Res Communis

by P.J. Blount with the blog faculty

Yesterday the Senate held a confirmation hearing for several presidential nominees including those for NASA Administrator and Deputy Administrator. The prepared statements of these two nominees are below.

Mr. Charles F. Bolden Jr., Administrator-Designate National Aeronautics and Space Administration:

Statement of Charles Bolden
Before the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
United States Senate
July 8, 2009

Chairman Rockefeller, Ranking Member Hutchison, and members of the Committee, it is an honor to come before you today as the President’s nominee for Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Thank you for your time in considering my nomination as well as that of Ms. Lori Garver for Deputy Administrator.

I would like to extend my sincere thanks to Senator Lindsey Graham for his support and kind introduction. Special thanks are also due to Senators Nelson and Hutchison for your words of encouragement during my preparation for potentially taking on the duties of NASA Administrator. I thank both of you specifically and this committee in general for your long-standing support of NASA in its mission of leading the nation in the exploration of our universe and of exercising our leadership in aeronautics, science, and technology. I’d also like to acknowledge members of my family (my wife, Jackie; my daughter, Dr. Kelly Bolden; my brother, Warren Bolden and his wife, Wendy; my aunt Alyce Martin) and other family and friends who have traveled many miles to be with me today.

I would also like to extend a special thanks to Christopher Scolese, who has been the Acting Administrator at NASA since mid-January. Chris represents the very best of NASA’s career civil servant workforce. For his dedicated leadership and service I am greatly appreciative.

I was born and raised in Columbia, SC in the segregated south – the older of two sons of Charles and Ethel Bolden, public school teachers who, despite very long hours and lower wages than their white counterparts, loved every day of their work and made the hard choice to remain in public education and to inspire thousands of Black students to take their places in national, state, and local leadership. With them as the consummate role models, I overcame the refusal of my Senators and Congressman to appoint a Black to the Naval Academy by appealing to President Lyndon B. Johnson for assistance. President Johnson had taken the initiative to send a retired federal judge around the country to visit with Black and Hispanic high schools to recruit young, qualified minorities for entry to the three major service academies. I expressed interest in the Naval Academy during his visit to my high school and this led to my subsequently receiving an appointment to Annapolis from Congressman William Dawson of Chicago, IL. Inspired by my Plebe Year company officer, Major John Riley Love, a Marine Corps Viet Nam veteran and mentor reminiscent of my father, I chose to become a United States Marine upon graduation. Much like my father, Major Love was very tough and demanding, but incredibly fair and just in dealing with everyone. For more than 34 years as an active duty Marine, I witnessed thepower of teams of diverse military men and women responding to worldwide crises of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, such as the small 16 to 20 person teams of Marines and Navy corpsmen sent from my command into Djibouti in the Horn of Africa to help drill fresh water wells and to assist the villagers in building rudimentary medical centers. The engagement and compassion exhibited by these Marines and sailors gained us a level of respect by the local tribe members that allows us to operate with impunity in this region even today.

As a NASA astronaut I flew four times on the Space Shuttle as a member of international teams of dedicated engineering and science professionals. Floating in the windows of the Shuttle, speeding across its great desert at 4 – 5 miles per second, I saw the beauty of the Middle East, appearing peaceful and serene in spite of the Earthly reality of violence in the region. From my window perch, I viewed with sadness the majestic Amazon Rain Forest, considered by many to be the model of serenity and peace, yet devastated by deforestation, leaving the area and its people facing some of the greatest environmental challenges of our day. l now dream of a day when any American can launch into the vastness of outer space and see the magnificence and grandeur of our home planet, Earth, as I have been blessed to do. I’m convinced this will inspire them to be more concerned for our environment and to strive to put an end to man’s inhumanity to man.

When I reflect on the violent days of the 1960’s civil rights movement; war in Viet Nam and anti-war demonstrations on our streets; turmoil and division in our nation not seen since the Civil War – I am inspired by the power of a shared national vision articulated by President John F. Kennedy to put men on the Moon; uniting the world in celebrating this achievement; and assuming uncontested technological leadership. NASA and its contractors produced what is a marvel of the modern age – the Space Shuttle followed by the International Space Station (ISS). With the common goal of making life better for humans here on Earth and improving understanding of our universe, NASA provided the leadership to our scientists, industry, and international partners to launch probes to distant planets; change human understanding of the universe in which we live with the Great Observatories – the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), the Chandra X-Ray Telescope, the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (GRO), and the Spitzer Space Telescope – and develop biomedical research that contributed to innovation of the CATScan, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the Debakey Ventricular Assist Device (VAD) or heart pump, and even a prospective salmonella vaccine.

