John Culberson

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Gallegly), the chairman of the Subcommittee on International Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Human Rights. (Mr. GALLEGLY asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Istook), the distinguished subcommittee chairman.

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Chairman, I want to focus in this 2 minutes on the merits of the gentleman from Florida's (Chairman Young) proposal which he is withdrawing tonight so that he can work with the members of the Committee on the Budget, Members of this House, and listen to all of the best advice that he can gather to come up with some substantive and meaningful reform of our appropriations process and the budget process. We all recognize the Committee on Appropriations only controls about 20 percent of Federal spending. The gentleman from Florida's (Chairman Young) proposal, which really merits our support, has laid out a system to shut down or sequester mandatory spending in the event the Office of Management and Budget baseline estimates are exceeded because Congress has passed more mandatory spending programs. And that is where the bulk of the problem lies, because Congress continues to pass programs that require us to spend more money. The gentleman from Florida's (Chairman Young) bill would also establish baseline estimates that do not include emergency spending. Obviously, in time of war emergency, we need to move bills through. We are going to spend money that we did not contemplate. The chairman's bill would also set out a change of start date of the fiscal year to November 1. But the part that I am particularly pleased about and excited to see, the chairman has proposed sunsetting of all Federal programs, except earned entitlements, effective October 1 of 2006 unless reauthorized. And I know the chairman, coming out of the State legislature in Florida, is interested in listening to and hearing advice from our State legislators. The American Legislative Exchange Council is meeting in Seattle this summer, a very good organization made up of State legislators whom we need to listen to and talk to about how we can help them balance their State budgets and how they can help us with their best ideas on balancing the Federal budget. I believe the gentleman from Florida's (Chairman Young) amendment, which he will turn into a bill, merits our support. I look forward to working with him, as I know he will work with the Committee on the Budget and all Members of this Congress to bring together the best ideas so we can truly bring spending under control.

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Madam Speaker, reclaiming my time, if we could have a little colloquy, it is important to point out to the American people and to the fellow Members of Congress that the President's vision which he laid out so eloquently and so clearly for the future of space exploration in this Nation is simply moving money largely within NASA's budget, preprogramming $11 billion within NASA's existing, projected budget to achieve this vision. The vision itself only calls for an additional $1 billion over the next 5 years in spending above the fiscal year 2004 budget. It is important to keep in perspective, as the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Weldon) so correctly pointed out, that at the time of Apollo, the Nation committed 4 percent of our budget, 4 percent of the Federal budget, was committed to the Apollo program. Yet today what the President is asking for is simply less than 1 percent of the Federal budget to be invested in the exploration of space and pushing the frontiers of science.

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Texas and look forward to working with her to ensure that NASA gets the support it needs, that the President's vision that he has laid out so clearly and so eloquently for the future of NASA and for the future of scientific research in this country, that we give the President's vision the support that it deserves. As the majority leader so eloquently pointed out earlier, the exploration of space is indeed a difficult task; and it will require the efforts of every Member of this Congress working together from every part of the political spectrum. I am so pleased to have the majority leader's leadership on this effort, to have the full support of the gentleman from Texas (Mr. DeLay) there, here in the House of Representatives. He understands the importance of scientific research, the importance of NASA, the Johnson Space Center now being located, of course, in Houston. The unity that has been shown here on this floor, between my colleague, the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee), and myself and the majority leader in supporting NASA I think speaks volumes of the kind of support that I think we will see from this Congress when the time comes to get behind NASA. Every American out there needs to, I think, express themselves to their elected officials, to their Members of Congress, just as they have done in all the hits they have made on the NASA Web site. I would conclude by pointing out that we will continue to be here on a regular basis pointing out the benefits of NASA's work over the years, the importance of the President's vision, supporting what he has laid out for NASA, for the jet propulsion laboratory. I would also like to conclude by quoting my hero, Thomas Jefferson, who pointed out perhaps the greatest benefit of our investment in science. Mr. Jefferson was fond of saying, and it is so very true, that the first-born child of science is always freedom. With that, I close, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Speaker, if I might, ignite that spark in their heart to know that the United States, the country they are so privileged to live in, is a leader in the exploration of space, in pushing the frontiers of science, to light that spark in the heart of a young person is one of the greatest things that we can do. NASA has certainly done that. I am probably the most fiscally conservative Member of this House. My good friend from Houston knows how carefully I examine every single request to spend money that is presented to me as an appropriator. I am working diligently to balance the Federal budget. I am a co-author of the Balanced Budget Amendment. I want to thank the majority leader, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. DeLay), and the lead author of the amendment, the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Istook), for bringing the balanced budget amendment to the floor of this House. We need to pay off the national debt, balance the Federal budget. When it comes to investing in scientific research and maintaining America's leadership role in outer space, both of us, I think between the two of us we pretty much cover the political spectrum, recognize that NASA, JPL, and scientific research is our national insurance policy for the future, prosperity of the country, and it will ignite that spark in the hearts of young people. I know my colleague has seen that in her district.

