[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 35 (Tuesday, February 27, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H1274]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      RECOGNIZING THE WEISS SCHOOL

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Mast) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize The Weiss School, a 
K-8th grade school in Florida, whose students designed the WeissSat-1 
satellite selected by NASA to be launched into space.
  I have had the opportunity to meet a number of these incredible 
students. They devote themselves fully to the pursuit of knowledge. 
Some of them remarked to me that the worst part about school was that 
they had to leave at the end of the day and they wished that there were 
apartments there. I think that speaks to the incredible high quality of 
their teachers and the faculty in that institution of learning.
  The WeissSat-1 was selected for its outstanding design and scientific 
importance, as part of NASA's CubeSat Launch Initiative, an excellent 
program that, unfortunately, has a very uncertain future. The CubeSat 
Launch Initiative was established in 2008 as a mutually beneficial 
program to spur innovation in the STEM community and simultaneously 
advance NASA missions.
  Since its inception, NASA has selected 149 CubeSats, built by 85 
organizations across 38 States, and they have launched 58 of these 
CubeSats to date, all of them at a fraction of the cost of developing 
satellites in-house.
  NASA's Office of Education is currently being restructured and the 
future of the CubeSat program is in jeopardy.

                              {time}  1045

  Students and teachers from the Weiss School are in the House gallery 
today to witness the introduction of a resolution that they themselves 
helped to write.
  The WeissSat-I resolution that I will introduce today with bipartisan 
support from my Florida colleagues will raise awareness of the CubeSat 
Launch Initiative and encourage continuance of the program as NASA 
reorganizes their Office of Education.
  I would like to thank the students of the Weiss School for their 
dedication, their faculty, their teachers for their work in helping 
their students to reach the highest and fullest potential that any 
students could reach.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded that it is not in order 
to refer to or introduce occupants in the gallery.

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