[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 21]
[Senate]
[Pages 28870-28871]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




      NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION AUTHORIZATION

  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, the conference report on the 
authorization of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is 
in its final stages of being approved. There are some things that are 
still to be worked out, but I am proud to have been the subcommittee 
chairman of the NASA Science Subcommittee that produced--along with the 
House, of course, and the full Commerce Committee--what I think is an 
excellent authorization of our National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration.
  I worked with my colleague, Senator Nelson of Florida, to produce a 
bill that does envision the flight to space, the flight to the moon 
again, and then to Mars. It is the vision laid out by President Bush in 
January of 2004. It is incumbent on Congress to lead the National 
Aeronautics and Space Administration and also to support it fully so 
that we will continue the vision that John F. Kennedy had when he said: 
We will put a man on the moon. Now we can take it the next step and put 
a man on Mars, a woman on Mars.
  It is important that we understand that this is important not only 
because it is a huge feat and victory for the world that we can do this 
but also because we get so much basic science from making this 
commitment. It improves our quality of life right here on Earth.
  This conference committee report does authorize funding for NASA at 
$17.9 billion in 2007 and $18.7 billion for

[[Page 28871]]

2008. That gets us on track to fund the shuttles that will continue to 
build out the space station and also to begin immediate work on the 
crew return vehicle that will be the next generation of vehicle going 
into space after the space station has been completed.
  It is a congressional responsibility to set the parameters for what 
we do with NASA, and we are taking that responsibility seriously. We 
believe that we should finish the space station, finish the 
international commitment that we have made to our partners and allies 
who have put millions of dollars in the space station, and so that we 
can continue the basic science research necessary, not only for us to 
learn how we can live and work in space for those people who will be 
going to the moon again and then later to Mars but also for the basic 
geological findings we know we can find if we explore the Moon and 
hopefully Mars. And something that was said at one of our Commerce 
Committee hearings by Dr. Sam Ting of MIT, there is very important 
physics research that using the cosmic rays to determine how we might 
have alternative forms of energy is a very important purpose for the 
space station to be completed.
  This report also designates the U.S. portion of the space station as 
a national laboratory so that we can bring other funds besides NASA 
funds, besides Government funds into the space station, and that will 
help make sure we are able to do the most possible research and make 
the best use of the space station. It demonstrates that Congress puts a 
great value on the research that can be done aboard the space station 
and also a great value on keeping our word to our international 
partners.
  America must lead in the space exploration and science area, but we 
must do it in collaboration with other countries. I don't think we 
should just consider ourselves competitors with other countries. If we 
are going to be the leader, we should lead. We should go forward. We 
should break the barriers. And we should share with others what we have 
learned for the good of mankind. That is exactly what this bill 
envisions.
  It also supports aeronautical research. This has been a fundamental 
part of NASA activities since its inception. It will allow us to 
continue the great work that has been done in the past. It will assure 
that we take the next step toward the crew return vehicle that will 
replace the shuttle at the earliest possible time. We will accelerate 
that process.
  I am very proud of this conference report. The House and Senate 
worked together very well. It was a bipartisan effort and a bicameral 
effort. We are going to see a new impetus for NASA with the support of 
Congress and the President. That is exactly what this country should be 
doing at this time.
  I yield the floor.

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