Issue Position: NASA as Economic Engine

Issue Position

As a member of the House Committee on Science and the subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics, Congresswoman Jackson Lee provides valuable support to NASA. Due to Congresswoman Jackson Lee's amendment, funds were restored to NASA in 1999. The Congresswoman has ensured that part of NASA's funding is used for the recruitment and training of students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities. In recognition of her contribution to science, the National Technical Association of Scientists and Engineers honored the Congresswoman as one of their 1998 Top Women in the Sciences.

The House passed the NASA Coin bill introduced by Congresswoman Jackson Lee, authorizing the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue $50 gold coins and $1 silver coins signifying the fifty years of achievements of NASA. Portions of the proceeds from the sale of the coins will be distributed to the NASA Family Assistance Fund, which helps the families of those NASA personnel who were killed in their official capacity, and the Dr. Ronald E. McNair Educational Science Literacy Foundation.

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