All this we accomplished in times equally as difficult as today, if not more so because, beginning in 1961, a young president and a bold Congress inspired the American people to have the courage to take action in areas previously unthinkable. Can we do any less today? I think not.

Dr. Shirley Jackson, President of Rensselear Polytechnic Institute, warns – ―There is a quiet crisis building in the United States — a crisis that could jeopardize the nation’s pre-eminence and well-being. The crisis has been mounting gradually, but inexorably, over several decades. If permitted to continue unmitigated, it could reverse the global leadership Americans currently enjoy. The crisis stems from the gap between the nation’s growing need for scientists, engineers, and other technically skilled workers, and its production of them…. Our government, universities, and industry must act now to develop the intellectual capital of the future.

Today we have to choose. Either we can invest in building upon our hard earned world technological leadership or we can abandon this commitment, ceding it to others who are working vigilantly to push the frontiers of space.

If we choose to lead, we must earn that leadership by committing to confront the following challenges:

- Build upon our investment in the ISS, a unique national laboratory, and a bridge to human exploration beyond low Earth orbit, as we safely and efficiently bring the shuttle era to a close.

- Accelerate with a sense of urgency the development of a next generation launch system and human carrier to enable America and other space-faring nations of the world to execute the mission of expanding our human exploration beyond low Earth orbit.

- Enhance NASA’s capability and organic expertise to provide credible scientific, technological, and engineering leadership to help us better understand our Earth environment.

- Inspire the rising generation of boys and girls to become men and women committed to increasing knowledge in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) by making NASA and its programs relevant to the American public.

Today we face a crisis of opportunity. We can either confront the aforementioned challenges of technological leadership that ensure our nation’s safety and security or cede that leadership and prestige to other nations. I ask each of you to help NASA turn these challenges into opportunities. I ask each of you on this Committee as well as your colleagues in the Congress to help us ensure that safety and mission success are the preeminent principles in our continuation and extension of human exploration. And I ask all of you to help NASA ensure that our nation remains the leader in the world in aeronautics, technology, science, and the care of our environment.

Together we can find innovative ways to enhance our nation’s educational, scientific and technological capacity or we can sit by and watch other nations assume our long-held and recognized leadership role.

Together we can find innovative ways to enhance needed basic research and development in aeronautics, science and technology or we can sit by and watch other nations move ahead in these fields.

Together we can find innovative ways to advance space exploration, reduce the costs of access to space and further push the boundaries of what we can achieve as a nation.

Thank you for this opportunity to appear before this committee. I am excited and energized about the possibility of taking on these challenges, if confirmed, and I look forward to responding to your questions.

And Ms. Lori Garver, Deputy Administrator-Designate National Aeronautics and Space Administration:

Statement of Lori B. Garver
Before the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
United States Senate
July 8, 2009

Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Hutchison, members of the Committee, thank you. I am honored
to appear before you today as President Obama’s nominee for the position of Deputy Administrator
of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA. I would like to thank Senator
Stabenow for her support and for her kind introduction today. Many of my Michigan relatives are
with me today, including my mother and my uncle, my husband David, and my sons, Wesley and
Mitchell.

I was raised in Michigan by a family who considered public service an expectation. My grandfather,
a farmer, spent 12 years in the State Legislature. My uncle, a veterinarian and farmer, followed in his
seat and served a combined 12 years in the State House and Senate. I have been in campaign
parades with them before I could walk and I took a semester off of college to work on one of my
uncle’s two bids for Congress. Both of my parents, my sister, aunts, uncles and grandparents are
teachers – another honored service contribution. I met my husband on an early political campaign
and before he got the space bug, he was also a teacher. It has been my experience that most people
who choose public service, do so as a contribution to Society and because they believe part of life’s
purpose is to leave things better than we found them. For me, space and politics have been that
service and my calling for the past 25 years

When I graduated from college, I had never stepped a foot in the nation’s capital, but largely
because of this upbringing, I drove across the country to come here to try to make a contribution.
My first job in Washington, working for John Glenn’s presidential campaign, led to my early
exposure to the space program. It didn’t take long for me to be “hooked”. For me, space offered
the challenge of a generation who had grown up with Apollo. Space development opened up
instantaneous worldwide communication that helped bring an end to the Cold War – the biggest
geopolitical challenge of the time. I believe that space exploration helps bring us together as a
collective human society. Astronauts, cosmonauts and taikonauts alike all remark on the unifying
view from space and their changed perspective upon return. It was no coincidence that the first
Earth Day was in 1970 – following humanity’s first tentative steps on another celestial body and the
iconic photograph of Earth Rise from the Moon taken by the Apollo 8 crew.

