because there was a challenge there. nasa is talking about programs to encourage kids to get exite about space with their summer school program they instituted a new computer simulation game so the kids could pretend to go up to the space shuttle. i'm sorry, what i'm contending to you is it is cruel to try to excite kids about this future when you then give them no realistic way of ever exercising that dream because we have stopped the mechanism of doing it. once again, as we learned, or should have learned, out of columbia is we have to first of all put safety first this program is not, and secondly, we have to have a clear goal and if we don't do those two things, we are courting another disaster. this plan of certain nasa administrators is courting another national disaster. i yield back. . mr. olson: has nasa published

any safety regulations or regulations for the space flight operators? they said they are working towards that and i have information from people who say, no, no, nasa hasn't published anything yet. mr. bishop: no, that has not taken place, because those other commercial endeavors are not far enough along in their test pattern. but it goes back to why we should keep constellation. it was designed to have that factor of safety, that was the purpose for its design. and once again, for example, there has to be a way of escaping. that's the capsule where people are kept, it has to have an escape process. none of the commercial ventures have a plan or design for that component yet. and it's a long, long way away. mr. olson: the administration

put out, as i understand it, the test was supposed to be in your district. but it was supposed to happen in april and there was another cease and desist and a bipartisan letter saying constellation is the law of the land you don't have the ability to cut and choose because the administration, the president only has a voice in this. congress is the final authority. and i thank my colleague for coming out tonight and coming here late because you speak the truth. and it's a battle that we can win. the women american people get this. i would like to finish up talking about some of the technology issues associated with constellation and its cancellation. the administration's budget plan cancels constellation to develop vehicles that will ensure

america has access to space and a capability to go beyond orbit. but what they have done is eliminated constellation in favor of undefined quote, unquote, game-changing technology efforts without clearly defined goals and efforts. my constituents are saying, what is our goal? what is our mission? in our experience, whenever a company or government agency props that some new radical breakthruse will provide the solution to all our problems, i grab my wallet and hunker down. space flight is governed by the laws of chemistry and cyst fix and there are -- physics. i'm an avid supporter of nasa and technology development is an important part of what we have gotten from nasa.

new technology is one of the many benefits we get from human space flight. but that technology development must be the result of a mission-driven pursuit with clearly defined goals and objectives. the difficulty of the mission is what forces the development of technology. the proponents' arguments are sincere to make a difference, but history shows that it is not an effective way to manage programs. i want to explain how a misguided quest for game-changing technologies and flexible paths similarly to what is currently proposed has led to futile spending efforts over the past 18 years. this is a chart of nasa's human space flight development programs from 1992 to 2010.

the red areas are canceled programs. blue, completed programs. ongoing, yellow. as you can see, we only have two ongoing programs out there right now. and they are the commercial -private programs. we have the international space station still going strong, probably going to go beyond 2015 to 2020. and then the only other thing is this program that failed. this is one of the challenges of nasa. we go through all these programs and change with different administrations and another change, a huge change in our human space flight path by shifting gears in the constellation program and going to some unknown proven

technology. i support the private sector. they have a role in certainly some cargo, they apply the space station but they have to prove they have the capabilities and they're not close. as my colleagues alluded to, they had a fire of an engine and some of the fire came out towards the side and everybody here knows that rockets need to come out the bottom. coming out the side is not what we want to see. that is what the administration has chosen to hang our future in human space flight on. i think it is an important decision. we see a number of game-changing proposals over the years. and this graph shows all the different programs that have been game changers and the blue ones are the only ones that came to fruition. what this represents are billions of dollars being spent without anything to show for it.

again, the constellation is on track. we had various areas and passed the p.d.r. this week. this program is the program of record. it deserves to go forward and it's in america's interest and we need to stay the course and put constellation and bring it up and put u.s. astronauts in space again and get rid of the space shuttle being retired, go into the space station and go to the moon and go beyond. it's up to congress to amend the lessons of the past and ensure that the sthration's proposal are reviewed. we should not agree to open-ended unproven, unconstrained technological demonstrations. it must be clearly defined. nasa must show us how and why it is included and it should be

part of an as yet to be defined broader goal for human space flight exploration. if my colleague would like to close. it's getting late. and i appreciate you coming out. utah does well as their representative. mr. bishop: you're very kind and i would like to echo in all of these areas. it is important that we move forward. i think it's common sense that we do not cede the space to the russians and chinese. the united states has been a leader and it has been productive for us. our goal is number one and we ought to be a leader. having our astronauts standing on the edge of the space catching a russian taxi where the meter will say $51 is not the way america becomes a leader in this particular world. we have the ability to do the right thing. it's planned. we need to follow through with the original plan and not change

courses right now to an experiment that is unproven and has a history of failure. and i appreciate the gentleman allowing me to join you tonight. it's an important issue for america. i yield back. mr. olson: you made some great points. $51 million to put our astronauts on the soyuz. that contract has been signed through 2013 and highly unlikely that with the intenth con cancellation of the constellation program. probably will be 2015, somewhere in that window. the russians, you know, they got it down. and you know, it was 20 million last year. now that we're in the throws of the constellation having this

