Debate will last 3 days.

Mr. Schmidt (for himself), and Mr. Allum and Mr. Carpenter introduced the following bill, which was referred to the Committee on International Relations.

Be it enacted by the House of Representatives and Senate of the United States of America in Congress assembled;

A BILL declaring Luna to be a territory possession of the United States of America, organizing a territorial government to administer the same, and for other purposes.

SEC. 1. SHORT TITLE
(1) This bill may be referenced as the �Moon Acquisition Act of 2004.�

SEC. 2. FINDINGS
(1) The United States, as the first nation to land humans upon the surface of the Moon, has a right to claim the Moon as its own.
(2) While the present value of control of the Moon is low, the potential future value of this territory is exponential and the costs of its acquisition are low.
(3) It is desirable that the United States should assert possession of the Moon and make preparations for such a day as the actual physical possession of said territory is both desirable and necessary.
(4) The potential mineral wealth of the Moon is beyond calculation.

SEC. 3. DECLARATION
(1) The Congress declares the celestial body known as �Luna�, also known as the Moon of the planet Earth, to be the sovereign territory of the United States of America.

SEC. 4. TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENT
(1) The Congress authorizes the President to appoint an official as the Governor of Luna, subject to the advice and consent of the Senate.
(2) The Governor of Luna shall be charged with the following responsibilities:
(a) Promoting the development of technology and science which will allow the advancement of space travel.
( Supervising the preparation of plans for the settlement of Luna.
(3) The Governor of Luna shall be paid a salary of $100,000 per year, plus expenses.
(4) The Congress hereby appropriates $5,000,000.00 for FY 2005 for the organization and expenses of the Lunar territorial government.

SEC. 5. FUNDING
(1) All funds for this act shall be acquired through the imposition of an excise tax upon pornographic items, to be applied as follows:
(a) $.25 on every pornographic magazine sold within the borders of the United States.
( $1.50 on every pornographic film sold within the borders of the United States.
(2) No money shall be appropriated in excess of the revenues of this tax.

SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE
(1) All operative sections of this act, except for Section Five, shall take effect upon the final withdrawal of the United States from the Outer Space Treaty of 1967.
(2) Section Five of this act shall take effect immediately.

This post has been edited by Rep. Schmidt on Nov 27 2004, 09:29 PM

Mr. Chairman,

Nuts.

I yield.

Mr. Chairman,

We have much more pressing issues to take care of before we get to colonizing the universe.

I yield.

Ladies and Gentleman of the Committee,

In response to the gentleman from Pennsylvania, I say that we are not colonizing the universe. We are simply laying down claim to what is ours, because we were there first. As to the gentleman from California, while he may seem very humorous with his comment, it represents the opposition to this bill. People are too small minded to think about the new frontier and simply laugh it off. Columbus was laughed off too when he came up with his crazy schemes of sailing west to find the Indies. This bill costs nothing unless you feel sorry for consumers of pornography. If we ever find a need to colonize the moon, we will have a claim to it. If we find that colonizing it isn't efficiant/practical, we can simply bury this bill in the dustbin of history. We lose nothing. Fear of sparking a diplomatic confrontation is not a good arguement against this bill, for let us remember that many people did not want a war with Mexico, yet President Polk, a analogy to President Yoshida, attacked Mexico and greatly expanded the size of the US. Had we ignored forward-looking people like him and listened to those who opposed confrontation, neither me, nor the other gentleman would be here representing the Great State of California.

I yield.

Mr. Chairman,

Today we have before us a bill entitled the "Moon Acqisition Act of 2004." This Act declares that the moon is under the sole control of the United States as we were the first to land on the moon. Since many of my distinguished colleagues refuse to table this bill, I believe that it should be debated on its merits, or lack thereof.

First, Mr. Chairman, This bill is a waste of the House's time, as there are many more pressing issues than acquiring the moon, which may not be ours to begin with. There are many issues dealing with international relations that could be debated and voted on before this very committee, and many more once a new clerk is chosen for the House.

Second, there is no benefit in acquiring the moon. It would not even be a land grab. It would be a desolate rock grab of territory that will not have permanent habitaion for decades.

