Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6076, as amended, the TREAT Astronauts Act. The House-passed, bipartisan NASA Authorization Act of 2015 set the long-term goal of sending humans to the surface of Mars. The amendments to the TREAT Astronauts Act being considered today will help provide the research results needed to achieve this goal. As Chairman Babin noted, the amendment reflects compromise language agreed upon with the Senate in good faith. Committee Ranking Member Johnson and I thank Space Subcommittee Chairman Babin and his staff for working together to achieve bipartisan and bicameral consensus on this amendment. Chairman Babin and I both want to do the right thing for the health of our current and future astronauts. That is why I was pleased to be a cosponsor of this act to provide for monitoring, diagnosis, and treatment of former astronauts. Our astronauts are heroes. They serve this Nation in the face of extreme risks. Some of those risks involve the potential for medical conditions that may not reveal themselves for years or even decades after an astronaut's service. It is our responsibility to ensure that we, as a nation, acknowledge the risks that these heroes have taken and, in return, provide our astronauts with the medical monitoring and treatment they need.…”