A resolution recognizing Lieutenant Commander Chris Cassidy, space shuttle mission specialist of the STS-127 space shuttle mission and the Expedition 19 International Space Station mission, for becoming the 500th person to fly into space.

Mr. President, I rise today to submit a resolution recognizing Lieutenant Commander Chris Cassidy, space shuttle mission specialist of the STS-127 space shuttle mission and the Expedition 19 International Space Station mission, for becoming the 500th person to fly into space.

While Lieutenant Commander Chris Cassidy is a native of Salem, Massachusetts, he considers York, ME, his hometown, where he attended York High School. Chris has a very impressive academic background earning a bachelor of science in Mathematics from the U.S. Naval Academy, and a Master of Science in Ocean Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Even more impressive is his ongoing service to his country. Chris spent 10 years as a U.S. Navy SEAL, which includes two tours in Afghanistan. During that time, he received numerous awards including the Bronze Star with the combat `V' and the Presidential Unit Citation for leading a 9-day operation at the Zharwar Kili cave complex. This operation was a national priority objective directly on the Afghan/ Pakistan border. Lieutenant Commander Cassidy received a second Bronze Star for combat leadership service in Afghanistan in 2004. Chris was also a Quest speaker at the U.S. Naval Academy's 2003 and 2004 Combat Leadership Seminars.

Upon returning from his service, Chris was selected by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to begin astronaut training in 2004 at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

The space shuttle STS-127 mission is Lieutenant Commander Cassidy's first time in space. As this Nation celebrates the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission and the first man on the moon, Chris Cassidy becomes the 500th person to travel to space on the Space Shuttle Endeavor. The STS-127 mission's primary goal is to deliver the final components of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory to the International Space Station, which will be essential to allowing astronauts to perform valuable science experiments that are exposed to the vacuum of space. In order to install those components, five space walks are scheduled for the 16-day mission and Chris is expected to perform three of them.

This resolution recognizes Space Shuttle Mission Specialist Navy Lieutenant Commander Chris Cassidy of STS-127 space shuttle mission and the Expedition 19 International Space Station mission and for becoming the 500th person in history to fly into space; and also commends him and the rest of the STS-127 Mission crew for risking their lives in the advance of science and human understanding. I hope my colleagues will join Senator Collins and me in supporting this resolution.

Mr. President, in accordance with rule XXVI(2) of the Standing Rules of the Senate, Senator Isakson and I ask, unanimous consent that the Rules of Procedure of the Select Committee on Ethics, which were adopted February 23, 1978, and revised November 1999, be printed in the Congressional Record for the 111th Congress. The committee procedural rules for the 111th Congress are identical to the procedural rules adopted by the committee for the 110th Congress.