Bill Text: FL S1878 | 2010 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Space Program [CPSC]
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Failed) 2010-04-30 - Died in Committee on Rules [S1878 Detail]
Download: Florida-2010-S1878-Introduced.html
Florida Senate - 2010 SM 1878
By Senator Altman
24-00663-10 20101878__
1 Senate Memorial
2 A memorial to the Congress of the United States,
3 urging Congress to fully support the space program and
4 recognize the significance of research related to
5 human space flight.
6
7 WHEREAS, the Space Shuttle program is scheduled to end in
8 the near future, and
9 WHEREAS, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
10 is beginning the transition to new launch systems that enable
11 humans to explore beyond low earth orbit, and
12 WHEREAS, NASA and the White House Office of Science and
13 Technology Policy established the Review of U.S. Human Space
14 Flight Plans Committee to review the progress and status of the
15 national human space exploration mission and the programs and
16 systems being developed to enable human space exploration, and
17 WHEREAS, the committee found that human space exploration
18 can drive technology innovation, develop commercial industries
19 and national capabilities, demonstrate international leadership
20 and contribute to scientific knowledge, inspire the next
21 generation, and chart a path for human expansion into the solar
22 system, and
23 WHEREAS, the committee found that human exploration beyond
24 low earth orbit is not viable under the current federal budget
25 guidelines and that additional annual funding for human space
26 exploration is necessary in order to establish a meaningful
27 program, and
28 WHEREAS, the committee found that NASA’s budget should
29 match its mission and goals, and that NASA should be given the
30 ability to shape its organization and infrastructure
31 accordingly, while maintaining facilities of national
32 importance, and
33 WHEREAS, the current budget will result in a significant
34 gap in U.S. human space flight capabilities, which may result in
35 the loss of critical national capabilities of workforce
36 experience and the aerospace industrial base, and
37 WHEREAS, the State of Florida has invested $27 million in
38 the Space Life Sciences Lab at the Kennedy Space Center to
39 promote life sciences research, and
40 WHEREAS, it is in the national interest to establish a
41 robust and sustainable program of human space exploration, NOW,
42 THEREFORE,
43
44 Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
45
46 That the Congress of the United States is requested to:
47 (1) Increase the level of NASA’s budget to a level
48 sufficient to enable the development of exploration systems and
49 vehicles, operate the International Space Station through 2020,
50 and reduce the gap in U.S. human space flight;
51 (2) Support the life sciences research necessary for long
52 term human space flight beyond low earth orbit;
53 (3) Direct appropriate work and programs to utilize
54 Florida’s unique workforce skills and aerospace facilities to
55 preserve and enhance national space launch capability; and
56 (4) Support the increased utilization and sustainable
57 development of federal and state spaceports as national
58 resources supporting commercial enterprises and research and
59 technology development.
60 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
61 dispatched to the President of the United States, to the
62 President of the United States Senate, to the Speaker of the
63 United States House of Representatives, and to each member of
64 the Florida delegation to the United States Congress.
