Step as nasa still has low confidence, 30 that it can meet the earlier date. Going forward, we have short and longterm concerns about nasas human Space Exploration programs. In the short term the programs are entering the most risky phases of development. There are still technical hurdles to overcome. Particularly with the orion spacecraft which is addressing challenges with the parachute system and heat shield among others. There is also considerable development and testing ahead for orion in terms of the human support systems. Meanwhile, sos is continuing to pursue the earlier launch dates of december 2017. While nasas urgency is understandable, the schedule for achieving the earlier date mostly with respect to the core stage is very aggressive. Theres little room to address problems. Moreover, it does not appear that orion and the ground system can achieve the earlier date. And the longterm we have concerns about the cost estimating for human Space Exploration programs. Nasas only p
Are entering the most risky phases of development. There are still technical hurdles to overcome. Particularly with the orion spacecraft which is addressing challenges with the parachute system and heat shield among others. There is also considerable development and testing ahead for orion in terms of the human support systems. Meanwhile, sos is continuing to pursue the earlier launch dates of december 2017. While nasas urgency is understandable, the schedule for achieving the earlier date mostly with respect to the core stage is very aggressive. Theres little room to address problems. Moreover, it does not appear that orion and the ground system can achieve the earlier date. And the longterm we have concerns about the cost estimating for human Space Exploration programs. Nasas only produce estimates for sos and ground system through the first flight test and orion through the second flight test. There is still Significant Development ahead for sos after the first flight and significan
Bases as for jobs in so many congressional districts. And i have heard very conservative members of congress say government doesnt create jobs, it destroys them, and all that sort of thing. It doesnt apply to the military base in my district. If we lost that, we would lose jobs. Is there anyway around this . I dont know how, other than a fundamental change. I remember seeing many years ago, a map of where the subcontracts were, i think it was the b2 bomber. There was a pin the companies are smart enough to be sure that this happens, because they know the reality of it. I think to some extent Representative Democracy is inherently inefficient. That doesnt mean there arent things you carve out and ask government to do because they only do it. You probably do want to minimize them because its not going to be as efficient if you have a truly competitive industry. And yet we ought to at least acknowledge that the base Culture Commission turned out to be a very effective mechanism and we clo
Quorum call quorum call ms. Heitkamp mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from north dakota. Ms. Heitkamp i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. The presiding officer without objection. Ms. Heitkamp mr. President i rise today again to speak about and honor our nations and north dakotas Vietnam Veterans and specifically these brave Service Members who gave the ultimate sacrifice through doing this honoring through my continuing series of floor speeches. We are in the midst of a commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the vietnam war. This special period of honoring our Vietnam Veterans runs through 2025. Ive partnered with students from Bismarck High School in researching these soldiers and once again i want to thank their instructors r laurie fortie, sarah reenis and Allison Wendell for coordinating this project and sharing Students Research with my office. Last month i visited these students and was so impressed with their commitment to this project, so i want to say th
A Strong Economy relies on fairness and inclusion. And if we follow this, we will do three things. Create more jobs and deliver stronger education and build an economy that works for everyone. Of course, Economic Growth starts with jobs. Recovery began in january of 2010 and illinois has added 280,000 private sector jobs. Unemployment was at 11. 3 at the height of the great recession. Today it is at its lowest point in almost five years. Since last may billina has led the midwest and new jobs created. With the strong support of the Illinois Retail merchandise association, we reformed the Workers Compensation system and our Unemployment Insurance system. These reforms have saved hundreds of millions of dollars and we know that we have much more work to do. We will start with a renewed focus on Small Business. Three out of every four illinois employers are Small Businesses. In the last five years we have helped them through our advantage only program we have provided loans and investment