Sherry Boehlert

Mr. BOEHLERT

Mr. BOEHLERT. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to claim the time in opposition, although I am not opposed to the amendment.

Mr. BOEHLERT. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume to state that we will accept the amendment, and I want to thank the gentlewoman for working with us on the language of the amendment. We will work with her and NASA to draft language in the final version of the bill that will ensure that whistleblowers have the protection they need at NASA. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BOEHLERT. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. BOEHLERT. What does ``development of physical facilities'' mean then in the author's mind?

Mr. BOEHLERT. I would propose in response to the gentlewoman that she withdraw the amendment and we work in the spirit of bipartisanship to refine it so we all clearly understand what we are talking about.

Mr. BOEHLERT. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Feeney), a very valuable member of the committee, relatively new member; but he brings to the committee the leadership qualities he demonstrated in the Florida legislature, and we frequently turn to him for counsel as we are dealing with these thorny matters. (Mr. FEENEY asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. BOEHLERT. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Smith), who has contributed so much for so long to the workings of the committee.

Mr. BOEHLERT. Just let me say to the gentleman from Illinois how much we value his many contributions to the committee and how much we look forward to a continuing productive working relationship. Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as she may consume to the distinguished gentlewoman from Virginia (Mrs. Jo Ann Davis).

Mr. BOEHLERT. Mr. Chairman, will the gentlewoman yield?

Mr. BOEHLERT. Mr. Chairman, I could not agree with the gentlewoman from Virginia more. Aeronautics R&D must remain a vital component of NASA's mission, and the bill before us contains several provisions to reverse, as the gentlewoman said, the downward trend. First, we increase the authorization numbers for aeronautics above those requested by the administration. Incidentally, the gentlewoman should take some credit for that because I know how strongly she feels about it and her representations to the committee have not gone unnoticed. Second, we direct NASA to develop a national aeronautics policy to help guide the agency's investment in the years ahead and to ensure that we have the proper people and facilities to support these efforts. Finally, we direct NASA to better manage its wind tunnels and test facilities to ensure they are accessible and cost competitive. The Science Committee is committed to ensuring that aeronautics remains a key part of NASA's mission, and we look forward to working with the gentlewoman now and in the years to come to keep aeronautics front and center.

Mr. BOEHLERT. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time. Let me conclude by thanking all the staff who worked so hard on this bill. That is a lot of credit to go around. I want to thank David Goldston and John Mimikakis and our new chief counsel Sara Gray. They all worked so very hard. And our Space Subcommittee staff led by Bill Adkins. That staff includes Ed Feddeman, Tom Hammond, Johannes Loschnigg, Ken Monroe and Roselee Roberts, Shep Ryan and Kristi Karls, all of whom have put countless hours into this bill. We sometimes need to stop and think about it all. We will work maybe into the evening, sometimes into the wee hours of the morning and then we shake hands and we say, Okay, staff, take care of it. And we go home and sometimes they do all-nighters. They are truly dedicated. They are also very professional, Democrat, Republican. Thank you, thank you, thank you. And I want to thank Tim Brown of the Legislative Counsel's office who was very helpful to us. I also want to thank Dick Obermann and Chuck Atkins. They worked with us to craft on a bipartisan basis a really outstanding bill. I also want to thank Dave Ramey and Deena Contreras from the personal staff of the gentleman from California (Mr. Calvert). What a splendid job they did. Let me end this by thanking the NASA team. He may be gone, but he is not forgotten, the former Administrator, Sean O'Keefe, who gave so much to the program. The new Administrator who has taken over the reins. He is providing clear direction. So many members of the committee like to talk about the equal opportunity society we have. We have got equal opportunity in spades within the NASA program. It excites so many people. I take great pride in pointing out that when the Space Shuttle returns to flight, the commander of that ship will be a New Yorker, Eileen Collins. What a wonderful role model she is for all of us. The NASA team is just particularly good. Chris Shank, another former member of our staff, and Tim Hughes, they did a lot to help. There are so many thank-you's to go around, but most of all we all thank this great Nation of ours for making possible this opportunity.

Mr. BOEHLERT. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BOEHLERT. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. BOEHLERT. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. (Mr. BOEHLERT asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. BOEHLERT. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Calvert), the distinguished chairman of the Subcommittee on Space.

Mr. BOEHLERT. Mr. Chairman, I rise to support my amendment, which I am offering along with my partners in this endeavor, the gentleman from California (Chairman Calvert), the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Gordon), and the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Udall). This amendment makes many technical and clarifying changes to the bill, some of them sought by NASA. It includes specific language sought by a number of Members, including the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Feeney) and the gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Biggert), the gentleman from California (Mr. Honda), and the gentleman from California (Mr. Baca). Most importantly, this amendment fully funds the President's request for exploration for fiscal years 2006 and 2007, not by cutting other programs, but by adding to the bottom line of the bill. I want to thank the administration and key members of our committee, including the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hall) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Smith) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Feeney) for working with us on this amendment. The amendment also specifically recognizes our hope for return to flight. It gives NASA flexibility on the crew size for the space station and clarifies provisions relating to cost reporting on major programs, and raises the threshold for a major program to those with a life-cycle cost of at least $150 million. The amendment, like the underlying bill, represents a bipartisan effort, and it has the full support of the administration. I urge its adoption. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BOEHLERT. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BOEHLERT. Mr. Chairman, in closing, I urge my colleagues to vote for this bipartisan manager's amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BOEHLERT. Mr. Chairman, it is my pleasure to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. DeLay), the distinguished majority leader.

Mr. BOEHLERT. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson), a valued member of the committee.

Mr. BOEHLERT. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee).

Mr. BOEHLERT. I yield to the gentlewoman from New York.

Mr. BOEHLERT. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I guess the amendment is withdrawn but let me say, I marvel at the ability of the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee) to stretch 60 seconds into 5 minutes.

Mr. BOEHLERT

Mr. BOEHLERT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 3070.

Mr. BOEHLERT

Mr. BOEHLERT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that in the engrossment of the bill, H.R. 3070, the Clerk be authorized to make technical corrections and conforming changes to the bill.