HM 1405

1	House Memorial
2	A memorial to the Congress of the United States, urging
3	Congress to fully support the space program and recognize
4	the significance of research related to human space
5	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 John F. Kennedy Space Center
39	to 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.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.