Congressional Record
Proceedings, Debates of the U.S. Congress
February 17, 2011
112th Congress, 1st Session
Issue: Vol. 157, No. 26 — Daily Edition
Sections in This Issue:
IN SUPPORT OF AMERICAN COMMERCIAL SPACEFLIGHT INDUSTRY
(Extensions of Remarks - February 17, 2011)
Text available as:
Formatting necessary for an accurate reading of this text may be shown by tags (e.g., <DELETED> or <BOLD>) or may be missing from this TXT display. For complete and accurate display of this text, see the PDF.
[Extensions of Remarks] [Page E255] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] IN SUPPORT OF AMERICAN COMMERCIAL SPACEFLIGHT INDUSTRY ______ HON. SHELLEY BERKLEY of nevada in the house of representatives Thursday, February 17, 2011 Ms. BERKLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in support of the American commercial spaceflight industry. Investing in private industry is an effective way to cut federal spending while spurring meaningful job growth and innovation. This is why I am a strong advocate for developing the commercial spaceflight program proposed by President Obama. The President's plan will help lower NASA launch costs by shifting this role to competitive private businesses, while fostering American economic competitiveness and leadership in cutting-edge research and technology. This plan will also end our reliance on Russia to transport NASA astronauts to the International Space Station by utilizing the technology and services of private companies on American soil. Bigelow Aerospace has been a model of American entrepreneurship and innovation. This company has developed its own spacecraft and created hundreds of much-needed jobs in the Las Vegas Valley. If we follow President Obama's common-sense plan of winding down NASA's Constellation Program and transferring the launch program to private industry, Bigelow Aerospace and many other cutting-edge spaceflight companies will create countless more jobs in the vital science and engineering industry. The American people have told us emphatically that our top priorities must be jobs and the economy, and leveraging commercial spaceflight capabilities addresses both of these goals. I encourage my colleagues to join me in supporting fiscally responsible, job-creating investments in the commercial spaceflight industry. ____________________