[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 16426]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                  SPACE STATION TEACHES COSTLY LESSON

  (Mr. DUNCAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, yesterday's lead front page story in the 
Christian Science Monitor newspaper was headlined, ``Late, Costly 
Milestone for Space Base.'' It was about the Space Station and U.S. 
costs now approaching $100 billion. When this project was first started 
in 1984, cost projections were only 6 to $8 billion. This is the old 
Washington con game: Drastically low ball the cost estimates at the 
beginning, then spread the project around to as many congressional 
districts as possible and it will never end.
  As the well-respected Monitor pointed out yesterday, ``The $96 
billion station is 2\1/2\ years behind schedule and costs are 
burgeoning,'' meaning still going up. U.S. taxpayers have even had to 
pay out an extra 3 to $5 billion to help the Russians participate.
  This Space Station will go down in history as the biggest boondoggle 
this Nation has ever produced. Mr. Speaker, it just goes to show once 
again that the Federal Government cannot do anything in an economical, 
cost-effective manner.

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