National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2008

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Mr. CALVERT, Madam Chairman, I commend Subcommittee Chairman Udall, Chairman Gordon and Ranking Members Hall and Feeney and their staff for their work on this bipartisan bill. It is most appropriate that we recommit our Federal support and investment to our Nation's civilian space and aeronautics agency during this 50 anniversary year.

NASA has been the Nation's leading catalyst for innovation and technology based on 50 years of broad public support and strong bipartisan political leadership. The agency's work is linked to larger issues like national security, global warming, and American competitiveness. This valuable research is also the genesis of tens of thousands of high-tech jobs in America and millions of dollars into our economy.

H.R. 6063 largely follows in the tradition of the NASA Authorization Act of 2005, the first authorization bill to endorse the Vision for Space Exploration which chartered the agency to move beyond low-Earth orbit.

I enthusiastically support most measures in this reauthorization including: the reasonable increase in authorization levels which allows the agency to maintain a balanced and robust portfolio of exploration, science and aeronautics activities; the accelerated development of the Orion and Ares launch systems in order to minimize U.S. reliance on Russia for access to the International Space Station; and the full authorization of the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program, as well as the funding to develop a commercial crew capability under this program.

I am somewhat concerned about language that may inappropriately tie the administrator's hands by requiring three shuttle flights; two contingency and one for the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, before the fleet's final retirement. I understand why the committee has included the language but I also encourage the Science Committee leadership to work with the NASA administrator to alleviate the outstanding concerns about NASA's ability to properly manage the shuttle fleet and the remaining flight manifest without the mandated flexibility; especially if under unexpected budget and safety constraints.

Overall, I am happy to lend my strong support to this reauthorization. I believe it does a comprehensive job of providing NASA the rules and tools to succeed in this Second Space Age. There is not a NASA center in the 44th Congressional District of California, but I understand the criticality of the agency's success and its impact on our Nation's prosperity. I encourage all my colleagues to rediscover the many ways our constituents benefit from the agency's important work. We do not consider this legislation in a vacuum. Other nations are actively pursuing human spaceflight and exploration. China and India are out-producing us in engineering graduates each year many times over. NASA, with its excellent reputation in exploration, science and aeronautics is the one national agency which can focus and inspire America's youth to take up the challenging work of math and science careers.

Again, I want to thank the Science Committee leadership and their hard-working staff for their efforts in putting together this bill. I understand it will be important to have a solid civilian space and aeronautics blueprint for the next Administration to follow. I encourage my colleagues to support H.R. 6063.

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