[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 27 (Tuesday, February 26, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E196]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      NEIL A. ARMSTRONG FLIGHT RESEARCH CENTER AND HUGH L. DRYDEN 
                AERONAUTICAL TEST RANGE DESIGNATION ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                       HON. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, February 25, 2013

  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to 
speak about H.R. 667, a bill to rename the Dryden Flight Center as the 
Neil A. Armstrong Flight Research Center. I, along with millions around 
the world were terribly saddened to hear the news this past August of 
the passing of Neil Armstrong, a genuine American hero and an 
inspiration to countless people around the world. This bill was 
introduced as one way of paying tribute to a man who exemplified the 
true meaning of public service through a life of inspiring others 
through his bravery and self-sacrifice. It would rename the Dryden 
Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base as the Neil A. 
Armstrong Flight Research Center, while still naming the Western 
Aeronautical Test Range within the center as the Hugh L. Dryden 
Aeronautical Test Range. For those who may be unfamiliar with him, Dr. 
Dryden was a true aeronautics visionary, and an individual worthy of 
our recognition and esteem.
  Last year, in my capacity as ranking member of the House Committee on 
Science, Space, and Technology, I had the opportunity to participate in 
the Congressional Gold Medal ceremony honoring Mr. Neil Armstrong, 
along with John Glenn, who is also a former senator, Michael Collins 
and Edwin ``Buzz'' Aldrin, Jr. Each of these individuals is a genuine 
national hero and worthy of our gratitude. They and the astronauts that 
preceded and followed them were willing to put their lives at risk and 
sometimes make the ultimate sacrifice in order to push back the 
frontiers of knowledge and help our country achieve preeminence in 
space exploration.
  Yet, it is clear from the way he carried himself and his public 
statements, that Mr. Armstrong did not seek public tributes such as the 
House is voting on today. Instead, he cared deeply about the future of 
our Nation's space program, and in his testimony to our Committee he 
stressed the importance of sustaining our commitment to a strong NASA. 
So it's worse than ironic that in the same week that we are voting to 
rename a NASA Center for him, we are going to allow a sequestration to 
proceed that will make devastating cuts to NASA's budget and set back 
the very human space exploration and aeronautics activities that Mr. 
Armstrong championed when he was alive. These cuts will also hurt the 
Flight Research Center we are proposing to rename, likely leading to 
layoffs and furloughs of dedicated individuals who work at the Center--
individuals who in many cases were probably inspired by both Dr. Dryden 
and Mr. Armstrong's examples to work for NASA in the first place.
  Mr. Speaker, we can and should do better than this. I would urge the 
Majority to bring a bill to avoid this sequester to the House floor 
this week so we can vote on it. We should not be cutting our critical 
investments in R&D and in NASA. That is no way to honor the legacy of 
either Neil Armstrong or Hugh Dryden.