[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 43 (Monday, March 11, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E284]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





    INTRODUCTION OF THE HIDDEN FIGURES CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL ACT

                                  _____
                                 

                       HON. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 11, 2019

  Ms. JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, today I am joined by my good 
friend from Oklahoma, Ranking Member Lucas, in introducing the Hidden 
Figures Congressional Gold Medal Act.
  Katherine Johnson, Dr. Christine Darden, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary 
Jackson were pioneers. At a time of male dominance and racial 
segregation at NASA, women and their talents were often overlooked. 
When women were permitted to contribute, they were routinely not given 
credit for their work. Women of color faced additional daily 
indignities. In spite of these challenges, these women chose to apply 
their considerable talents to help land the first man on the moon. 
Their stories, portrayed in the Hidden Figures book and film, represent 
the stories of hundreds of women computers, mathematicians, and 
engineers working at NASA and its precursor organization, the National 
Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), from the 1930s to the 1970s.
  The success of the NASA space program is due in large part to their 
brilliance, hard work, and perseverance in the face of adversity. What 
better example can we hope to give our sons and daughters?
  This bill will bestow Congress's highest civilian honor in 
appreciation of the achievements of Katherine Johnson, Dr. Christine 
Darden, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson, and all the women computers, 
mathematicians, and engineers at NACA and NASA during this important 
time in our history.
  I am pleased to be joined by Ranking Member Lucas and our colleagues 
in the Senate in introducing the Hidden Figures Congressional Gold 
Medal Act. I commend Senator Coons for his leadership in championing 
this bill. Fifty years after the Apollo 11 moon landing, it is high 
time we recognize the contributions the women of NASA have made in 
service to the nation.
  I urge my colleagues to join us and help us move this legislation 
forward into law.

                          ____________________