Bart Gordon

Mr. GORDON

Mr. GORDON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the contributions Nathan Zipper made while interning in my Washington, DC, office. Nathan, a fellow Middle Tennessean, was a wonderful addition to the office and a great servant to the constituents of Tennessee's Sixth Congressional District. Nathan soon will begin his junior year at the University of Knoxville, where he is majoring in sports management and a member of Phi Alpha Delta. During his internship, Nathan was a tremendous help to me and my staff as he assisted us in various projects. He attended briefings, addressed constituent concerns and endeared himself to visitors as he guided them through the U.S. Capitol. I hope Nathan enjoyed his fast-paced internship as much as my staff and I appreciated his hard work and eager attitude. I wish him all the best in the future.

Mr. GORDON

Mr. GORDON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to thank Amy Taylor for her service to Tennessee's Sixth Congressional District while interning in my office. Both Amy and I are proud to call Murfreesboro, Tennessee, home. Amy will soon begin her senior year at Middle Tennessee State University, where she is an English major. She is a member of the Kappa Delta sorority and a radio personality on the local jazz station. Amy was a tremendous help and a wonderful addition to my office. She helped address constituent concerns, assisted me and my staff with numerous projects, and served as a friendly and informative tour guide of the U.S. Capitol, providing visitors from middle Tennessee with a personalized look at a national treasure. I trust that Amy enjoyed her whirlwind internship and her first-hand examination of the workings of Congress. I know I enjoyed her fresh perspective and enthusiasm during her time here. I wish her all the best in the future.

Mr. GORDON

Mr. GORDON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Costello), second ranking member on the Committee on Science.

Mr. GORDON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson).

Mr. GORDON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank).

Mr. GORDON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Snyder).

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

Mr. GORDON. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume, and I want to speak in support of H.R. 3070, the NASA Authorization Act of 2005. This bill, as reported out of the Committee on Science, is a good bill and one that I am pleased to support. It is the result of constructive negotiations between the majority and the minority that led to a bill that provides important funding and policy guidelines to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Mr. Chairman, during the hearings the Committee on Science held earlier this year on NASA and its human exploration initiative, I laid out a series of principles I believed needed to be included in this year's NASA authorization bill. Those principles include the following: First, NASA should continue to be a multimission agency with robust R&D activities in science, aeronautics, and human space flights. Second, I support human exploration beyond the low Earth orbit as an appropriate long-term goal for the space flight program. However, I believe there needs to be appropriate guidelines and flexible firewalls to ensure that it is properly paid for and not funded at the expense of other important NASA programs. Third, there needs to be clear priorities within NASA's exploration program as well as within the agency's other core missions. Fourth, the United States should honor its international obligations to the International Space Station program. Fifth, there needs to be funding and policy direction to ensure that the International Space Station realizes its potential for fundamental and applied scientific and commercial research and is not just a platform for exploration initiative. The American taxpayer has invested too much money in the ISS for NASA to walk away from its long-standing commitment to research that can help benefit our citizens back here on Earth. Finally, I believe that programmatic goals should be flexible, not rigid, guidelines. The flexibility is needed to allow for the changing situations at NASA, whether they be technical, operational, or budgetary in nature. Mr. Chairman, it was my belief that the initial version of H.R. 3070 did not properly address those essential principles and, as a result of our concerns, Democrat members of the Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics withheld their support for the bill when it was marked up at the subcommittee level. Following the markup, Democrats worked to develop an alternative NASA authorization bill that would address our concerns and be credible, practical, and conferenceable. That alternative bill was introduced as H.R. 3250, with cosponsorship of all the Democratic members of the Committee on Science. As a result, we were able to have a productive dialogue with the Committee on Science majority, which led to many of the provisions in H.R. 3250 being incorporated into the bill before us today. I am pleased at the outcome because I think it did result in a better bill, one that can provide useful congressional guidance to NASA for the coming 2 years. Mr. Chairman, before I close, I would like to say a word about the manager's amendment that will be considered later today. I would like to focus on one particular provision, namely, the increase in the overall authorization level for NASA to allow the human exploration program to be fully funded. That provision would result in a total of $1.26 billion being added to NASA's 2-year authorization, with all of it being allocated to the exploration initiative. It should be noted that this provision was specifically sought by the White House and that the White House indicated that failure to include it would result in an unfavorable statement of administrative policy. I have decided to support the inclusion of the extra funding for two basic reasons: first, money is being added for the exploration in a way that is consistent with the principles I outlined earlier, that is, funds sought by the administration to increase the exploration account are coming from an augmentation to NASA's overall bottom line rather than from the cannibalizing of other important NASA activities in aeronautics and science. Second, the White House action in seeking the additional funding for NASA provides compelling confirmation of a point I have been making all year, namely, it is not possible to provide the levels of funding needed to maintain healthy aeronautics and science programs at NASA and fully fund the Human Exploration Initiative under the budget plan put forth by the White House. The amendments sought by the White House make that point clear. I want the exploration initiative to succeed. It is a worthwhile endeavor. But it is clear if additional resources are not forthcoming, NASA will have to adjust the scope of its exploration activities and its timetables to fit within the available funds. That is going to be challenging to accomplish, but I believe it is going to be necessary. Finally, Mr. Chairman, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Boehlert), the chairman of the committee; chairman of the subcommittee, the gentleman from California (Mr. Calvert); the subcommittee's ranking member, the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Udall), for all their efforts in putting this bill together. I would also like to give a special thanks to my staff, with Dick Obermann and Chuck Atkins, who spent late nights and many hours helping us work together, and the majority staff, who spent those same hours working together trying to get a good bill here, and they were successful. Mission accomplished. Despite a somewhat rocky start, I believe the final product is a testament to their unwavering commitment to a strong and productive civil space program. I look forward to working with them to get this legislation enacted into law. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GORDON. Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Udall), the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics; and I thank him not only for his work on the bill in general but specifically in the aeronautics area, where he was a real leader.

