[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Pages 5584-5585]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           EXECUTIVE SESSION

                                 ______
                                 

NOMINATION OF DAVA J. NEWMAN TO BE DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR OF THE NATIONAL 
                  AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will 
proceed to executive session to consider the following nomination, 
which the clerk will report.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read the nomination of Dava J. 
Newman, of Massachusetts, to be Deputy Administrator of the National 
Aeronautics and Space Administration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, there will be 30 
minutes of debate equally divided in the usual form.
  Mr. KAINE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the time 
allotted during quorum calls be charged to both sides.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. KAINE. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DAINES. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. DAINES. Mr. President, today the Senate will vote to confirm Dava 
Newman to be Deputy Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration. I had the pleasure of meeting with Dr. Newman. She is a 
talented individual. She is passionate about aerospace engineering and 
is generating awareness of science, technology, energy, and math 
opportunities in Montana students.
  Dr. Newman is excited to get to work and continue to make NASA 
competitive with other countries studying space exploration.
  A graduate of C.R. Anderson Middle School and Capital High School in 
Helena, MT, Dr. Newman is a testament to the quality of Montana's 
public education. After graduating from high school, Dr. Newman 
attended the University of Notre Dame before pursuing graduate school 
at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Newman is now a 
professor of aeronautics and astronautics.
  In 2007, Time magazine highlighted Dr. Newman's work as one of the 
best inventions of the year. She developed a new space suit, known as 
the BioSuit, to increase astronauts' agility and movements, allowing 
astronauts to not only walk but also run and even climb mountains.
  Her track record of success and nomination to NASA serve as a way to 
encourage young Montanans to pursue careers in space and engineering.
  Dr. Newman is an incredibly accomplished Montanan who truly 
exemplifies our State's legacy of public service. Her passion and 
dedication to NASA is clear. I know she will lead with honor and is 
prepared for whatever challenges may lie ahead. I urge my colleagues to 
join me in support of Dr. Newman's nomination.
  I yield back the remainder of my time.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Coats). The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. NELSON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. NELSON. Mr. President, in a few minutes, we are going to vote on 
the confirmation of Dava Newman, the nominee for Deputy Administrator 
of NASA. This little Agency happens to be one that I have some personal 
fondness for, having participated with NASA many Moons ago--29\1/2\ 
years ago--on the 24th flight of the space shuttle, a crew led by then-
Navy Captain Robert Gibson, otherwise known as Hoot Gibson, and his 
second in command, the pilot of our mission, which was dubbed STS--
Space Transportation System--61-C. Subsequently, all of the numbers of 
the space shuttles reverted to their original numbering, but there was 
a hiatus in there where several shuttle flights had a very complicated 
numbering system, and ours was one of them. The pilot of that mission 
was then-Marine Colonel Charlie Bolden, now-Marine General, Retired, 
Charlie Bolden, who is the Administrator of NASA and has been for the 
last 6 years. But Administrator Bolden does not have a Deputy, and he 
needs a Deputy Administrator. So this process has been carefully 
conducted, and they sifted through hundreds of names to come up with 
just the right person, and that is in the person of Dr. Dava Newman.
  She received her bachelor's degree from the University of Notre Dame 
and two master's degrees and a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute 
of Technology. She is currently a professor of aeronautics and 
astronautics and engineering systems at MIT. She is also the director 
of the Technology and Policy Program there.
  Right off the bat, you can see there is no question as to her skills, 
her smarts, and her credentials, but she is also known for her 
leadership and technical expertise in aerospace engineering. She 
authored over 200 research publications, including the textbook 
``Introduction to Aerospace Engineering and Design.''
  I think that would be kind of interesting, that as a backup to 
Administrator Bolden, who is a five-time space shuttle astronaut, we 
have someone who is an expert in aerospace engineering design, 
particularly as we are creating the new rockets and the new spacecraft 
as we speak, for the goal, which is Mars in the decade of the 2030s.
  During her career, she served as the principal investigator on three 
space flight experiments flown on board the space shuttle and on board 
the previous Mir Space Station. She is tremendously known for her 
innovative space suit designs that use mechanical counterpressure to 
make the space suit formfitting, lightweight, and much more flexible 
than previous space suits.
  If you notice, when you see the astronauts outside of the 
International Space Station--which, by the way, blows the mind, how big 
it is. It is 110 yards long. From one goalpost to the other goalpost is 
120 yards. That is how big the International Space Station is that is 
250 miles above the Earth with six humans on board. When you watch

