Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I stand in support of the ASCEND Act, which is sponsored by Representatives Kean and Bonamici. Their bill would codify the existing program, the Commercial Satellite Data Acquisition program, after NASA successfully demonstrated the viability of purchasing commercial small-satellite data to support NASA's Earth system science programs. During evaluation of the initial pilot project, the data acquisitions were shown to complement the suite of Earth observations taken by NASA's fleet of satellites and instruments. NASA has continued the activities as the Commercial SmallSat Data Acquisition Program. This bill capitalizes on the accomplishments of the initial pilot by authorizing the program. It also authorizes the Administrator, in carrying out the program, to procure commercial Earth remote sensing data and imagery from commercial vendors and to establish or modify end-use license terms and conditions to allow for the use of the procured data and imagery by individuals other than NASA-funded users. The bill includes measures to support data publication and transparency, reporting to Congress on the program, and the widest possible use of the data procured under the program consistent with program goals. Mr. Speaker, I thank the bill's sponsors for their work on the ASCEND Act, and I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting it. I reserve the balance of my time.”