September 22, 2008 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE H8533 is being served by the provisions in the on Armed Services if a conference is held on HONORING DR. GUION S. ‘‘GUY’’ bill. this matter. BLUFORD, JR., AND THE 25TH Each of these properties has served This exchange of letters will be placed in ANNIVERSARY OF HIS HISTORIC the General Services Administration the Committee Report on H.R. 6524 and in- FLIGHT AS THE FIRST AFRICAN- purposes well, but the changing needs serted in the Congressional Record as part of AMERICAN IN SPACE the consideration of this legislation in the of the communities of Eastlake and House. Thank you for the cooperative spirit Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland. Mr. Koochiching County now require that in which you have worked regarding this Speaker, I move to suspend the rules the properties be repurposed. In both matter and others between our respective and agree to the resolution (H. Res. cases, the needs of the community can committees. I understand that you prefer to 1466) honoring Dr. Guion S. ‘‘Guy’’ be better served through adaptive reuse consider such property transfers in National Defense Authorization Acts and I greatly ap- Bluford, Jr., and the 25th anniversary of these properties. of his historic flight as the first Afri- I support the bill and encourage my preciate your courtesy in waiving further can-American in space. colleagues to do the same. consideration of H.R. 6524. I look forward to working with you as we The Clerk read the title of the resolu- Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I rise in prepare to pass this important legislation. tion. strong support of H.R. 6524, a bill to authorize Sincerely, The text of the resolution is as fol- the Administrator of General Services to trans- JAMES L. OBERSTAR, lows: fer parcels of real property in Eastlake, Ohio, Chairman and Koochiching County, Minnesota. H. RES. 1466 The Koochiching parcel is approximately COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES, Whereas Dr. Guion S. ‘‘Guy’’ Bluford, Jr., 51⁄2 acres located at 1804 3rd Avenue in Inter- HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, born in West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, national Falls, Koochiching, Minnesota. The Washington, DC, September 18, 2008. was trained as an aerospace engineer and an Koochiching Army Reserve Training Center Hon. JAMES L. OBERSTAR, Air Force pilot, conducted several combat missions, logged over 5,000 hours on numer- site includes the U.S. Army Armory Building. Chairman, House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Washington, DC. ous aircraft, conducted scientific research on The bill transfers the property to Koochiching DR. MR. CHAIRMAN: On July 31, 2008, the computational fluid dynamics, and became a County, which will pay to have the roof re- Committee on Transportation and Infra- National Aeronautics and Space Administra- placed, install a new boiler and heating sys- structure ordered H.R. 6524, to authorize the tion (NASA) astronaut in 1979; tem, and make extensive repairs to the ceiling. Administrator of General Services to take Whereas in the early morning hours of Au- The Army reported the property excess in Jan- certain actions with respect to parcels of gust 30, 1983, Dr. Bluford became the first Af- uary 2006 and the General Services Adminis- real property located in Eastlake, Ohio, and rican-American to enter outer space as a tration, GSA, accepted the report of excess in Koochiching County, Minnesota, and for crew member of the STS–8 space shuttle mis- other purposes, to be reported. sion; February 2006. GSA screened the property Whereas Dr. Bluford’s pioneering STS–8 with other Federal agencies but there were no As you know, this measure contains cer- tain provisions that are within the jurisdic- flight was the first mission to both launch expressions of interest. tion of the Committee on Armed Services. and land at night; The conveyance will be by quitclaim deed These provisions transfer property for which Whereas this mission successfully deployed and the County of Koochiching will pay the Department of Defense has real property a satellite, tested operations of the shuttle’s $30,000 to GSA for the real property transfer. interests. For many years, our committee robotic arm, and released Getaway Special The General Services Administration will for- has authorized such transfers through an- canisters to support science experiments; ward to the Secretary of the Army the net pro- nual National Defense Authorization Acts Whereas on October 30, 1985, Dr. Bluford launched with the crew of STS 61–A, the first ceeds from the Koochiching transfer. (NDAA). Given the expressed need for the legisla- shuttle crew to include 8 members, to con- The parcel of real property in Eastlake is an duct the United States-German cooperative approximate 10-acre site which includes the tion to move expeditiously, and out of my re- spect for you and our friendship, I am pre- D–1 Spacelab mission that was dedicated