A bill to authorize construction of a Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory instrumentation support control building and associated site development on Kitt Peak, Arizona, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, as ranking minority member of the House Administration Committee, which has primary jurisdiction over the Smithsonian Institution, I urge passage of H.R. 5105, a bill to authorize $1 million for the Smithsonian for site development and construction in support of the VERITAS project, an international astrophysical research consortium in which the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory SAO plays a principal role.

VERITAS the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System will be located on Kitt Peak near Tucson, Arizona.

The control building will house computers, electronics and other support required by astronomers to run the telescopes and cameras conducting the VERITAS observations and research, as well as a kitchen, storage space and meeting space for working astronomers. VERITAS is expected to come online in October 2006.

The funds authorized by this bill were contained in the President's budget request and are included in the FY 2005 Interior Department Appropriations bill, which funds the Smithsonian. A nearly identical bill, S. 2362, passed the Senate on June 14 by voice vote and was referred to our committee.

VERITAS is part of the continuing revolution in the science of astronomy. New discoveries, techniques and devices have dramatically reshaped our view of the universe, as well as the mechanics of studying it. Different types of phenomenon, and radiation from different portions of the spectrum are studied in unique ways, and astronomy has become increasingly specialized to facilitate such research.

VERITAS is intended to study gamma radiation from some of the most exotic, high energy sources in space, such as supernovas, black holes, quasars and pulsars. Gamma radiation is very difficult to detect from the Earth's surface and VERITAS will employ new scientific techniques to do so.

VERITAS is a collaboration of seven institutions in the U.S., including the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, along with three institutions in Canada, the U.K. and Ireland, to build an array of four 40-foot diameter reflector which will give stereoscopic images of gamma rays.

It represents the next generation of telescopes studying gamma radiation, which the Smithsonian has done since 1968 at the Whipple Observatory. The Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation each will provide 40 percent of the costs of equipment and construction, with the Smithsonian and overseas collaborators supplying the rest. The total cost of VERITAS would be about $17 million, and this authorization bill is necessary to allow the Smithsonian to use $1 million in Federal funds to complete its financial contribution to the project.

The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory SAO, a bureau of the Smithsonian, is the world's premier facility in the exploration of astrophysical phenomena from Earth to the edge of the known universe, employing more than 300 scientists. It was funded in Washington, D.C. in 1890 initially to focus on studying the Sun. In 1955 it relocated to Cambridge, Massachusetts to join with the Harvard College Observatory and in 1973 an umbrella entity, the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, was created.

Mr. Speaker, we can look forward to the significant advances which VERITAS will bring to our understanding of some of the most fascinating objects, and most powerful and mysterious forces, in the universe, and I urge approval of the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5105) to authorize the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution to carry out construction and related activities in support of the collaborative Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS) project on Kitt Peak near Tucson, Arizona.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I want to begin this evening by congratulating the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia on the impending return of Major League Baseball to the Washington, D.C., area. I would only ask if she could use her considerable clout to get the new team located in the American League, and I could watch the Cleveland Indians play here in the Nation's Capital.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5105, introduced by the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ney), my good friend, authorizes site development and construction of support facilities for the VERITAS project at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona.

I want to pause for a minute because this particular piece of legislation has been sort of a tug of war with our good friends in the Parliamentarian's Office and our good friends in the Committee on House Administration, together with the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. And I want to commend the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ney), chairman of the Committee on House Administration, for working with us. Those of us who love and enjoy the jurisdiction of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure believe that this is a piece of legislation and this is a project that belongs solely within our jurisdiction. We have an artistic difference with some of our friends, and we have worked through that. So, again, I want to thank the parliamentarians and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ney) for getting us to this point this evening.

This project, carried out by the Smithsonian Institution in conjunction with nearly a dozen universities from the United States, U.K., Canada, and Ireland, the new telescopic array will

be able to see gamma rays, which are not visible from traditional earth-based telescopes.

The ability to view gamma-ray radiation will allow scientists to learn new things about the universe including shedding light on previously unseen parts of the universe. Gamma rays are only produced with high-energy galactic events such as exploding stars, pulsars, quasars and black holes. The new telescopic array will be able to view these gamma rays by observing the secondary radiation created when the gamma rays hit the earth's atmosphere.

The VERITAS telescope will increase the viewable power by a factor of ten, making it one of the most powerful gamma-ray telescopes on the planet. This is an important scientific project, and I encourage my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5105, which authorizes the Smithsonian Institution to construct an instrumentation support facility on Kitt Peak, Arizona.

The Smithsonian Institution requires this base facility to support the ongoing collaborative VERITAS project.

VERITAS, which is a high energy telescope research project, was listed as a priority for international ground and space research initiatives, in a report of the Astronomy and Astrophysics Survey Committee of the National Research Council.

The goals of the VERITAS project are to further develop the field of high-energy gamma-ray astronomy. This project expands on work done through the Smithsonian's Astrophysical Observatory or SAO, and will help to maintain the Smithsonian's goal of excellence in scientific research.

With the help of VERITAS, SAO astronomers will be able to produce the next levels of knowledge about gamma-ray astronomy, develop further scientific instrumentation to detect this highest energy form of light, and remain as one of the world's leading authorities on gamma-ray bursts.

The VERITAS project enables astronomers to explore solar flares, supernovae, neutron stars, black holes and active galaxies. By exploring gamma rays, the SAO astronomers will gain further knowledge into the origins of the universe, the rate at which it is expanding, and its current size.

This bill authorizes a total of $1 million for fiscal year 2005, for constructing a support facility and the necessary utilities and equipment housings.

The balance of the $17 million dollars will come from other non- Smithsonian sources, such as the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, and the international consortium, so the Smithsonian will get enormous value for its investment.

The Smithsonian has been a leader in scientific research, and this project will go a long way in furthering this worthwhile endeavor. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 5105.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

(Ms. NORTON asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Ohio for his graciousness and good wishes. And he knows I would do almost anything for him, but as he knows, baseball has been well beyond my jurisdiction for 33 years. We think we have rectified that with today's announcement. I may have a little more to say about it than I have had since I was a child and the Senators were here. I want him to know that some wise guy called in, when we said, what should we name the Senators? And they said, noting my status on this floor, why do we not call them the Delegates?

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5105 authorizes the Board of Regents at the Smithsonian Institution to construct an astrophysical observatory located at Kitt Peak, Arizona, and to carry out related activities in support of the project. The bill was introduced by the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ney) and referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

This construction project will support the work of the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System, or VERITAS, the project that deals with radiation imaging. The bill authorizes $1 million for the construction and related activities. The construction will involve an inexpensive metal building which will be approximately 4,500 square feet to include a repair area, meeting rooms, general storage and kitchen. The building will be fire-resistant.

The project is being conducted in partnership with the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy. It is a very worthwhile project, and I urge passage of the bill.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Rules Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. 2362 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and any statements in relation to the bill be printed in the Record.