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Speaker, certainly no better, if I may, no better expression of the importance of the mission of NASA and maintaining America's leadership role in space, what better expression of that than to have my colleague and me here, the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Culberson) in complete agreement on that. I would challenge any Member of the House to show someone with a stronger fiscally conservative record than I, looking carefully at the dollars we always together, my colleague and I, have been there to support NASA, as has the majority leader, who is also our neighbor from Houston. There are no political parties, there are no political divisions, I think, between us in helping NASA and the jet propulsion laboratory and the pride that we feel in their magnificent achievements and acknowledging and congratulating them for their spectacular success with the Mars Rover and recognizing in less than 1 month that NASA's Casini mission will go into orbit around Saturn and shortly thereafter, the first of the year, NASA will be landing a European-built lander on the surface of Titan, the only other planet in the solar system, a moon of Saturn, that has an atmosphere as dense as that of the earth. We, both of us, in representing Houston recognize the importance of the Texas Medical Center and the work that they do with NASA in so many ways has saved lives. If I could point out something that I am sure my colleague is familiar with, the work that Dr. Michael DeBakey has done using space shuttle technology. The shuttle has these huge turbo pumps that are required to empty the spacecraft's external tanks of more than 525,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen and oxygen in less than 8.5 minutes. Dr. DeBakey got together with NASA, with a private team as well, and developed the MicroMed-DeBakey ventricular assist device using NASA's shuttle technology to pump hydrogen and oxygen out of those fuel tanks, to miniaturize that into a device that has kept people alive so they could have heart transplants, that have helped people's hearts heal so they could avoid a transplant. As Dr. Rosenbaum pointed out, the heart pump, the MicroMed-DeBakey ventricular assist device, is a perfect blend of NASA engineering and medicine. The same laws of physics that apply to building and flying a spacecraft apply to building and operating a heart pump. As Dr. DeBakey said, when you have got intense research going on like this, new knowledge is bound to flow from it. I know my colleague has seen that benefit as well.

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Texas, because support of NASA, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, America's exploration of space, and keeping our leadership in space is indeed something that we can work on in a bipartisan way, because this is truly an American and Texan endeavor, to be at the frontiers of exploration. My colleague is right about the popularity and importance of NASA's exploration to the average American. The NASA Web site, in fact, has had more hits on it than any Web site in history in a shorter period of time. NASA is now at over 10 billion hits on their Web site, in large part due to the spectacular success of the Mars exploration Rover program and the scientists at NASA. JPL, Steve Squires, all deserve our thanks and our sincere congratulations for their magnificent achievement in pulling together this extraordinary complicated mission of landing two rovers in completely separate parts of Mars to bring that program together in such a short period of time, to have it achieve such spectacular success so flawlessly. They deserve our congratulations and our admiration for what they have achieved. They are indeed a great inspiration to the Nation, to young people here in America and all over the world who recognize the value of not only exploring space, but pushing the frontiers of science. As the majority leader so eloquently said and as my colleague from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee) has pointed out, there are so many different technologies that have spun off from NASA that are important. It occurred to me as I was listening to the majority leader's very eloquent remarks, and my colleague, my neighbor just to the east, the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee) pointing out NASA's many successes, I am reminded of a book we were just reading, my wife and I, to our daughter, Caroline Virginia, who is fascinated with Harry Houdini, the magician. We were reading a book to Caroline about Houdini, and it pointed out Houdini had a hard time succeeding when he began as a magician until someone pointed out to him that he was making it look too easy. He was so good at what he did that he made it look easy. The audience could not really appreciate how difficult it was, what he was doing. Houdini took that to heart and began to make his act look more difficult. I do not want NASA to make it look more difficult, but I think NASA's great success at making it look easy at overcoming the spectacular hurdles that confront them has been in part perhaps one of the reasons that people take NASA's work for granted. I would be happy to yield to my colleague.

