Spurring Private Aerospace Competitiveness and Entrepreneurship Act of 2015

Floor Speech

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Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr Chair, I voted for H.R. 2262, the Spurring Private Aerospace Competitiveness and Entrepreneurship (SPACE) Act of 2015 to promote continued American competitiveness and ingenuity in space exploration. I agree with many of my fellow Democrats that as this industry matures, we should be regularly revisiting the issue of the ``learning period,'' and its related Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations regarding spacecraft, as well as rules relating to indemnification.

This is why I supported the Edwards amendment to the SPACE Act to shorten the extension of these provisions to five and four years, rather than continuing them through 2025. Though that amendment failed, I voted to support the underlying bill because it is important to encourage growth in this industry, considering the end of NASA's space shuttle program in July 2011, and the rapid development of this industry internationally.

As is now happening with our commercial drone industry, which can help us with everything from enforcing environmental protections to improving worker safety, a failure to move beyond outmoded federal regulations in the U.S. will mean other countries progress and we're left behind. A failure to reach agreement on these critical areas of emerging technology and the role of the federal government will undercut American's ability to compete and lead in the 21st century. Research, innovation and investments are happening in the area across the globe. We must strike the right balance, but Congress ought not play a role by adding complexity and delay.

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