[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 14815]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



           URGING SUPPORT FOR THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION

  (Mr. PENCE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, Tuesday at 1:39 p.m. the Space Shuttle 
Atlantis and its crew returned to Earth, successfully delivering and 
installing a new portal for spacewalkers, the International Space 
Station. On Monday of next week, we just learned, Mr. Speaker, that the 
debate over the future of NASA will land in this Chamber.
  I rise today to urge my colleagues to remember that despite the fact 
that some of our forebears came to this continent in chains, all 
Americans are descended of pioneers who journeyed to or prevailed in 
this wilderness nation.
  More than any other people on the Earth, we are a nation of 
explorers, and the debate next week will provide an important 
opportunity to restate this by providing resources for the 
International Space Station, for return vehicles and urgent repairs for 
the vehicle assembly building at Kennedy Space Station.
  Let us not abandon this character of exploration that is one of the 
most compelling aspects of the American character.

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