Washington, D.C. A bipartisan amendment offered by Reps. Jane Harman (D-CA) and Vern Ehlers (R-MI) aimed at identifying and developing the next generation of American scientists, engineers and astronauts and reinvigorating the US aerospace industry was adopted by voice vote to the NASA Reauthorization Act today.

In a statement on the House floor, Harman, whose district is home to most of the nation’s major aerospace firms, noted how President John F. Kennedy “inspired a whole generation of Americans, and American talent and ingenuity put a person on the moon in a decade.”

Added Harman:  “If we fail to dream big – to ask our kids to imagine a future beyond our humble planet – they will pursue other fields.  There will be no one to invent the technologies and programs on which NASA’s success and our national security depend.”

The Harman-Ehlers amendment, which expresses the sense of Congress that a skilled workforce is essential to NASA’s success and that the agency should work aggressively to help sustain and expand that workforce, is intended to address a looming challenge – ensuring the preeminence of America’s space programs and aerospace industrial base.

“More than 60% of aerospace workers are over 45, with 26% of them eligible for retirement in 2008,” said Harman. “There just isn’t a very big pool of qualified workers for NASA and others to draw from.”

Together with the South Bay’s industry leaders; local officials; and high schools, community colleges and universities, Harman is on working on strategies to encourage students at an early age to pursue careers in the STEM fields – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – and to maintain the health of the country’s aerospace intellectual and industrial base.

Find below Harman's prepared remarks from her floor statement today:

Floor Statement – Congresswoman Jane Harman
Harman/Ehlers Amendment to NASA Reauthorization (HR 6063)

• Madame/Mr. Chair, I rise in support of the Harman/Ehlers Amendment to HR 6063.
 
• I represent the heart of the space industrial base, and have long called my district the “satellite center of the universe.” 

• I have always been mindful of the need for a skilled industrial base.  Simply put, rocket scientists don’t grow on trees.

• Earlier this year, on a visit to a major aerospace firm in my district, there was a stark reminder of the crisis facing this industry.  Following a briefing on an important satellite program, I asked if any of the employees in attendance had anything else to tell me.

• A 31 year old engineer raised his hand and said: “all my peers are gone.”  Engineers his age, he explained, are leaving the aerospace industry for other fields and very few are interested in taking their place.

• The problem is two-fold.  More than 60% of aerospace industry workers are over 45, with 26% of them eligible for retirement in 2008. 

• And, as a nation, we have failed to inspire our kids, particularly girls, to go into STEM fields – science, technology, engineering, and math.  There just isn’t a very big pool of qualified workers for NASA and others to draw from. 

• The result is a looming “demographic cliff” that leaves NASA and the industry without the intellectual capital necessary to keep pace with global competitors. 

• Simply put – without this workforce, there is no NASA.

• But the problem extends beyond NASA.  The United States depends on this industrial base to give us the capabilities on the ground, in the air and in space that are essential to the way we wage war, collect intelligence, and protect the homeland. 
• This looming workforce shortfall could not only cripple NASA’s ability to reach its goals, it could deal a serious blow to our national and economic security. 

• Our amendment expresses the sense of Congress that a skilled workforce is essential to NASA’s success, and that NASA should work cooperatively with other government agencies to sustain and expand a diverse workforce.

• Almost 50 years ago, President Kennedy inspired a whole generation of Americans, and American talent and ingenuity put a man on the Moon in a decade. 

• We need that that kind of ambitious goal to inspire the next generation to be scientists, engineers, and astronauts.