[[Page 5585]]

those EVAs--extravehicular activities--when they go outside to do the 
repairs, well, lo and behold, Dr. Newman is the designer of their 
innovative space suits. She has been recognized. Back in 2007, Time 
magazine recognized her and her space suit work as one of the best 
inventions of the year. She is currently leading the development of a 
suit that may help astronauts overcome back problems in space. The suit 
is planned to be tested on the International Space Station later this 
year.
  As we go on this dual track in our civilian space program--first the 
track with commercial rockets that will take our cargo and is taking 
our cargo to and from the International Space Station and will soon be 
taking Americans to and from the International Space Station, and the 
other track of the dual tracks is the development of this huge new 
rocket, much larger than the Apollo Saturn V Rocket, which at the time 
defied the imagination of how large it could be--this is even bigger. 
This is called the Space Launch System, and atop it will sit the human 
capsule Orion, which will start the process of developing the systems, 
the techniques, the lifesaving, life-enhancing, and life-protecting 
measures and equipment that can take us all the way to Mars.
  So we need a professional at NASA to help General Bolden and his very 
dedicated team. I certainly commend Dr. Dava Newman to the Senate as 
that person. We should confirm her today, and we can continue this 
Nation's civilian space program.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. ENZI. I yield back the remainder of our time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. All time has been yielded back.
  The question is, Will the Senate advise and consent to the nomination 
of Dava J. Newman, of Massachusetts, to be Deputy Administrator of the 
National Aeronautics and Space Administration?
  Mr. BARRASSO. I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk called the roll.
  Mr. CORNYN. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the 
Senator from Tennessee (Mr. Alexander), the Senator from Arkansas (Mr. 
Cotton), the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cruz), the Senator from Arizona 
(Mr. Flake), the Senator from South Carolina (Mr. Graham), the Senator 
from Alaska (Ms. Murkowski), the Senator from Florida (Mr. Rubio), the 
Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Toomey), and the Senator from Louisiana 
(Mr. Vitter).
  Further, if present and voting, the Senator from Tennessee (Mr. 
Alexander) would have voted ``yea.''
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Minnesota (Ms. 
Klobuchar), the Senator from Connecticut (Mr. Murphy), the Senator from 
New York (Mr. Schumer), and the Senator from New Mexico (Mr. Udall) are 
necessarily absent.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Lankford). Are there any other Senators in 
the Chamber desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 87, nays 0, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 166 Ex.]

                                YEAS--87

     Ayotte
     Baldwin
     Barrasso
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Blunt
     Booker
     Boozman
     Boxer
     Brown
     Burr
     Cantwell
     Capito
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Cassidy
     Coats
     Cochran
     Collins
     Coons
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Crapo
     Daines
     Donnelly
     Durbin
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Feinstein
     Fischer
     Franken
     Gardner
     Gillibrand
     Grassley
     Hatch
     Heinrich
     Heitkamp
     Heller
     Hirono
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Kaine
     King
     Kirk
     Lankford
     Leahy
     Lee
     Manchin
     Markey
     McCain
     McCaskill
     McConnell
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Moran
     Murray
     Nelson
     Paul
     Perdue
     Peters
     Portman
     Reed
     Reid
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rounds
     Sanders
     Sasse
     Schatz
     Scott
     Sessions
     Shaheen
     Shelby
     Stabenow
     Sullivan
     Tester
     Thune
     Tillis
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wicker
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--13

     Alexander
     Cotton
     Cruz
     Flake
     Graham
     Klobuchar
     Murkowski
     Murphy
     Rubio
     Schumer
     Toomey
     Udall
     Vitter
  The nomination was confirmed.
  (At the request of Mr. McConnell, the following statement was ordered 
to be printed in the Record.)


                            Vote Explanation

 Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, I am proud that Florida has such a 
rich history and relationship with NASA. From the earliest launches of 
rockets that established manned missions, to the Apollo program and the 
continued support for the International Space Station, my home State of 
Florida is proud to take ownership in NASA's past and will certainly be 
a part of its future.
  It is imperative that we continue to have a robust space exploration 
program that promotes America's economic, scientific, and security 
interests, and that effectively utilizes its resources. NASA must have 
strong leadership and I believe Dr. Dava Newman will serve the 
Administration well in her new role as Deputy Administrator of NASA. 
While other obligations kept me from Washington, I would have voted in 
favor of her nomination.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Lankford). Under the previous order, the 
motion to reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table, and 
the President will be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

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