gap, it is up to $50 billion and who says what it is going to be after the contract expires. we have ourselves in a big pickle and we need to stick with the program of record. and madam speaker, i like to thank my colleagues who have joined me here tonight and i saw my colleague from houston here. it's just stunning that this decision has been made and again the manner in which it was made. no one at nasa, no one at the center, not the director of the johnson space center, he was not consulted and had no input in this decision. across the center, again, congress, no one had any inclination of what was going to happen and saw that the constellation program had been canceled. again, if it's allowed to stand

and we will do everything we can to ensure it doesn't stand, if it's allowed to stand, the united states will be an average country giving up the leadership that we have had for almost 50 years now. it will ensure that we will lose hundreds of thousands of jobs here in america. and good-paying high-tech jobs, the kind of jobs we are trying to generate in this economy and will take away the inspiration -- you can't put a dollar on this, but the ability to inspire america's youth to get into science, technology, engineering and math degrees. the constellation program is the right program for ourp human space flight efforts at this time in history. we can't cancel it. we will go forward and do everything we can to minimize that gap. and if my colleague from texas

-- 18th congressional district of texas. thank you for coming out. ms. jackson lee: thank you very much, congressman ole son and to the colleagues who joined you and recognize the importance of this hour, albeit how late it might be to really emphasize the uniqueness of america's space program and the uniqueness of, if you will, the human space exploration. as i was listening to the debate, i was very much convinced that we do have an opportunity to save this valuable asset. i think we know that the nasa budget ack actual actually, as i understand it, has seen an

increase in 2011. and that's a good thing that the budget itself has increased. but we know that the program that deals with exploration to the moon and mars has suffered a blow. so i would say that we have an easy fix, a prer reprogramming of the monies to allow for a program that has now had sufficient start to be able to redesign itself, to be able to focus on what's important about human space exploration, but the main thing is to save it, because when we save it, we not only save jobs of today, johnson, huntsville, mississippi, florida and places around the nation, but we save the jobs for 2020, 2030, 2040

and beyond. i think it's important for our colleagues to know that we built the space station. i was on the science committee. that space station is barely a decade old. it is a decade-plus. we put it together piece by piece and while our friends, the russians, were delayed. they had bad economic times, we moved on. the space station is the size of a football field. and the necessity of human space exploration is to be able to attend to that space station, which has the possibilities of massive research that creates jobs. let me thank my friends on the floor and congressman ol son and thank you for your leadership. we have joined you for signing onto the legislation h. res. 1150, which establishes or, if

you will, determines that nasa is a national security asset and it is, because involved in nasa are many of our military science and technology not yet discussed or discovered. and so i would rise today to support the moving forward on the constellation program, but also working with this administration. i think we all know that we have a leader at nasa who knows houston, for example, but also knows the human space exploration program, general bottleden was an astronaut and a marine and that's good news. that is a voice that can be part of this discussion. i don't take the initial budget by the president as a budget that would or a statement that

human space exploration is not good. and i think it is important tonight to take a stand for our continued effort and energy in working to bring about the right kind of response between the congress and the administration, a budget that is right there in the president's budget, one that can be reprogrammed, reformed, enhanced, if you will, to emphasize the importance of saving this space exploration, this constellation program. . let me say this, scientists will probably have different perspective, but i don't think anyone can have a different perspective on the pushing of the human capacity and what it brings about in terms of our own enhancement, both in terms of the knowledge we gain and i remember when we were trying to

gain votes for congressman olson we would say things which are really true, the research on the space station had to do with heart disease, cancer, h.i.v., aids, and those stoveries are -- those discoveries are saving lives and also creating jobs. i want to continue to raise the question, i want to put on the record that the potential of jobs lost at johnson space center would be anywhere from 4,000 to 7,000 high tech jobs and each day jobs are being created more and more and then of course the idea of the national security information classified, climatic, as i said, the weather research that's being done and the need, i think, most of all, of, let me not say most of all, because we stand on our own merit here in the united states, we are

inventor, we are world leaders, but there are other countries that have looked to our leadership, russia, india, china, all competing, to be part of space exploration. let me close and yield back to you by saying this, i want to see business involvement in this industry. but i believe it is important for nasa to, in essence, be part of the government and for the jobs to be saved all over this nation on behalf of the american people. mr. olson: i'd like to thank my colleague from texas for her support of the johnson space center and i couldn't agree more that every american has benefited from the human space flight. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. does anyone have a motion?