Mr. CULBERSON. Madam Speaker, as the majority leader said, the exploration of space is hard; it is a difficult task. Pushing the frontiers of science forward is also. The support of NASA is a cause that knows no political boundaries. I am pleased to be joined by my colleague and neighbor, the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee); and I am pleased to yield to her at this time so that she may express in her own words her view of the importance of the mission of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's mission to maintain America's leadership role in outer space.

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the majority leader, who has so eloquently and forcefully set forth the benefits in so many ways to this Nation of the President's vision for outer space, of space exploration. Because the best evidence I could give in support of what the leader has just told us of the value of what the President has set forth is to quote Thomas Jefferson in his charge to the Lewis and Clark expedition. Two hundred years ago, President Jefferson set forth very simply to Meriwether Lewis: ``The object of your mission is to explore the Missouri River.'' And that simple charge, that simple direction from the President of the United States to explore the Missouri River has led to the expansion of the United States to the Pacific Ocean and the innumerable benefits that flowed from that. Madam Speaker, I am happy to yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Calvert).

Mr. CULBERSON. I know the gentleman has seen partnerships in California, as we have in Texas, between NASA and our universities. The research that is done between NASA and our universities has yielded tangible benefits in medical technology and in so many different ways. We are going to be on this floor talking about those benefits which have touched the lives of individual Americans, particularly in the area of medicine, which the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Weldon) who has just joined us, is so familiar with. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Weldon) to join us in this colloquy to lay out the benefits individually and collectively as a Nation that have come to us from the exploration of space and the work that NASA is doing.

Mr. CULBERSON. It is truly only the Federal Government with the resources we have available to pour into scientific research, much of the work that scientists do, much of the work that NASA does, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the magnificent discoveries that have been made at JPL in California, a part of NASA, have been as a result of the dedicated support of this Congress and of the United States to put the resources, the commitment necessary to run down a lot of the rabbit trails that are necessary. There may be some dead ends there. There are going to be failures and setbacks. Exploration is dangerous; it is hard. Pushing the frontiers of knowledge is hard and requires a commitment that each and every American shares in their heart and they are counting on us to be there, to give the people at NASA, at JPL, and our scientists the support that they need.

Mr. CULBERSON. Madam Speaker, the Chinese recognize the importance of reaching outward to the nations in not only exploration, but of the tremendous technological benefits to the nation as a whole, and of commerce with other nations. The American people understand that the advancement of exploration of space, the advancement of the frontiers of science bring benefits to us individually and promote the cause of freedom.

Mr. CULBERSON. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Calvert). It is important that he mentioned that the nation of China has an aggressive space program. They have set a goal of going to the Moon. It reminds me that centuries ago, the Chinese had one of the greatest fleets in the world. The emperor who built that great fleet, composed of ships, I understand, that any one of which could have sailed up the Thames River prior to Columbus' discovery of America and conquered all of England because of their superiority in fire power and the maneuverability of the ships. That emperor who built that fleet died, and the succeeding emperor decided to keep China focused on itself and burned the fleet at the docks in order to keep the Chinese focused inward. As a result, the Chinese lost that great advantage they had in the exploration of the seas, and ceded not only control, they basically lagged far behind the rest of the world in technology, exploration, and freedom.

