[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 161 (Friday, September 28, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1336]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    FAA REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2018

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                               speech of

                     HON. EARL L. ``BUDDY'' CARTER

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 26, 2018

  Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 
302 the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018. This is a good piece of 
legislation that will improve transportation and move our country's 
aeronautics and space industries forward.
  I am particularly thrilled that the conferees have included a 
provision in this bill to create the Office of Spaceports inside the 
FAA's Office of Commercial Space Transportation. Camden County, in my 
home state of Georgia, is currently working with the FAA to obtain a 
launch site operator's license to become the first purely commercial 
spaceport on the East Coast. I have no doubt this new Office of 
Spaceports will help the Camden County Board of County Commissioners 
navigate the complex process of obtaining FAA approval.
  As this conference report clearly states, making more commercial 
spaceports available for use by the burgeoning commercial launch 
industry is an important policy objective. Commercial spaceports, like 
the future Spaceport Camden in Georgia, play an important role in 
encouraging space innovation and STEM careers. Commercial spaceports 
attract significant capital investment in rural areas and provide good, 
high paying jobs to these communities. And most importantly, commercial 
spaceports are the cornerstone of National Space Council's mission to 
ensure American leadership in space.
  Mr. Speaker, encourage my colleagues to support this conference 
report and I encourage the Federal Aviation Administration to act 
swiftly to increase America's launch capacity and approve new launch 
sites like Spaceport Camden.

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