to John F. Kennedy Senior Citizen Center. In pared to make an extraordinary exception to advancing our understanding of the human 1964, the city of Eastlake purchased the prop- my committee’s long-standing practice of al- vestibular and orientation systems and to erty and, consistent with the deed restriction, ways considering such property transfers in conducting microgravity research in mate- used the site for recreational uses for more the NDAA. rials science, life sciences, and communica- tion and navigation; than 40 years. The bill will lift the deed restric- Therefore, while we have a valid claim to Whereas Dr. Bluford went on to success- jurisdiction over this legislation, the Com- tions and thus allow the city to use the prop- fully complete 2 additional shuttle missions mittee on Armed Services will waive further erty for economic development purposes. The with the space shuttle Discovery’s launch of consideration of H.R. 6524. I do so with the city of Eastlake has provided a better location the STS–39 on April 28, 1991, and the STS–53 understanding that by waiving further con- for the senior citizens center. The city of East- on December 2, 1992; sideration of the bill, the Committee does Whereas among his other technical assign- lake will pay $30,000 to GSA for the real prop- not waive any future jurisdictional claims ments, Dr. Bluford worked on space shuttle erty transfer. over similar measures. In the event of a con- systems, the shuttle robotic arm, payload I urge my colleagues to join me in sup- ference with the Senate on this bill, the safety and flight software verification in the porting H.R. 6524. Committee on Armed Services reserves the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory and right to seek the appointment of conferees. Finally, I insert in the RECORD an exchange the Flight Systems Laboratory, and on of letters between Chairman IKE SKELTON, I would appreciate the inclusion of this let- Spacelab systems and experiments; Chairman of the Committee on Armed Serv- ter and a copy of the response in your Com- Whereas in remarking on his pioneering ices, and me. mittee’s report on H.R. 6524 and the Congres- role as the first African-American in space, sional Record during consideration of the HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COM- Dr. Bluford recounted, ‘‘I wanted to set the measure on the House floor. MITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND standard, do the best job possible so that Very truly yours, INFRASTRUCTURE, other people would be comfortable with Afri- IKE SKELTON, Washington, DC, September 22, 2008. can-Americans in space and African-Ameri- Chairman. Hon. IKE SKELTON, cans would be proud of being participants in Chairman, Committee on Armed Services, House Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield the space program . and encourage others of Representatives, Washington, DC. back the balance of my time. to do the same.’’; and DEAR CHAIRMAN SKELTON: I write to you re- Mr. DEFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, I yield Whereas in 1993, Dr. Bluford left NASA and garding H.R. 6524, to authorize the Adminis- back the balance of my time. retired as a Colonel in the Air Force to con- trator of General Services to take certain ac- tinue his distinguished service to the United tions with respect to parcels of real property The SPEAKER pro tempore. The States space program through leadership po- located in Eastlake, Ohio, and Koochiching question is on the motion offered by sitions in private industry and space-related County, Minnesota, and for other purposes. the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. organizations: Now, therefore, be it I appreciate your willingness to waive fur- DEFAZIO) that the House suspend the Resolved, That the House of Representa- ther consideration of H.R. 6524, notwith- rules and pass the bill, H.R. 6524. tives— standing the jurisdictional interest of the The question was taken; and (two- (1) salutes the 25th anniversary of the pio- Committee on Armed Services. Of course, thirds being in the affirmative) the neering accomplishments of Dr. Guion this waiver does not prejudice any further ‘‘Guy’’ S. Bluford, Jr. as the first African- jurisdictional claims by your Committee rules were suspended and the bill was American in space; and over this or similar legislation. Further- passed. (2) extends its gratitude and deep apprecia- more, I agree to support your request for ap- A motion to reconsider was laid on tion for Dr. Bluford’s dedication, commit- pointment of conferees from the Committee the table. ment, and excellence as an astronaut and a VerDate Aug 31 2005 04:12 Sep 23, 2008 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00055 Fmt 4634 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\K22SE7.095 H22SEPT1 jbell on PROD1PC69 with HOUSE H8534 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE September 22, 2008 leader in support of the Nation’s space pro- history when he lifted off with the degree in aerospace engineering from gram.