ASTRO Act

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 272, the Astronaut Safe Temporary Ride Options Act, or, for short, the ASTRO Act. As the bill's sponsor, I thank Chairman Comer for his help in getting the bill to the floor.

One of the great honors of serving as the chairman of the Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics is having the opportunity to meet our astronauts preparing to go to space and to hear from them after they return from their missions. The ASTRO Act is a result of these conversations and NASA's advocacy for increased astronaut safety.

The brave men and women who wear the iconic blue flight suit risk their lives to advance America's leadership in space. We owe it to them to ensure that when they return from long-duration space missions, their recovery and health studies are not hampered by bureaucracy.

The space environment poses significant medical issues, such as osteoporosis, muscle atrophy, broken bones from reentry, vision and ocular changes, and disrupted equilibrium, which prevent astronauts from being able to drive when they come back home.

However, NASA astronauts' participation in physiological research and longitudinal studies upon their return from space informs future exploration efforts and how we treat future astronauts. It is imperative that they get these things checked.

The ASTRO Act streamlines the approval process for astronauts to receive transportation to and from their homes and the Johnson Space Center for doctor visits until they are medically cleared to resume driving. There are no costs associated with this bill but, rather, a significant paperwork reduction in the approval process.

Additionally, my bill provides transparency by requiring NASA to send an annual report to Congress on how this authority is used in the future.

Astronauts' health data acquired by the Johnson Space Center upon return from space is invaluable. This bill ensures hassle-free transportation to and from these important medical evaluations so that we can appropriately study the impacts of space exploration on the human body.

As we prepare to go to the Moon and farther to Mars and beyond, it is incumbent upon us to streamline operations to enable discovery and innovation. America has long been the leader in space exploration, and we must remain there. We will continue to push the bounds of our universe outward.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Jeff Jackson for cosponsoring this legislation bipartisanly as well as Chairman Comer and Chairman Lucas for their support. I urge my colleagues to please support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 272) to amend title 31, United

States Code, to authorize transportation for Government astronauts returning from space between their residence and various locations, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this measure.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 272, the ASTRO Act.

First of all, let's give respect for the name ASTRO Act. As far as the names of bills go, that ranks way up there as far as the ones I have seen, so high compliments.

This will streamline a burdensome administrative process regarding government-provided transportation for astronauts returning from space flight. When astronauts return from space travel, NASA provides them with home-to-work transportation so that the agency can monitor, evaluate, diagnose, and provide these brave men and women with medical treatment until they are medically cleared to drive.

Under existing statute, NASA's authorization of this transportation for the astronauts must include concurrent reports to Congress with details about the authorized transportation. Reporting in this manner can be challenging to NASA as it can make it difficult to maintain up- to-date authorizations as crewmembers are replaced or reassigned to different missions.

The ASTRO Act will amend current law to enable NASA to authorize the use of official transportation between residence and worksite without such unworkable reporting requirements. However, the bill maintains appropriate congressional transparency by requiring NASA to provide Congress with an annual report on its use of this new authorization.

I thank the sponsor of the bill, Congressman Babin, for his work. I also thank the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology for its bipartisan support of this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this commonsense bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Babin).

Mr. Speaker, while it may sound like a mundane problem, the underlying need for this bill is anything but that. We owe it to these courageous men and women who leave behind families and friends to spend months in space to cut through the red tape and take care of them upon their return.

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

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

The ASTRO Act would give the Administrator of NASA the authority to allow astronauts returning from space to receive home-to-work transportation from the agency. Such transportation is currently permitted only on a case-by-case basis, and it must be reported to Congress. This bill also requires NASA to report annually to Congress on the use of this authority.

These seem like reasonable changes to me, and I support this bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, I urge Members to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.