Tom Feeney: “I did want to take a moment or two to point out a very important aspect of this manager's amendment. It directs the…”

“I did want to take a moment or two to point out a very important aspect of this manager's amendment. It directs the White House Office of Science and Technology to establish an interagency committee to study issues related to locating a commercial space launch range in close proximity to a Federal launch range. In order to have viable commercial launch operations in the United States, effective coordination and cooperation must exist between potential commercial ranges and existing Federal ranges. Federal agencies have to endeavor to assist and not choke off commercial space ranges. The interagency committee will focus on these agencies and the importance of this issue. Let me say that for the last 50 years, space has been really a bipolar world. Either you were a part of the former Soviet orbit and space power, or you were part of the American-led free nations in space power. Today it is a very different world. I just recently came back from the first ever global space summit in Beijing, China, where over 15 nations were represented, some six or seven major spacefaring powers.”