Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, Helen Keller once reminded us that ``no pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new doorway for the human spirit.''

The seven crew members aboard Columbia were optimists, one and all, who saw the uncharted lands of space as an opportunity, not an obstacle. They were willing to open new doorways for humanity at the cost of their own lives.

Mr. Speaker, they left a Nation at war on a mission of peaceful exploration of space. While fate did not return them to us, the memory of their courage, their determination and their optimism for a brighter future will stay with us forever. I support this resolution as one small way of carrying on their memory.

Mr. Speaker, farmers of the 12th District of Georgia, as well as those across the Nation, are hurting. Disastrous yields and poor crop quality are the result of the weather of 2002. To respond to these needs, to work for Georgia farmers and with the Georgia Farm Bureau and its president, Wayne Dollar, today I will introduce the Emergency Agricultural Disaster Assistance Act. I urge my colleagues to take steps toward aiding some of America's finest in these difficult times by cosponsoring and supporting this bill.