Mr. CULBERSON. Madam Speaker, it is my privilege to appear here on the House floor today to join with the majority leader and Members of Congress who will be with me here today to express our strong support for maintaining America's leadership role in the exploration of outer space, and our leadership role in advancing the frontiers of science, to demonstrate through the examples we will give today and the presentations that we have of the many, many tangible ways in which the mission of NASA, our leadership in the exploration of space, and America's leadership in the advancement of the frontiers of science have touched and changed the lives of Americans individually, and advanced the freedom and prosperity of the Nation and the world as a whole. Madam Speaker, it is my privilege to recognize the gentleman from California (Mr. Calvert).

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourn tomorrow, it adjourn to meet at 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 8, 2004, for morning hour debate.

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Madam 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 the subject of my Special Order today.

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Speaker, we face a record national budget deficit in this country. We face a record national debt of over $7 trillion, which we cannot leave to our children. We face in Harris County, Texas, spending over $100 million a year providing health care to illegal aliens. This bill that the gentleman from California has filed, which I strongly support, only requires hospitals that are seeking reimbursement from that billion dollars to identify whether the individual in question is a citizen or not. A hospital is not eligible to be reimbursed unless they are already treating somebody who is an alien. The gentleman from California's bill, and I have read it very carefully, requires that this question be asked of everybody who is presented to a hospital for medical treatment if they are an alien. The gentleman from California's legislation is based on common sense. We must make sure that we balance the budget in this country. The budget deficit is now over $500 billion. Uncontrolled immigration is a national security issue. We must control our borders. It is a financial security issue for the sake of our kids and our grandchildren. I think the gentleman from California has come forward with a commonsense proposal that we can move forward on to the Senate and that we could deal with in conference committee. If opponents of this bill have better ideas, let them offer them as amendments. I strongly support the legislation and encourage my colleagues to vote for this bill in the interest of national security and the financial security of the future of this Nation.

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that it be in order at any time without intervention of any point of order to consider in the House H.R. 1538; that the bill be considered as read for amendment; and that the previous question be considered as ordered on the bill to final passage without intervening motion, except: one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Financial Services; and one motion to recommit.

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that it be in order at any time without intervention of any point of order to consider in the House H.R. 911; that the bill be considered as read for amendment; that the amendment that I have placed at the desk be considered as read and adopted; and that the previous question be considered as ordered on the bill to final passage without intervening motion: except (1) one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Resources; and (2) one motion to recommit.

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. I look forward to that opportunity.

Mr. CULBERSON. I yield to the gentlewoman from Texas.

Mr. CULBERSON. I yield to the gentleman from Florida.

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words.

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words. Mr. Chairman, I rise to join the chairman and our majority leader in opposition to this amendment because the language in the Appropriations bill, which this amendment would strike, simply guarantees the people of Houston the opportunity not only to vote and approve any rail system in Houston, but this language also assures the people of Houston that they will be told on the ballot where specifically the rail lines would be built. I worked this language, developed and wrote this language in careful cooperation with the Metro authorities. Metro's representative here in Washington signed off and approved of this language. They were comfortable with it. I did it in careful consultation with them. Indeed, State law in Texas does require an election for bonding authority, but State law in Texas has no requirements, there are no guidelines in Texas law on what the ballot should look like. So this Federal language is an essential part of the equation in Houston for voters in Houston to have a good, clear understanding of not only how much this rail line is going to cost us as taxpayers, but, more importantly, where it is going to be built. The language in the bill is very reasonable, and as the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Istook) has said, it is an essential, we think, first step for, frankly, any transit system anywhere in the country to be able to move forward with a plan that would cost billions of dollars. In fact, this rail system in Houston will ultimately cost, if the voters approve it this November, $5.8 billion. That would make this rail system in Houston the Nation's second most expensive transportation project, second only to the Big Dig, the tunnel project in Boston. The amendment would seek to strike language which would give the taxpayers of Houston the right to approve by majority vote this rail project. The amendment would strike the right of the people of Houston to see where, specifically, the rail lines are going to be built. I would urge, as the majority leader and the chairman have done, the Members to vote against the amendment. This is not the place to debate the merits of this rail line. I note that the author of the amendment, the gentlewoman from Texas, has expressed her support for this rail line. I would welcome an opportunity and, in fact, invite her to debate me in Houston on the merits of this rail plan.