[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 8]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 10887]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




      COMMEMORATING 46TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE APOLLO 11 MOON LANDING

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 7, 2015

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, forty six years ago, on July 20, 1969, 
millions of Americans and other people around the world, sat glued to 
their televisions and radios to witness a human being walk on the 
surface of the moon, one of the signal events in world history.
  This astounding technological achievement could not have come at a 
better time because in July 1969, the United States was in need of a 
unifying event following the assassinations of President John F. 
Kennedy, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Senator Robert Kennedy, 
and Malcolm X, and social divisions resulting from America's 
involvement in the Vietnam War, a war that cost the nation dearly in 
blood and treasure.
  In 1969, the world was still caught in the grip of the Cold War, 
divided by ideology, separated into opposing blocs of countries aligned 
with either the Soviet Union or the United States.
  Today the world stands connected in a variety of ways unimaginable 46 
years ago.
  The step onto the surface of the moon by Neil Armstrong, left more 
than a mere foot print in the moon sand, it spurred a technological 
revolution that has resulted in many of the devices that help shape our 
lives today.
  On September 29, 1962 at Rice University in Houston, Texas, President 
John F. Kennedy inspired the nation to accept the challenge of sending 
a man to the moon and bringing him safely home before the end of the 
decade.
  President Kennedy said, ``We choose to go to the moon in this decade 
and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they 
are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best 
of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are 
willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we 
intend to win, and the others, too.''
  In July 1969, through the combined determination and efforts of the 
American people, the United States made good on President Kennedy's 
prediction.
  From the inspiration of a young President who challenged us to set 
our sights on the moon, scientists developed new materials, engineers 
manufactured innovative equipment, and factory workers assembled 
cutting edge transport crafts.
  Together, Americans proved that by working together, toward a common 
purpose, there is nothing beyond our reach.
  And let us not forget the crew of American heroes, who made 
President's Kennedy's promise a reality for the world, and whose 
courage and daring embodied the virtues and ideals of the American 
spirit: astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin ``Buzz'' Eugene Aldrin Jr., 
and Michael Collins.
  The words spoken by Neil Armstrong when he stepped off Eagle 1 onto 
the surface of the moon perfectly captured the significance of that 
moment in human history: ``This is one small step for a man, one giant 
leap for mankind.''
  This giant step forward in world history reflected the ground 
breaking research, development, inventions, and discoveries of 
thousands of Americans who successfully opened a new path in frontier 
of space exploration.

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