ms. jackson lee: madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from texas. ms. jackson lee: i ask unanimous consent to reclaim my five minutes. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for five minutes. ms. jackson lee: earlier this evening, madam speaker, colleagues came to the floor of the house to salute our late colleague, the honorable congressman charles wilson who made the people of the world happy because of his enthusiasm and leadership. congressman wilson was born june 1, 1933, in the small town of trinity, texas. he attended public school there is and graduated from trinity high school in 1951. while attending sam houston state university in huntsville, texas, wilson was appointed to the united states naval academy and received his b.s. degree, graduating eighth from the bottom of his class in 1956. however, that was not a

testimony to how charlie wilson would serve this nation. he served in the navy, attaining the rank of lieutenant, he graduated, or graduated as a gunnery officer, he was a fine -- he was assigned to a destroyer that searched for soviet submarines he took a top secret post at the pentagon as part of an intelligence unit that evaluated the soviet union's nuclear forces. wilson came into politics by volunteering for john f. kennedy's presidential campaign in 1960. after a 30-day leave from the navy he entered his name into the race for texas representative from his home district. while back on duty, his mother, sister, and their friends went door to door campaigning. it worked and at age 27, he was sworn into office. for the next dozen year, wilson was known as the liberal from lufkin. in 1978, he came to the united states congress. he was a power. he was a man that enjoyed the

friendship of many of our colleagues. he was a strong supporter of the elderly, women, and equal rights. he was unique in his time he came to this congress in a segregated time, coming from houston, texas, and the surrounding areas but he knew my colleagues, congressman mickey leland, congresswoman barbara jordan, and i know he had a relationship that showed no discrimination, no bias, and he loved this country. he wanted to do well by our allies. and yes, he was the star of charlie's war. he was the one who led quietly in opposition to the russian takeover of afghanistan. that story will always be his. brave, quiet, but successful and as the story is told, didn't do a lot of talking about it, but he got the job done. we'll miss congressman charlie wilson and i am so honored and

privilege to have had had the opportunity to serve with him for two years when i first came to the united states congress. he was a joy to serve with, he was a defined member of this body who respected this body but had a great time. we will miss him as he lost his life just recently and we say to his lovely wife who shared times with him for 11 years, thank you for sharing charlie wilson, thank you for giving him the joy of his life and thank you so very much for recognizing what a special treasure he was to the american people and to the great state of texas. madam speaker, my words, i hope, will be a mere comfort to his family and friends and to say to my colleagues in the delegation, the texas delegation, yes, we have a fallen hero, but we have a friend that we'll be able to remember for a lifetime. god bless you, charlie wilson,

and may you rest in peace. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. ms. jackson lee: i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from -- the gentlewoman from texas rise? ms. jackson lee: i now move to adjourn. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on the motion to adjourn. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. the motion is agreed to. accordingly the house stands adjourned until 10:00 a.m. tomorrow, a resolution to impeach a louisiana judge.

live house coverage continues here on c-span when members cattle back in. -- gavel back again. >> coming up next on c-span, supreme court chief justice john roberts speaks at the university of alabama law school. and then the u.s. house debate on the war in afghanistan. and the defense department briefing on iraq. on tomorrow's "washington journal," we will talk with representatives jason altmire about health care, david savage discusses john roberts, robert johnson will talk about financial relationships, and we will talk about the future of nato. "washington journal" is live 7:00 a.m. eastern time here on

c-span. >> obama and his socialistic ideas to deciding salaries, that is what is in progress right now. >> sunday, michelle easton on her work to promote conservative women in leadership roles, sunday night on c-span "q&a prat." >> chief justice john roberts spoke at university of alabama law school on thursday -- on wednesday. he made comments about president obama as stated the union speech.

today in 2010, when our nation has faced a stream of critical moments, lawyers maintain our faith in the resilience of our constitutional system. our society, our very way of life are protected by constitutional architecture that has survived and six every threat. our courts are often the branch of last resort, guardians of our constitutionalism with all attorneys bowling to serve the branch which alexander hamilton said will always be the least danger to the political rights of the constitution. in the united states, when there

are disputes over election results, the scope of individual rights, or the parameters of government, we still sell our disputes in the courts and not in the streets. so during these times a particular, our law school community as a specially honored and inspired by the president. we admire and respect the chief justice's stewardship of the judicial power of the united states and of our beloved constitution. chief justice roberts, on behalf of the law faculty, staff, the student body, alumni, and other friends, i thank you for visiting today tuscaloosa, alabama.

the law school is so very grateful to the family. it is my privilege to call on someone to introduce our speaker. >> it is a real pleasure for my family and me to welcome to tuscaloosa and to introduce to you john roberts. if anybody was ever destined to be chief justice of the united states, it is he. he started out showing his future when he was in high school in indiana, when he graduated at the top of his class, but also as of wrestler and a captain of the football team. he then went to harvard university graduate school to earn his tuition working in the summer in a steel mill. he graduated suma cum laude and

went over to harvard, where he graduated magna cum laude. he clerked at the circuit court level and then for justice rehnquist before he became chief justice. from there to the administration of president reagan, where he was associate justice to the president, he was then deputy solicitor general to president george h. w. bush. he went into private practice with the firm of hogan and hartman in d.c., and practice their where he argued 39 cases before the supreme court of the united states. he specialized in that. president george