2011 D.C. Trip Report

May 31, June 1-2, 2011Washington, D.C.

General Trip InformationGeneral Trip Information

• 20th Annual Trip• 88 Travelers, including• Representation from 24 States

AL, AZ, CA, CO, FL, GA, IL, IN, LA, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, NJ, NY, NC, OH, PA, TN, TX, VA, and WI (320 of 435 Reps)

• 330 meetings with Congressional offices members from 46 states Senate – 69 offices House – 261 offices

Student / Educator ParticipationStudent / Educator Participation

• 24 University Students / Educators

• Message: Space Exploration promotes STEM Education and Technical Careers

• Special recognition at the Congressional Reception

Key MessagesKey Messages

We support the 2010 NASA Authorization Act

• Utilize the International Space Station as a national lab through at least 2020

• Develop a Space Launch System to continue human space exploration

• Develop a Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle for deep space missions

• Utilize existing contracts, investments, institutional knowledge, skilled workforce and industrial base

• Develop commercial space systems for low Earth orbit operations

Congressional ResponseCongressional Response

• Overall there was continued bi-partisan support for human space exploration but many offices expressed that NASA needs a clear mission

• Major drivers:• STEM Education• America’s Leadership in Space• High Technology– Economy• National Security

• This is going to be a difficult budget year and funding for all programs will be closely scrutinized

• Positive attitude toward commercial space as part of America’s future

Travelers Briefing Travelers Briefing • 25 teams formed with focus on specific State visits

based on their student’s home or school

• Hill update presented by Jeff Bingham, Professional Staff of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee

• Teams worked together to plan their office visit strategy for the following two days

Congressional ReceptionCongressional Reception

• 9 Congressional Speakers: Representatives.) Brady (TX-8) Flores (TX-17) G. Green (TX-29) Hall (TX-4) Olson (TX-22) Smith (TX-21) Jackson Lee (TX-18) and Brooks (AL-5)

New for 2011New for 2011

Congressman Louie Gohmert (TX-1) gave fantastic tour of the U.S. Capitol on the last night of our trip

Special ThanksSpecial Thanks• Trip Sponsor / Organizer

BAHEP’s Aerospace Advisory Committee

• University Student SponsorsBAHEP’s Aerospace Advisory CommitteeBarrios Technology

  Huntsville/Madison County Chamber Foundation Jacobs

  National Space Club, Huntsville Chapter

• All of our travelers who took time to make the trip this year

Special ThanksSpecial Thanks

• Reception Sponsors

Other Trip InformationOther Trip Information

This is our second trip to D.C. this year

• In March we traveled to D.C. under the GoBoldly banner to meet the new freshman members of congress

• We made a total of 94 visits on that trip bring our total Congressional office visit count to 424 for the year

Thank You and Save the DateThank You and Save the Date

Next Year’s Trip is Scheduled for May 21- 24, 2012