Mr. GORDON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Kennedy).

Mr. GORDON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Honda), a very active member of the committee.

Mr. GORDON. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the gentleman's willingness to work on this issue. We have been able to accommodate other issues, and I am sure we will this one. Just as steel is made by combining iron and other elements, by combining our two bills, we have a stronger bill, and I am sure we will work this out.

Mr. GORDON. Mr. Chairman, I would like to engage in a colloquy with the gentleman from New York (Mr. Boehlert) concerning the issue of intellectual property rights with regard to prizes. The bill is silent on this issue, and I would like to have a better outcome. This is an issue that needs to be resolved. Is it the chairman's intention to work toward a compromise as we go forward to conference?

Mr. GORDON. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. GORDON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee), a valuable and active member of our committee.

Mr. GORDON. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to claim the time in opposition under the rule, since no opponent has risen to claim that time.

Mr. GORDON. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, I want to speak in support of the manager's amendment to H.R. 3070. This manager's amendment is a result of a great deal of constructive discussion and negotiation between the majority and the minority. I believe that on balance it will make a good bill better. The gentleman from New York (Chairman Boehlert) has already outlined the provisions of the manager's amendment, so I will not take the time to restate them. Instead, I would like to limit myself to a few comments. First, I am prepared to support the increased funding of NASA's exploration program that is contained in this amendment. As I said in my statement during the general debate, I think that the approach taken in the amendment to increase exploration funding is the right one. If this amendment passes, as I hope it will, it will be a clear statement that the House of Representatives believes that additional funding for the exploration program should not be obtained by cannibalizing NASA's other core missions. That is an important policy statement, and I am pleased that the House will make it by adopting this amendment. There are other constructive provisions in the amendment; namely, provisions to ensure that the needs of NASA's workforce are addressed in the midst of all the changes occurring at NASA; provisions to encourage the participation of minorities and women in NASA's educational activities, as well as other programs; a statement of support for NASA's shuttle return-to-flight efforts; and a statement making clear that Congress is certainly not opposed to installing the life sciences centrifuge on the International Space Station to support its research agenda. Mr. Chairman, the manager's amendment also makes a number of technical changes that strengthen the bill. In sum, I think the manager's amendment improves an already good bill, and I urge the Members to support it. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GORDON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the Ranking Member of the subcommittee, the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Udall).

Mr. GORDON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson).

Mr. GORDON. Mr. Chairman, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GORDON. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of this amendment offered by the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Velazquez). She has a longstanding interest and has been a great advocate for small and disadvantaged businesses. The amendment offered by the gentlewoman is a sensible measure that will help us to ensure that NASA's outreach efforts with small and disadvantaged businesses are reached to their full potential. I hope Members will join me in support of this measure and vote to include it in the bill.

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

Mr. GORDON. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of the amendment offered by the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee). The gentlewoman has long been an articulate advocate when it comes to education. Over the years she has worked tirelessly to ensure that minority-serving institutions have adequate resources and that educational opportunities are available to all students. This amendment continues that legacy. I understand that the gentlewoman is not going to seek a vote on her amendment today, but would like to work with the majority and minority to see that these issues are addressed during discussions with the Senate on the final version of the bill. I want to assure the gentlewoman that her concerns will receive my full support, and I look forward to working with her.

Mr. GORDON. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the amendment offered by the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee). From the Columbia Accident Investigation Board's report, it is clear that one of the underlying causes of the Columbia tragedy was a broken safety culture at NASA. While I understand that many of these cultural issues are being addressed, we need to ensure that NASA employees are in an environment where they can feel comfortable airing their safety concerns. This is a constructive amendment that is a positive step towards fixing NASA's safety culture and ensuring the safety of the brave men and women in our space program. I am sure our chairman shares our concerns for the safety of our astronauts, and I hope we can work together to include this in the final version of the bill.

Mr. GORDON. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time. Let me just conclude by once again thanking all the parties in bringing this bill together. Also, let me say a word to my friend from Massachusetts who I think made a good point about priorities. In this bill, we tried to establish priorities. We have to make them in context to going to schools, picking up the garbage, all the things that have to be done in this country. But I hope that we have seen in the past that also benefits on Earth have come about from our efforts in space, whether it is inspiring our youth to be involved in math and science or the different products that have been involved. But a good point has been made. We need to have this balance. We want to work with him and others to try to have that balance. If we can't explain to you and justify to you the benefits of going to Mars, going to the Moon and the other aeronautic aspects of NASA, then we haven't done our job. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.