To Research, Evaluate, Assess, and Treat Astronauts Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Texas, the author of this bill, for yielding. I also want to say that Congressman Brian Babin is an excellent chairman of the Space Subcommittee of the full Science, Space, and Technology Committee.

Mr. Speaker, since NASA selected the first group of astronauts in 1959, more than 300 brave American astronauts have ventured into the cosmos as explorers. In an age when spaceflight has come to seem almost routine, it is easy to overlook how dangerous it is and how little we know about its long-term health effects.
H.R. 6076, the TREAT Astronauts Act, ensures that our courageous men and women who venture into space receive support for medical issues associated with their service.

The TREAT Astronauts Act also will help us better understand the medical science of human spaceflight, enabling next generation of explorers to literally go where no man has gone before. I should say where no man or woman has gone before.

The TREAT Astronauts Act builds upon NASA's existing Lifetime Surveillance of Astronaut Health program and will operate within existing NASA resources. It provides for enhanced monitoring, diagnosis, and treatment of conditions associated with spaceflight service.

I thank Space Subcommittee Chairman Brian Babin again for introducing this legislation and for his persistence in getting us to the point of passage. We wouldn't be here today without him.
I urge my colleagues to support the TREAT Astronauts Act.

Before I conclude, Mr. Speaker, I would just like to take a moment to thank the gentlewoman from Maryland (Ms. Edwards), who is a friend and has been the ranking member of the Space Subcommittee for the last 2 years, for her outstanding service to Congress and for being a wonderful contributor to the Science Committee as a whole, and in particular the Space Subcommittee.

To almost any subject, she always brings enthusiasm, knowledge, and in this case, an almost unequal dedication to space exploration, which we will continue to appreciate both now and in the future. I just thank her again for, as I said, her many contributions to the committee and the subcommittee and say that I hope she stays in touch with us. She will always be a friend of the committee and many members of this side of the aisle.

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