{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://brooks.house.gov/media-center/news-releases/brooks-welcomes-msfc-director-todd-may-washington", "Brooks Welcomes MSFC Director Todd May to Washington", "2016-09-23", "2016", "2016-09", "Republican", "House", "AL", "Mo Brooks", "B001274", "brooks.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. \u2013\u00a0Congressman Mo Brooks (AL-05) welcomed Marshall Space Flight Center Director Todd May to Washington for a Space Transportation Association (STA) event this week. \u00a0STA was founded in 1989 by LTG Dan Graham (US Army, ret.), MG Milnor Roberts (US Army, ret.), and BG Bob Richardson (US Air Force, ret.) with the objective of educating and updating policy makers, industry representatives, and federal government employees on the latest issues in the space community. \u00a0\nCongressman Brooks said, \u201cThe Tennessee Valley is grateful for the leadership of Director Todd May and the many individuals at Marshall Space Flight Center whose hard work contributes to America\u2019s space leadership.\u00a0 Director May manages an annual budget of roughly $2.5 billion, which provides a stellar return on investment of taxpayer dollars, as it results in an overall economic impact of around $7 billion and nearly 38,000 jobs across the country!\u201d\u00a0\n\u00a0Brooks continued, \u201cThank you Director May, for your service to our nation, Marshall makes Alabama, and indeed the country, very proud.\u00a0 In the words of Dr. von Braun, \u2018The greatest gain from space travel consists in the extension of our knowledge.\u00a0 In a hundred years, this newly won knowledge will pay huge and unexpected dividends.\u2019\u201d\n\nTo watch video of Rep. Brooks\u2019 remarks,\nclick\u00a0HERE\u00a0or on the image above.\n\u00a0\nHi-resolution photos from the event are available HERE.\n\u00a0\nText of Congressman Brooks\u2019 remarks: \nBefore I introduce Todd, I\u2019m not sure if all of you are aware, but I\u2019ve heard that many of you are aware, the Marshall Space Flight Center family had a tragic accident yesterday.\u00a0 One of the employees, whose attention for whatever reason was probably diverted maybe thinking about other work or what have you, inadvertently left their 7 month old child in the car.\nAnd unfortunately the child did not survive the heat of being kept in the car while he was working. \u00a0So if we could let\u2019s have a moment of silence for the Marshall Space Flight Center family generally and this family in particular as they struggle with their loss. Thank you.\nI am pleased to join you all today and welcome Marshall Space Flight Center Director, Todd May, to Washington. \u00a0Huntsville Alabama\u2019s Marshall Space Flight Center, as many of you know, is one of NASA\u2019s largest field installations with nearly 6,000 civil service and contract employees.\u00a0\nDirector May, a native Alabamian -\u00a0 kudos, Roll Tide - started his career with NASA at Marshall\u2019s Material and Process Lab in 1991, a year after he earned his bachelor\u2019s degree in materials engineering from Auburn University. \u00a0War Eagle!\u00a0 I\u2019m entitled to do both. \u00a0I have a University of Alabama degree in addition to my Duke University degree, and I have two sons who have Auburn University engineering degrees, so unlike many politicians who just say that to say that, I have background at the University of Alabama with my wife also graduating from there and as is so often the case our money went to Auburn.\nHe manages an annual budget of roughly 2.5 billion dollars, which provides a stellar return on investment of taxpayer dollars, as it results in an overall economic impact of around 7 billion dollars and nearly 38,000 jobs across the country!\u00a0 Marshall is home to the Space Launch System, or SLS, the most powerful rocket ever, able to carry astronauts in the Orion spacecraft on deep space missions, including to an asteroid and ultimately we hope on a journey to Mars.\nSLS is also a nation-wide effort.\u00a0 With more than 1,100 companies in 43 states supporting SLS and America\u2019s aerospace infrastructure, Marshall is leading the development of what is truly America\u2019s rocket!\u00a0 The SLS program celebrates success after success.\u00a0 Just last month, NASA conducted a successful 420-second-long test of the SLS-reconfigured RS-25 engine down at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi.\u00a0\nIn June, we celebrated the successful final tests of the SLS\u2019s solid rocket booster in Utah. \u00a0And currently, large amounts of SLS and Orion hardware are coming off the line at Marshall\u2019s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.\u00a0 It\u2019s easy to brag about Marshall and SLS, and Todd\u2019s leadership is a continuation of the visions of his predecessors, including those of Marshall\u2019s first director, Dr. Wernher von Braun.\nDirector May\u2019s many awards include NASA\u2019s Exceptional Achievement Medal, the Presidential Rank Award of Meritorious Executive, NASA\u2019s Outstanding Leadership Medal, and the John W. Hager Award for professionalism in materials engineering. He has also been named a Distinguished Engineer by Auburn University.\u00a0\nTodd and his wife, Kelly, have four children and reside in Huntsville.\u00a0 As an aside, we also have four kids. \u00a0May you be blessed with the eight grandchildren we have. \u00a0All of them live in Madison County, in Huntsville and the City of Madison.\nBefore turning it over to Director May, I\u2019d like to close with some words from the visionary in whose footsteps he follows.\u00a0 In the words of Dr. von Braun, \u201cThe greatest gain from space travel consists in the extension of our knowledge.\u00a0 In a hundred years, this newly won knowledge will pay huge and unexpected dividends.\u201d\nAnd those of us who are personally familiar with NASA and what it has done, and the spinoffs, we have a good understanding of what those benefits are. \u00a0I pray that we\u2019ll do somewhat a better job of helping the American people understand the technological advancements that are due to the space program.\nDirector May, thank you, and the many individuals whose hard work contributes to America\u2019s space leadership.\u00a0 If every bright idea were a star, Todd May\u2019s Marshall Space Flight Center would be a galaxy.\u00a0 You and your team make Alabama, and indeed the country, very proud.\u00a0 Ladies and gentlemen, Marshall Space Flight Center Director, Todd May.\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://brooks.house.gov/media-center/news-releases/brooks-welcomes-msfc-director-todd-may-washington"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.571442000567913, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}