[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 142 (Tuesday, September 20, 2016)]
[House]
[Page H5647]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           SPACE EXPLORATION

  (Mr. McCARTHY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, the exploration of space has long united 
this country. Every American, rich or poor, living in the cities or in 
the great rural areas that make up our country, can look to the moon 
knowing that American astronauts planted our flag there. Every time we 
look up into space, we have something to be proud of, but we know our 
journey has only just begun.
  Mr. Speaker, not too long ago, commercial spaceflight was disregarded 
as some distant pipedream of the future. But today, thanks to 
innovation in places like Mojave, California, commercial spaceflights 
and the spaceports they take off from are the epicenter of space 
exploration.
  These are the places leading in our journey to the great unknown. But 
as commercial space has ventured into the future, government policy has 
not kept up. We need to ensure government allows commercial spaceflight 
to succeed by updating laws to reflect changing circumstances.
  Similar to airports, for our spaceports to function, we need to 
prioritize safety and minimize the risk of structures interfering with 
the flight path of spacecraft on launch or reentry. The legislation I 
introduced today that we are voting on gives the FAA the authority they 
now lack to examine whether structures being built near spaceports will 
obstruct spaceflight.
  With this, those leading our journey into space can remain confident 
that nothing back on Earth will be slowing them down.

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