[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 120 (Wednesday, July 17, 2019)]
[House]
[Page H5919]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      ``APOLLO 11'' COMMEMORATION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Babin) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BABIN. Mr. Speaker, 50 years ago, America achieved the greatest 
technological accomplishment in human history.
  Three men, Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin, set off 
from Cape Canaveral on a voyage that President Kennedy called ``the 
most hazardous, and dangerous, and greatest adventure on which man has 
ever embarked.''
  Four days into their 8-day mission, Neil and Buzz climbed down the 
ladder of the lunar module and stood on the surface of the Moon; the 
very first human presence on a celestial body other than Earth; a feat 
that, to this day, no other country has equaled. And we did it five 
more times.
  Armstrong, Collins, and Aldrin could not have accomplished this 
alone. Apollo 11 was the culmination of the hard work of more than 
400,000 Americans who, with limited experience, and comparatively 
primitive technology, committed themselves to accomplish this task and 
completing President Kennedy's order of returning the astronauts safely 
home.
  I am so proud to represent Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, 
and the historic Mission Control of that Apollo era.
  On the wall of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee 
here on Capitol Hill, where I serve as the senior Republican on the 
Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee, is written, from the Bible, 
Proverbs 29:18, which reads: ``Where there is no vision, the people 
perish.''
  The 50th anniversary of the first Moon landing should serve as a 
reminder of what we, as a Nation, can accomplish when we do have a 
clear mission.
  Six hundred million people from around the world gathered around 
their grainy television sets to watch those first steps. What is 
amazing is that this took place only 40 years after Lindbergh first 
flew across the Atlantic; and only 65 years after two bicycle-making 
brothers from Dayton, Ohio, achieved powered flight in Kitty Hawk, 
North Carolina.
  The Apollo program built upon these accomplishments and exponentially 
pushed our technology forward; and we are on the cusp of doing it 
again.
  President Trump and Vice President Pence have ensured that we are, 
again, pushing outward, and launching America back into its dominant 
role as the global leader in space. We have our vision. This time, we 
head to the red planet by way of the Moon, and this time we stay.
  NASA Administrator Bridenstine has focused NASA on achieving these 
goals with the Artemis program, Apollo's sister, and I will continue to 
use my position in Congress to advocate for the support needed for NASA 
to accomplish this very worthwhile effort.
  Mr. Speaker, as we commemorate the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 this 
week, I would like to thank all out there who helped us get to the 
Moon, and all those out there who will get us back to the Moon; and 
thank them for their tremendous contribution to our country.
  I am anxiously looking forward to the next small steps and giant 
leaps in our space program.

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