that the formation of this 
committee has been struck by the Nelson amendment. The proposal has not 
been fully considered. It is unwise and goes against what Congress has 
already established.
  I strongly believe it is of critical importance for the United States 
to maintain our competitive edge in human space exploration and civil 
aeronautics research. We should not abandon our position as an 
international leader in human space exploration. Creating another 
bureaucracy, blurring lines of responsibility and complicating 
decisionmaking by the responsible agency, NASA, will not be a step 
forward.

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