[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 122 (Wednesday, September 12, 2012)]
[House]
[Page H5868]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                  HONORING THE LIFE OF NEIL ARMSTRONG

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Olson) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. OLSON. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a true American hero, 
Neil Armstrong, a space pioneer who profoundly influenced world 
history.
  I can still remember wearing my most prized possession, a blue Fly Me 
to the Moon T-shirt with the Apollo 11 mission insignia on it. I 
remember the feeling of seeing those grainy images of Neil on the Sea 
of Tranquility and, as he put his left foot down on lunar soil, his 
famous ``One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.''
  That historical moment changed America forever, and the world changed 
with us. And Neil Armstrong's quiet heroism helped catapult America to 
be the global leader. His legacy of American exceptionalism inspired 
generations of young people to take up science and space exploration.
  In the 43 years since his Moon mission, Armstrong believed deeply 
that America should continue to explore new worlds. Upon learning the 
Obama administration had canceled NASA's plans to return to the Moon, 
Neil Armstrong, a very private man, became a vocal critic of this 
failure and the willingness to allow other nations to surpass America's 
space leadership. The state of NASA's human space exploration plans, he 
told Congress last fall, is ``lamentably embarrassing and 
unacceptable.''
  One of the highlights of my life will always be shaking the hand of 
my childhood hero. Neil and I were united in our opposition to 
President Obama's plan to cancel the Constellation program and diminish 
the priority of human spaceflight in his 2010 budget and National Space 
Policy documents.
  It was humbling to work with Mr. Armstrong and several other Apollo 
astronauts like Gene Cernan and Jim Lovell to fight to restore a strong 
NASA budget and develop a comprehensive human space exploration program 
worthy of America's greatness as explorers.
  America needs a clear and purposeful mission worthy of our Nation's 
continued investment to regain our leading role and remain the dominant 
human space country in the world.
  Our Nation suffers a great loss with Neil Armstrong's passing, but 
his courage and commitment to greatness live on in the next generation 
of explorers to come.
  For the rest of my time on this planet, I will continue to honor his 
contributions to American exceptionalism and his legacy by pushing for 
a strong human space exploration program that will take America to the 
Moon, to Mars, and beyond.
  My thoughts and prayers are with Neil Armstrong's family and the 
entire NASA family as we cope with this tremendous loss. America mourns 
with you as we remember Neil's amazing journey.
  Neil's philosophy about life is captured best by advice given by one 
of Neil's Moon-walking brothers, Gene Cernan, when he spoke to a group 
of students at Sartartia Middle School in my hometown of Sugar Land, 
Texas. Gene told the kids, ``Always shoot for the Moon, because if you 
miss, you'll see the stars.''
  Neil Armstrong gave us the Moon so we can look to the heavens and see 
the stars. Thank you, Neil.
  God bless.

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