mr. chairman , i thank the gentleman for yielding to me .  over the past decade , funding for nasa 's aeronautics research has declined by more than half , to about $ 900 million .  the president 's budget proposes to cut aeronautics research by 20 percent over the next 5 years .  i am concerned that the united states is losing critical expertise in aeronautics research and development .  this degradation will have a tragic impact on military and civilian aviation , which contributes significantly to our national defense and our economy .  i believe that the president 's funding levels for aeronautics programs should be reassessed and that the house should give priority to restoring these vital programs .  will the gentleman commit to bring to the conference report language that will clarify that the resolution makes no assumption regarding the president 's proposed funding level for nasa 's aeronautics research programs ?  