Commercial Space Launch Act (and more)

[The Straight Story]

COMMERCIAL SPACE LAUNCH ACT -- (Senate - November 18, 2004)

GPO's PDF

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Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I want to introduce two bills today. One of them is about a program nobody seems to know about. That is the space launch program. I don't know whether it is in the State of Texas or where they are doing this. But in Oklahoma, in Burns Flat, we have been very active in trying to get the Commercial Space Launch Program going. This is an opportunity for people to go into suborbital launch vehicles using a hybrid technology of a combination rocket injection engine. We are doing this. There have been several of them so far.

I have been a commercial pilot now for almost 50 years--47 years, I guess. I have a natural interest in this. I have had occasion to fly an airplane around the world. I have watched it from all levels.

I see the excitement in people's faces saying, I can fly in space.

We have this program which nobody knows about. It is a program that will allow people to get into things such as a Learjet that has a rocket on that will actually launch them, take them up and give them the experience of travel in space.

There have been some problems with this, however. There are some problems with people being able to do this with the company putting these programs together incurring responsibilities and liabilities.

It is very similar to the program we have been concerned with in the oil industry to try to expand it and keep people from being able to have frivolous lawsuits. That is what we are up against here.

We have introduced a bill that is designed to allow participation in this emerging space launching activity for a greater number of people.

The FAA will now have sole regulation authority for the suborbital hybrid vehicles. It will be appropriately considered. We are not taking any risk here. This is just to allow the private sector to enjoy this type of thing.

I will be introducing today S. 2998 with the idea of making this a reality and giving this privilege to a lot of people and allowing us to develop technology.

It is interesting. A lot of people go to an event every year in Oshkosh, WI. I have gone for 27 consecutive years. We go up there to see all of the new technology, what people are putting together in their experimental aircraft, airplanes they are making in their garages and basements. A lot of technology we are now using in the space program was actually started right there in someone's garage. That is essentially what we want to get at with the Commercial Space Launch Act we introduce today.

By Mr. TALENT:

S. 3001. A bill entitled the ``Hybrid HOV Access Act''; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.

Mr. TALENT. Mr. President, I am pleased to be introducing this bill, which will allow more owners of hybrid electric vehicles, or HEVs, to have access to HOV lanes on Federal highways. For all of us who have a desire to lessen our dependence on foreign oil and encourage the use of renewable energy, this bill represents a step forward towards achieving those goals.

The language that is currently in the highway bills passed by the House and the Senate allows hybrid vehicles that achieve a 45 mile-per-gallon fuel economy highway rating to use HOV lanes. Any hybrid that achieves that kind of fuel economy certainly deserves to get that status, because it is a very impressive fuel economy rating and represents a substantial improvement over non-hybrid vehicles. What the 45 mile-per-gallon standard fails to take into account, however, is that many larger hybrid vehicles achieve a much larger fuel economy improvement over their internal combustion engine counterparts, and thus save more energy, than smaller vehicles which manage to meet the standard but are a less drastic improvement over their non-hybrid counterparts.

To illustrate this, take the 2005 model Honda Civic HEV, which gets just over 45 miles-per-gallon. This represents less than a 40 percent improvement over the comparable internal

GPO's PDF

combustion model. The 2005 Ford Escape HEV, on the other hand, is a truck, so it gets fewer miles per gallon than a Civic, between 35 and 40. However, this is a 75 percent improvement over its internal combustion engine counterpart, and in addition, the Escape HEV emits 3-4 tons fewer greenhouse gases every year than the non-hybrid.

There is no reason to discriminate against these larger, American-made hybrids like the Ford Escape. They are truly engineering marvels and are so clearly beneficial for the environment. The bill that I have sponsored will give states the discretion to open up their HOV lanes to hybrid vehicles that achieve a substantial increase in fuel economy relative to comparable gasoline vehicles, or achieve a substantial increase in lifetime fuel savings relative to comparable gasoline vehicles. It creates a minimum standard of improvement necessary for hybrids, but gives states the option of increasing the requirements. This bill also allows states to open HOV lanes to single occupancy advanced lean burn vehicles that achieve at least a 25 percent increase in fuel economy relative to comparable gasoline vehicles and that are certified to Clean Air Act Tier 2 standards.

I am hopeful that my colleagues on both sides of the aisle can agree that we should do all we can to encourage the use of renewable energy in our country, and hybrid vehicles are an important part of that. The people who drive these vehicles are doing their part to help clean up the air and increase energy conservation, and we should give more people an incentive to buy these vehicles by giving them access to HOV lanes. Thank you, Mr. President.

By Mr. REID (for himself and Mr. ENSIGN):

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S. 3003. A bill to direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey to the City of Henderson, Nevada, certain Federal land located in the City, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I rise today for myself and Senator Ensign to introduce the Southern Nevada Limited Transition Area Act, which enhances the ability of a rapidly growing community to diversify its economy, gainfully employ its residents, and achieve fiscal sustainability.

The bill I am introducing today would convey 547 acres of land from the Bureau of Land Management to the city of Henderson, NV, for development as an employment and business center.

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