[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 12]
[House]
[Pages 16889-16890]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                        APOLLO EXPLORATION AWARD

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Souder) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Speaker, tonight is a historic night. It is by no 
means an exaggeration to say that the Apollo 11 lunar landing 30 years 
ago was one of the most significant events in human history. To me, it 
is still the most significant single historic event in my lifetime that 
I recall. In fact, I remember watching it on TV. I was in St. Louis at 
the time, and it was just a little bit later time than this evening.
  The Apollo program not only was and still is one of our most 
significant technological accomplishments, but also marked the first 
time that mankind left the planet to explore another celestial body. As 
Neil Armstrong said just last week, ``The important achievement of 
Apollo was demonstrating that humanity is not forever chained to this 
planet. Our visions go rather farther than that, and our opportunities 
are unlimited.''
  The Apollo program demonstrated that it is possible for Americans to 
accomplish anything if they have a dream and a vision and work to make 
it come true. Today, as we have more and more technology and ability, 
we somehow seem to have less and less of that vision that Neil 
Armstrong talked about. As astronaut Walt Cunningham said, ``Today, we 
fail not because of our inability to do something; we fail today 
because of our unwillingness to tackle it in the first place. We are 
unwilling to take a chance, stick our neck out and go and do some of 
these things.''
  The Apollo astronauts have continued to stand as living monuments to 
that drive and vision. Many of today's adults were not even born at the 
time of the Apollo landings, even though they and their children hold 
the potential to be the generation that first steps foot on Mars. The 
vision is still a living vision, however, because it is rekindled by 
the Apollo astronauts who continue to bear witness to the possibility 
of making even seemingly outlandish dreams come into reality.
  Just last week, however, we had another sad reminder of just how 
precious these men are with the death of Apollo 12 astronaut Pete 
Conrad, who was laid to rest yesterday in Arlington National Cemetery. 
Four of the twelve men to have set foot on the Moon have now passed 
away. A total of seven of the Apollo astronauts are no longer with us. 
Just outside this chamber stands the newest addition to Statuary Hall, 
a statue of Apollo 13 astronaut Jack Swigert of Colorado, who was 
elected to the House but was never able to serve.
  Despite the contemporary accolades given to the Apollo astronauts in 
the 1960s and 1970s, America has never provided a fitting tribute to 
these men for their bravery and historical accomplishments on behalf of 
this Nation. Today, I am introducing a bill which would direct NASA to 
present an Apollo exploration award to each of the Apollo astronauts or 
their families, all 32, to commemorate their historic and singular 
contributions to history and to provide a fitting thanks from a 
grateful Nation.
  The gentleman from Florida (Mr. Weldon), who represents the space 
coast of Florida, has introduced this legislation with me. It would 
contain an authentic Moon rock recovered on the Apollo missions by the 
work of these men.
  In my view, there could be no better recognition for these heroes, 
nor a better way to rekindle the accomplishments of Apollo in the 
public imagination. The only fitting commemoration for those who have 
touched the Moon or made that great achievement possible could be a 
piece of the Moon itself, and such recognition is long overdue.
  Let me point out that NASA has recovered more than 2,000 different 
samples of the Moon in six landings. So the rocks required for the 
presentation would be a minuscule portion of our total holdings. My 
bill also maintains careful control over the lunar rocks, preventing 
them from being sold or transferred to anyone besides the astronaut, 
his family, or a museum. The lunar material, 80 percent of which has 
not been researched yet, could be recalled by NASA if needed for 
scientific research and then promptly returned.
  Mr. Speaker, America was founded on the principle of exploration. We 
have it

[[Page 16890]]

in our power to continue this great tradition as a spacefaring Nation. 
I urge my colleagues to support this legislation to help stimulate the 
continuation of the vision of Apollo in modern times.
  I would hope that this legislation is something that all of us, 
Republicans and Democrats, House, Senate and the President can agree 
upon unanimously, and as soon as possible. It would be a fitting 
closing tribute to this 30th celebration of the Apollo Moon landing.

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