,,iv  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,h4 ,,res4 #abdc  ,,in ,,the ,,house    
,,of ,,representatives  ,november #cj1  
#bjbj,mr4 ,weber of ,texas 7for himself1
 ,mr4 ,posey1 ,mr4 ,norman1 ,mr4        
,perlmutter1 ,mr4 ,beyer1 and ,ms4      
,wexton7 submitted the following        
resolution2 which was referred to the   
,committee on ,science1 ,space1 and     
,technology  ,,resolution  ,recognizing 
the #bjth anniversary of the            
,international ,space ,station4         
,whereas1 since ,november #bjjj1 the    
,international ,space ,station 7,,iss7  
has been continuously occupied by more  
than #bdj astronauts from the ,united   
,states and other countries1 during that
 time1 have conducted over #c1jjj       
experiments in microgravity environment1
 focusing on human health1 exploration1 
space studies1 engineering development1 
and materials testing2 ,whereas the     
activities conducted on the ,,iss       
continue to help develop the ,national  
,aeronautics and ,space                 

,administration's 7,,nasa7 capabilities 
for long-duration1 deep-space missions  
to the ,moon and ,mars1 and are         
assisting businesses1 other government  
agencies1 and university researchers to 
develop knowledge and products that have
 and will result in benefits to humanity
 for years to come2 ,whereas with its   
many ongoing research projects and its  
educational outreach touching the lives 
of people around the world1 the ,,iss is
 the world's preeminent spaceflight     
program today1 helping to improve life  
on ,earth even as it inspires our       
species to reach for the stars2 ,whereas
 as a joint project of the ,,nasa1 the  
,russian ,federal ,space ,agency1 the   
,european ,space ,agency1 the ,canadian 
,space ,agency1 and the ,japan          
,aerospace ,exploration ,agency1 the    
,,iss is the result of a remarkable     
collaboration between #ae countries1    
sharing the most advanced technologies  
in the world for the peaceful and the   
productive use of space2 ,whereas       

,,nasa's ,johnson ,space ,center in     
,houston1 ,texas1 is the ,american      
headquarters for the ,,iss1 one of the  
most impressive scientific and          
engineering achievements in history2    
,whereas ,,nasa's industry contractors  
and suppliers who helped design1 build1 
integrate1 and now operate the station  
have provided a critical service to the 
,united ,states and ,,nasa1 as well as  
international partner agencies and the  
astronaut crews that have lived and     
served aboard the ,,iss for over #bj    
years2 ,whereas as the largest structure
 that humans have ever put into space1  
the ,,iss is made up of pressurized     
modules held together by external       
trusses and powered by a vast array of  
solar panels2 ,whereas the ,,iss is the 
length of a football field1 and the     
solar array has the wingspan of a       
,boeing #ggg2 ,whereas orbiting the     
globe every #ib minutes at an altitude  
of roughly #bej miles1 the ,,iss is     
large enough to be seen from the surface

 of the ,earth by the naked eye2        
,whereas the ,,iss has been             
significantly upgraded to allow for an  
extension of its mission to enable      
cutting edge research2 ,whereas the     
,,iss is the key enabler of commercial  
opportunities in low-,earth orbit2      
,whereas the ,,iss platform is essential
 to furthering human exploration by     
providing critical research and system  
testing for upcoming crewed exploration 
missions to the ,moon and ,mars2 and    
,whereas the ,,iss is critical to       
maintaining ,united ,states leadership  
in low-,earth orbit3 ,now1 therefore1 be
 it ,that the ,house of                 
,representatives-- 7#a7 recognizes the  
#bjth anniversary of the ,international 
,space ,station 7,,iss72  7#b7 commends 
the ,national ,aeronautics and ,space   
,administration 7,,nasa7 for its        
achievements as part of the ,,iss       
program and the ,americans who have     
given to it so much of their skill1     
effort1 and passion2  7#c7 recognizes   

the many men and women supporting ,,iss 
operations on the ground that enable the
 continued safe utilization of the      
,,iss2  7#d7 recognizes the more than   
#bdj ,united ,states and international  
astronauts that have lived and worked   
aboard the ,,iss to help build1         
integrate1 operate1 and maintain the    
,,iss2  7#e7 recognizes the importance  
of the ,,iss for scientific discovery1  
human exploration1 and international    
cooperation2 and  7#f7 recognizes the   
importance of maintaining operation of  
the ,,iss as a national capability that 
serves a critical service to a range of 
government and commercial users4