[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 18240]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    HONORING THE ROLE OF AMERICAN WORKERS IN PUTTING MAN ON THE MOON

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. STEVE ISRAEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 17, 2009

  Mr. ISRAEL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge the key role 
American workers played in putting man on the moon and to honor their 
respective contributions to mankind.
  On September 12, 1962 President John F. Kennedy challenged America to 
``go to the moon in this decade . . . not because it is easy but 
because it is hard.'' Long Islanders heard this call, rolled up their 
sleeves and made that dream a reality. I am proud of the Long Islanders 
who produced the Grumman-built Lunar Module nicknamed ``the Eagle'' 
which achieved its rightful fame when astronaut Neil Armstrong 
announced to the world that, ``the Eagle has landed.''
  America landed on the moon on July 20, 1969 and the men and women of 
Long Island got us there.
  July 2009 is the 40th anniversary of mankind landing on the moon, an 
eternal tribute to America's engineering genius that sits some 235,000 
miles away on the lunar surface. The Grumman-built Lunar Module is a 
permanent symbol of the collective efforts of the hard-working American 
men and women who met President Kennedy's call to achieve the 
impossible.
  During the height of the Cold War, a significant portion of the 
Nation's scientific and technological genius was turned not to weapons 
but to space exploration.
  Forty years later, we honor the ingenuity and tenacity of all 
Americans that answered President Kennedy's call to reach to the 
heavens and thank them for their historic contributions to mankind.

                          ____________________