[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12811]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             SHUTTLE SAFETY

  (Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, just a few days from today, 
brave Americans will again enter into space, pressing forward the 
intellectual and, of course, scientific expertise that Americans 
possess. I support the space exploration program, but I stand today as 
a member of the House Science Committee who has continually asked the 
question about safety, safety, safety.
  After the incident of Columbia, we implemented safety procedures. 
Unfortunately, today, we find that one of the engineers that had 
concerns about the space shuttle's launch on July 1 has now been 
removed as an engineer from this program.
  Whistle-blower protection. Safety requirements. It is time, before 
they launch, that they tell Members of Congress the facts and that we 
can be assured that all manner of testing, all assessment has been made 
to ensure a safe launch, as safe as possible, so that lives can be 
protected.
  Vehicles may be lost, but the lives of astronauts should be 
protected. We need answers, and I look forward to getting those answers 
as soon as possible.

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