May 24, 1995 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE H 5553

just say that there will be no more

votes tonight. We will be in at 10 a.m.

tomorrow morning. We will suspend 1-

minutes. We will then go to conference

on the Medicare select bill.

I would like to announce now also

there will be an emergency meeting of

the Committee on Rules to consider a

second rule on the American Overseas

Interests Act, H.R. 1561.

After we finish the Medicare select

bill tomorrow morning, we will go back

on the 5-minute rule on the remaining

time on this American Overseas Interests Act.

Mr. GEPHARDT. Will the gentleman

tell us what time he is intending to adjourn tomorrow?

Mr. SOLOMON. No later than 2:30.

Mr. GEPHARDT. Mr. Speaker, I

thank the gentleman from New York.

ACHIEVEMENTS IN AERONAUTICS

AND SPACE DURING FISCAL

fYEAR 1994—MESSAGE FROM THE

PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED

STATES

The SPEAKER pro tempore. laid before the House the following message

from the President of the United

States, which was read and, together

with the accompanying papers, without

objection, referred to the Committee

on Science:

To the Congress of the United States:

I am pleased to transmit this report

on the Nation’s achievements in aeronautics and space during Fiscal Year

1994, as required under section 206 of

the National Aeronautics and Space

Act of 1958, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2476).

Aeronautics and space activities involve 15 contributing departments and

agencies of the Federal Government, as

this report reflects, and the results of

their ongoing research and development affect the Nation as a whole in a

variety of ways.

Fiscal Year 1994 featured many important developments and changes in

U.S. aeronautics and space efforts. It

included 7 Space Shuttle missions successfully completed, 15 Government

launches of Expendable Launch Vehicles (ELVs), and 4 commercial launches

from Government facilities. Among notable developments in the ELV area

were the launch of the Deep Space

probe, Clementine, initial use of the

Titan IV Centaur upper stage, and the

first launch of the Taurus launch vehicle. Highlights of the Shuttle missions

included the highly successful servicing mission for the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), which replaced several

faulty parts and installed a sophisticated package of corrective optics to

compensate for the spherical aberration in HST’s primary mirror. Also, the

flight of the Space Radar Laboratory

began to provide information on environmental change, and a mission with

a Russian astronaut, Sergei Krikalev,

as a member of the crew signalled the

beginning of a three-phased cooperative program in space between Russia

and the United States.

In a year of tremendous accomplishments for the international Space Station, National Aeronautics and Space

Administration (NASA) developed an

initial set of specifications that included Russian elements as part of the

design. Russia’s agreeing to join the 12

original participating nations as a

partner resulted in the expansion of

the existing Shuttle/Mir program into

Phase I of the international Space Station program, which officially began

with Sergei Krikalev’s flight on the

Shuttle. All of the partners held a successful systems design review in Texas

in March, and in June Russia and the

United States signed an interim agreement on the Space Station and a $400

million contract for Russian space

hardware, services, and data. In August, the program completed a vehicle

architecture review and in September,

the Space Station Control Board ratified the recommendations it included.

The redesigned Space Station costs $5

billion less than Space Station Freedom and still offers increased research

capability and users flexibility.

In aeronautics, activities included

development of technologies to improve performance, increase safety, reduce engine noise and other environmental degradation, improve air traffic

management, lower costs, and help

American industry to be more competitive in the world market. For example,

high-speed research continued during

Fiscal Year 1994 to focus on resolving

critical environmental issues and laying the technological foundation for an

economical, next generation, High

Speed Civil Transport (HSCT). In this

connection, the United States reached

agreement with Russia to use the Tu–

144 supersonic transport as a testbed

for HSCT development. In addition, efforts in advanced subsonics focused on

reducing aircraft and engine noise levels, on development of wind shear sensing devices, and on creating technologies that will improve general

aviation aircraft.

In space science, astronomers using

HST’s revitalized optics discovered

disks of protoplanetary dust orbiting

stars in the Orion Nebula, suggesting

that the formation of planets in the

Milky Way and elsewhere may be relatively common. Also, HST’s revelation of helium in distant constellations

provides valuable information about

the conditions in the universe during

its initial evolution. The Spacelab Life

Sciences-2, U.S. Microgravity Payload2, and International Microgravity Laboratory-2 greatly increased our understanding of the role of gravity on biological, physical, and chemical processes. In biology, we learned that gravity affects the function of the neural

connections between brain cells; this

can have profound implications for rebuilding damaged brain cells due to

strokes and diseases. In Earth science,

the Space Radar Laboratories-1 and -2,

plus the Lidar In-Space Technology Experiment payload, used powerful radar

and laser technology to penetrate

cloud cover and map critical factors on

a global scale. Also, the highly successful launch of the Clementine Deep

Space Probe tested 23 advanced technologies for high-tech, lightweight

missile defense. The relatively inexpensive, rapidly-built spacecraft constituted a major revolution in spacecraft management and design; it also

contributed significantly to lunar studies by photographing 1.8 million images

of the surface of the Moon.

Additionally, on May 5, 1994, the

White House announced that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Department

of Defense, and NASA were establishing a joint program to effect the convergence of civil and military polar-orbiting operational environmental satellite systems into a single operational

program. Other White House announcements during the year included a policy for licensing U.S. firms by the Secretary of Commerce to operate private

remote sensing systems and sell their

images to domestic and foreign entities

and a national space transportation

policy that will sustain and revitalize

U.S. Space transportation capabilities

by providing a coherent strategy for

supporting and strengthening U.S.

space launch capabilities to meet the

growing needs of the civilian and national security sectors.

Thus, Fiscal Year 1994 was a highly

successful one for the U.S. aeronautics

and space programs. Efforts in both

areas have contributed significantly to

furthering the Nation’s scientific and

technical knowledge, international cooperation, a healthier environment,

and a more competitive economy.

WILLIAM J. CLINTON.

THE WHITE H

fOUSE, May 24, 1995.

APPOINTMENT OF INDIVIDUALS

AS MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF

DIRECTORS OF THE OFFICE OF

COMPLIANCE

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without

objection, and pursuant to the provisions of section 301 of Public Law 104–

1, the Chair announces on behalf of the

Speaker and minority leader of the

House of Representatives and the majority and minority leaders of the U.S.

Senate their joint appointment of the

following individuals to the Board of

Directors of the Office of Compliance:

Mr. Glen D. Nager of Washington,

DC, chairman, to a 5-year term;

Ms. Virginia A. Seitz of Washington,

DC, to a 5-year term;

Mr. Jerry M. Hunter of Missouri, to a

4-year term;

Mr. James N. Adler of California, to

a 4-year term; and

Mr. Lawrence Z. Lorber of Washington, DC, to a 3-year term.

A VISION FOR AN AMERICA WITH

There was no objection.

MORE GRATITUDE

f(Mr. INGLIS of South Carolina asked

and was given permission to address