This exposure led to my Master’s degree in space policy and to the National Space Society where I
worked for 13 years – 9 as executive director. NSS is a not-for-profit grass-roots space advocacy
organization. This experience embedded my belief that the space program is for all of us. Our
government space program must be responsive to American tax-payers in order to be meaningful
and sustainable. This understanding only deepened during my five years working on
communications and policy at NASA. My NASA experience exposed me to the incredible talent of
the NASA workforce. The unbelievable achievements of this team over its 50-year history are
unmatched.

The last eight years of my career have been spent working in the commercial sector, with aerospace
industry. This experience has taught me that the incredible talent and dedication of the workforce
not only resides at NASA, but also in private industry. During this time, one commercial project led
me to Russia, where I began medical testing and training for a commercially sponsored Soyuz flight to the International Space Station (ISS). I developed the project to utilize the unique opportunity of
space tourism and commercial investment to help educate the public about the amazing
achievements and capability of the ISS. At the time, our boys were ages 10 and 8 and we planned
for them to stay with us in Star City for part of the training. The project, called “Astromom” was
about better communicating the excitement of space exploration to the general public, with the
Discovery Channel filming my experience. Although ultimately unsuccessful, it was a life experience
that taught me about international and commercial partnerships, their possibilities and their
limitations.

The NASA family is its most valuable resource and I am humbled by this opportunity to return in a
leadership position. President Obama has promised to lead our government in a direction to make
it work as effectively as it can for the American people. NASA must also continue to demonstrate
its relevance, as a source of solutions for the problems we all face today. Every aspect of NASA’s
programs can contribute in this way:

NASA helps lead the world in scientific understanding of our planet, our solar system and our place
in the universe. What parent doesn’t thrill at their children’s first questions about the night sky?
Walk through elementary schools today and look at the art on the walls that includes depictions of
the planets (with or without Pluto – depending on your age) and images from the Hubble Space
Telescope. No matter how you feel about a cap and trade system, most of us agree that many
scientific measurements of planetary climate change can uniquely be made from space, and should
be expanded.

Human spaceflight is a symbol of U.S. leadership and technological advancement. Depending on
your age, different space exploration milestones are binding memories of society. For many of us,
the Moon landings and Apollo-Soyuz. For some of us – Sally Ride’s first flight, or Guy Bluford’s.
Why is it that universally, Americans can tell you where they were when they heard about the Space
Shuttle accidents? I believe it is because space exploration represents the best in all of us. Our
hearts and minds are a part of every mission. I believe we can and should do more to share this
amazing chapter of space exploration with the public.

Space exploration and cooperation on the International Space Station have opened up new
relationships that continue to provide tremendous value to society. Expanded cooperative activities
in robotic and human spaceflight should be considered.

Jake Garn used to have a great line about spending money in space. He said, “You know – you
can’t spend money in space – I didn’t bring my wallet, as there is nothing to buy”. The half of a
percent of the federal budget that we spend on space today is spent right here on Earth, employing
our critical scientific and technological workforce. The nation’s investment in NASA has helped
create a private sector workforce at least 10 times as large as the civil servant workforce. In addition,
investment in NASA has led to new industries entirely independent from government funding that
have contributed greatly to the U.S. economy over the past half century. I believe that a key role of
NASA is to continue investing in programs and technologies that have the potential to develop into
independent commercial industries of the future.

One of the most visible of these successful industries is aviation and aeronautics. NASA (and its
predecessor, NACA) research has contributed much to this global industry. Recent NASA research
has helped reduce fuel consumption and noise in commercial and military aircraft and helped improve safety and efficiency. Yet – there is much more to be done. I believe NASA can and
should do more to assist this critical industry to become leaders in green aviation and to improve
aviation system efficiency.

I am confident that NASA can address these critical challenges. I am excited about the opportunity
to return to NASA in this leadership position, if confirmed. I’m also excited about the opportunity
to serve under Charlie Bolden’s leadership. We’ve spent the last few months discussing how we
could better address these challenges, if we are given the opportunity. We’ve spent hours in
meetings with many of you, listening to your ideas and concerns and it would be an honor to work
together toward our common goals.

It has been many years since I lived in Michigan. My most recent years have been spent in Virginia,
raising our two boys. I’ve tried to be an example to my boys, to help them develop a passion for
service. So far, Wes plans to broker world peace and Mitch hopes to discover a cure for cancer.
With your support, I’d love to get to work at NASA doing what we can to help address both of
those challenges and so many others.

Thank you for the opportunity to share these thoughts with you. I look forward to your questions.