[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 61 (Monday, April 27, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2427-S2428]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
EXECUTIVE SESSION
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NOMINATION OF DAVA J. NEWMAN TO BE DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR OF THE NATIONAL
AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will
proceed to executive session to consider the following nomination,
which the clerk will report.
The senior assistant legislative clerk read the nomination of Dava J.
Newman, of Massachusetts, to be Deputy Administrator of the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, there will be 30
minutes of debate equally divided in the usual form.
Mr. KAINE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the time
allotted during quorum calls be charged to both sides.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. KAINE. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. DAINES. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. DAINES. Mr. President, today the Senate will vote to confirm Dava
Newman to be Deputy Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration. I had the pleasure of meeting with Dr. Newman. She is a
talented individual. She is passionate about aerospace engineering and
is generating awareness of science, technology, energy, and math
opportunities in Montana students.
Dr. Newman is excited to get to work and continue to make NASA
competitive with other countries studying space exploration.
A graduate of C.R. Anderson Middle School and Capital High School in
Helena, MT, Dr. Newman is a testament to the quality of Montana's
public education. After graduating from high school, Dr. Newman
attended the University of Notre Dame before pursuing graduate school
at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Newman is now a
professor of aeronautics and astronautics.
In 2007, Time magazine highlighted Dr. Newman's work as one of the
best inventions of the year. She developed a new space suit, known as
the BioSuit, to increase astronauts' agility and movements, allowing
astronauts to not only walk but also run and even climb mountains.
Her track record of success and nomination to NASA serve as a way to
encourage young Montanans to pursue careers in space and engineering.
Dr. Newman is an incredibly accomplished Montanan who truly
exemplifies our State's legacy of public service. Her passion and
dedication to NASA is clear. I know she will lead with honor and is
prepared for whatever challenges may lie ahead. I urge my colleagues to
join me in support of Dr. Newman's nomination.
I yield back the remainder of my time.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Coats). The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. NELSON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. NELSON. Mr. President, in a few minutes, we are going to vote on
the confirmation of Dava Newman, the nominee for Deputy Administrator
of NASA. This little Agency happens to be one that I have some personal
fondness for, having participated with NASA many Moons ago--29\1/2\
years ago--on the 24th flight of the space shuttle, a crew led by then-
Navy Captain Robert Gibson, otherwise known as Hoot Gibson, and his
second in command, the pilot of our mission, which was dubbed STS--
Space Transportation System--61-C. Subsequently, all of the numbers of
the space shuttles reverted to their original numbering, but there was
a hiatus in there where several shuttle flights had a very complicated
numbering system, and ours was one of them. The pilot of that mission
was then-Marine Colonel Charlie Bolden, now-Marine General, Retired,
Charlie Bolden, who is the Administrator of NASA and has been for the
last 6 years. But Administrator Bolden does not have a Deputy, and he
needs a Deputy Administrator. So this process has been carefully
conducted, and they sifted through hundreds of names to come up with
just the right person, and that is in the person of Dr. Dava Newman.
She received her bachelor's degree from the University of Notre Dame
and two master's degrees and a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology. She is currently a professor of aeronautics and
astronautics and engineering systems at MIT. She is also the director
of the Technology and Policy Program there.
Right off the bat, you can see there is no question as to her skills,
her smarts, and her credentials, but she is also known for her
leadership and technical expertise in aerospace engineering. She
authored over 200 research publications, including the textbook
``Introduction to Aerospace Engineering and Design.''
I think that would be kind of interesting, that as a backup to
Administrator Bolden, who is a five-time space shuttle astronaut, we
have someone who is an expert in aerospace engineering design,
particularly as we are creating the new rockets and the new spacecraft
as we speak, for the goal, which is Mars in the decade of the 2030s.
During her career, she served as the principal investigator on three
space flight experiments flown on board the space shuttle and on board
the previous Mir Space Station. She is tremendously known for her
innovative space suit designs that use mechanical counterpressure to
make the space suit formfitting, lightweight, and much more flexible
than previous space suits.
If you notice, when you see the astronauts outside of the
International Space Station--which, by the way, blows the mind, how big
it is. It is 110 yards long. From one goalpost to the other goalpost is
120 yards. That is how big the International Space Station is that is
250 miles above the Earth with six humans on board. When you watch
those EVAs--extravehicular activities--when they go outside to do the
repairs, well, lo and behold, Dr. Newman is the designer of their
innovative space suits. She has been recognized. Back in 2007, Time
magazine recognized her and her space suit work as one of the best
inventions of the year. She is currently leading the development of a
suit that may help astronauts overcome back problems in space. The suit
is planned to be tested on the International Space Station later this
year.
