Urging Congress to move NASA's headquarters to Houston.

89(R) HCR 141 - Senate Committee Report version - Bill Text

By: Paul (Senate Sponsor - Middleton)

H.C.R. No. 141

(In the Senate - Received from the House May 20, 2025;

May 20, 2025, read first time and referred to Committee on Economic

Development; May 22, 2025, reported favorably by the following

vote: Yeas 4, Nays 1; May 22, 2025, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote

HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Since its founding in 1958, the National Aeronautics

and Space Administration has been a leader in space exploration,

and the city of Houston has played an instrumental role in advancing

the agency's mission; and

WHEREAS, Nicknamed "Space City," Houston has long been at the

forefront of human spaceflight development; the city famously

served as the site for NASA's mission control during the first moon

landing in 1969, and some of the first words spoken on the surface

of the moon called out to Houston; in addition, the Lyndon B.

Johnson Space Center is located in Houston, and with more than

12,000 employees, the facility encompasses a large portion of the

NASA workforce; the city is also home to the Mission Control Center,

NASA Astronaut Corps, Lunar Sample Laboratory Facility, commercial

space agreements, and extensive research and development

partnerships; and

WHEREAS, Despite having historic ties to Houston, NASA

established its headquarters in Washington, D.C., an area that is

disconnected from most of the agency's centers and facilities; that

decision has separated NASA's leadership from the agency's

workforce and day-to-day activities; in 2028, at the end of the

lease for its current headquarters, NASA will have the opportunity

to move its leadership to a new site, and Houston would be a fitting

location for the facility; situated at the center of NASA's

operations, the city has a cost of living that is less than half

that of the Washington, D.C., area, and it provides access to three

universities with R1 designations as well as two major commercial

airports; and

WHEREAS, Houston also offers tremendous benefits from its

connection to Texas, which boasts the eighth-largest economy in the

world, with low government regulation and a strong business

environment; more than 2,000 aerospace, aviation, and

defense-related companies have established locations in the state,

including SpaceX in Starbase, Blue Origin in West Texas, Firefly

Aerospace in Cedar Park, and Axiom Space in Houston; moreover, the

State of Texas recently created the Texas Space Commission to

promote innovation in space operations and commercial aerospace and

to attract commercial space ventures to the state; and

WHEREAS, No city is more closely linked to America's space

program than "Space City," and NASA's headquarters should be

located at a place where the agency's leadership can directly

engage with its most critical missions; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the 89th Legislature of the State of Texas

hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to move

NASA's headquarters to Houston; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official

copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to

the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of

Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the

members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that

this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a

memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.

* * * * *