Third Mr. Chairman, this bill would set off a diplomatic crisis that is not necessary. When I was growing up my parents taught me that it is important to pick and choose your battles, as a lot of fights are more trouble than they are worth. Annexing the moon would create an instant diplomatic crisis, a crisis that does not need to come right now.

Fourth, although myself and most of my distinguished colleagues are capitalists, this does not mean that everything has to be done for personal or national gain. I like to think, Mr. Chairman, that Space Exploration is something that is done for the good of mankind and for the good of the nation, and not just another land-grabbing venture. Especially not a venture to conqure land that will be worthless for decades.

Finally, Mr. Chairman, and I intend to address these comments directly to members of my party. I know that this is unbelieveably cynical, but this is an election year, and things like the "Moon Acquisition Act," are just bad politics, and are exactly the way to throw away the next election. Being appointed Space Commander in exchange for your support of this bill is just being incredible selfish.

I do not know about my colleagues on this committee, but I do not support, and will never vote for the Moon Acquisition Act, and I urge all of you to protect the President of the United States from himself and oppose this bill.

I yield the floor.

Mr. Chairman,

I would like to be associated with the comments by the gentleman from Virginia.

I yield.

Mr. Chairman,

I favor the privitization of space exploration. But, I do not favor this bill.

I yield.

Mr. Chairman,

I would like to remind my colleagues that many of the same comments were expressed when Alaska was acquired, or even when the Louisiana Purchase was acquired. In hindsight, the purchases weren't nearly as nutty as such comments.

The moon is rich in minerals, and is an ideal place for the launch of private space exploration and colonization. Also, research on the moon has the potential to give us the proverbial "lever and a place to stand" in figuring out more about our world.

Thusly I rise and ask for such petty objections to be silenced in favor of a more open-minded, contemplative approach to a very serious issue.

I yield.

Mr. Chairman,

I rise in opposition to this bill. While there may in fact be benefits to our annexation and colonization of the moon, I feel that there are more pressing concerns facing our nation. Before declaring the moon as our own and setting up a territorial government, we should first look to solve the problems that plague us here on earth. Additionally, I must agree with the gentleman from Virginia's comments that declaring the moon as our own will only serve to create diplomatic problems between our nation and the nations who have chosen to abide by the Outer Space Treaty of 1967.

I yield.

Mr. Chair,

In response to the gentleman from Wisconsin, I'll agree terrestrial problems are more important, but I do not see how solving them and annexing (note:not invading, simply making a declaration that the moon is ours) the moon are mutally exclusive.

I yield

Mr. Chair,

Again, I must ask, "WHY?" Why this legislation at this particular moment? Is there some pressing need to declare our sovereignty over the moon that would necessitate that this measure be considered at this time? Am I to assume that it's merely coincidence that this measure, which happens to be a pet project of President Yoshida's, was brought before us during the election season?

Certainly there are more important pieces of legislation that could be considered; legislation that would actually improve the quality of life for our citizens here on Planet Earth.

I yield.

Mr. Chair,

This bill is simply outrageous. As Congress we should restrain the President from any more reckless and arrogant attempts such as this ridiculous action to colonize the moon.

The moon was designed to be off limits for all countries and we cannot set a bad example to the rest of the world by grabbing the moon for no apparent reason.

This bill certainly is the "dumbest plan of the year".

I urge my fellow congresspeople to vote this bill down.

I yield.

Mr. Chairman,

All I can say is: Lack of Vision, Lack of Information, and Lack of Perspective.

These phrases perfectly sum up all opposition to annexing the moon for its valuable scientific, industrial, and strategic resources.

I yield.

Mr. Chairman,

Why is this bill nuts? The United States is the only nation to come close to the Moon and is the only nation with the prospect of settling it. This bill appropriates a microscopic amount of money towards claiming an area of immense strategic and industrial importance. Opposition to this bill is predicated on a lack of vision, information, and perspective, as the honorable Representative from Louisiana noted above.

I urge an AYE vote.

I yield.

Mr. Chairman,

No.

I yield.