As we go on this dual track in our civilian space program--first the
track with commercial rockets that will take our cargo and is taking
our cargo to and from the International Space Station and will soon be
taking Americans to and from the International Space Station, and the
other track of the dual tracks is the development of this huge new
rocket, much larger than the
[[Page S2428]]
Apollo Saturn V Rocket, which at the time defied the imagination of how
large it could be--this is even bigger. This is called the Space Launch
System, and atop it will sit the human capsule Orion, which will start
the process of developing the systems, the techniques, the lifesaving,
life-enhancing, and life-protecting measures and equipment that can
take us all the way to Mars.
So we need a professional at NASA to help General Bolden and his very
dedicated team. I certainly commend Dr. Dava Newman to the Senate as
that person. We should confirm her today, and we can continue this
Nation's civilian space program.
I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. ENZI. I yield back the remainder of our time.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. All time has been yielded back.
The question is, Will the Senate advise and consent to the nomination
of Dava J. Newman, of Massachusetts, to be Deputy Administrator of the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration?
Mr. BARRASSO. I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient second.
The clerk will call the roll.
The bill clerk called the roll.
Mr. CORNYN. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the
Senator from Tennessee (Mr. Alexander), the Senator from Arkansas (Mr.
Cotton), the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cruz), the Senator from Arizona
(Mr. Flake), the Senator from South Carolina (Mr. Graham), the Senator
from Alaska (Ms. Murkowski), the Senator from Florida (Mr. Rubio), the
Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Toomey), and the Senator from Louisiana
(Mr. Vitter).
Further, if present and voting, the Senator from Tennessee (Mr.
Alexander) would have voted ``yea.''
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Minnesota (Ms.
Klobuchar), the Senator from Connecticut (Mr. Murphy), the Senator from
New York (Mr. Schumer), and the Senator from New Mexico (Mr. Udall) are
necessarily absent.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Lankford). Are there any other Senators in
the Chamber desiring to vote?
The result was announced--yeas 87, nays 0, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 166 Ex.]
YEAS--87
Ayotte
Baldwin
Barrasso
Bennet
Blumenthal
Blunt
Booker
Boozman
Boxer
Brown
Burr
Cantwell
Capito
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Cassidy
Coats
Cochran
Collins
Coons
Corker
Cornyn
Crapo
Daines
Donnelly
Durbin
Enzi
Ernst
Feinstein
Fischer
Franken
Gardner
Gillibrand
Grassley
Hatch
Heinrich
Heitkamp
Heller
Hirono
Hoeven
Inhofe
Isakson
Johnson
Kaine
King
Kirk
Lankford
Leahy
Lee
Manchin
Markey
McCain
McCaskill
McConnell
Menendez
Merkley
Mikulski
Moran
Murray
Nelson
Paul
Perdue
Peters
Portman
Reed
Reid
Risch
Roberts
Rounds
Sanders
Sasse
Schatz
Scott
Sessions
Shaheen
Shelby
Stabenow
Sullivan
Tester
Thune
Tillis
Warner
Warren
Whitehouse
Wicker
Wyden
NOT VOTING--13
Alexander
Cotton
Cruz
Flake
Graham
Klobuchar
Murkowski
Murphy
Rubio
Schumer
Toomey
Udall
Vitter
The nomination was confirmed.
(At the request of Mr. McConnell, the following statement was ordered
to be printed in the Record.)
Vote Explanation
Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, I am proud that Florida has such a
rich history and relationship with NASA. From the earliest launches of
rockets that established manned missions, to the Apollo program and the
continued support for the International Space Station, my home State of
Florida is proud to take ownership in NASA's past and will certainly be
a part of its future.
It is imperative that we continue to have a robust space exploration
program that promotes America's economic, scientific, and security
interests, and that effectively utilizes its resources. NASA must have
strong leadership and I believe Dr. Dava Newman will serve the
Administration well in her new role as Deputy Administrator of NASA.
While other obligations kept me from Washington, I would have voted in
favor of her nomination.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Lankford). Under the previous order, the
motion to reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table, and
the President will be immediately notified of the Senate's action.
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