Calendar No. 155

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 342

[Report No. 106–77]

A BILL

To authorize appropriations for the National Aero2000, 2001, and 2002, and for other purposes. nautics and Space Administration for fiscal years

JUNE 16, 1999

Reported with amendments
II

Calendar No. 155

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 342

[Report No. 106–77]

To authorize appropriations for the National Aeronautics and Space

Administration for fiscal years 2000, 2001, and 2002, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

FEBRUARY 3, 1999

Mr. FRIST (for himself, Mr. MCCAIN, and Mr. BURNS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

JUNE 16, 1999

Reported by Mr. MCCAIN, with amendments

[Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic]

A BILL

To authorize appropriations for the National Aeronautics

and Space Administration for fiscal years 2000, 2001,

and 2002, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

3 ‘‘National Aeronautics and Space Administration Author4 ization Act for Fiscal Years 2000, 2001, and 2002’’.

5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Findings.

Sec. 3. Definitions.

TITLE I—AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS

Subtitle A—Authorizations

Sec. 101. International Space Station.

Sec. 102. Launch Vehicle and Payload Operations.

Sec. 103. Science, aeronautics, and technology.

Sec. 104. Mission support.

Sec. 105. Inspector General.

Sec. 106. Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research.

Subtitle B—Limitations and Special Authority

Sec. 111. Use of funds for construction.

Sec. 112. Availability of appropriated amounts.

Sec. 113. Reprogramming for construction of facilities.

Sec. 114. Consideration by committees.

Sec. 115. Use of funds for scientific consultations or extraordinary expenses.

TITLE II—INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION

Sec. 201. International Space Station contingency plan.

Sec. 202. Cost limitation for the International Space Station.

Sec. 203. Liability cross-waivers for International Space Station-related activities.

TITLE III—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Sec. 301. National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 amendments.

Sec. 302. Use of existing facilities.

Sec. 303. Authority to reduce or suspend contract payments based on substantial evidence of fraud.

Sec. 304. Notice.

Sec. 305. Sense of Congress on the year 2000 problem.

Sec. 306. Unitary Wind Tunnel Plan Act of 1949 amendments.

Sec. 307. Enhancement of science and mathematics programs.

Sec. 308. Authority to vest title.

Sec. 309. NASA mid-range procurement test program.

Sec. 310. Space advertising.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 Congress makes the following findings:

3 (1) The National Aeronautics and Space Ad4 ministration should continue to pursue actions and

5 reforms directed at reducing institutional costs, in6 cluding management restructuring, facility consoli7 dation, procurement reform, personnel base

8 downsizing, and convergence with other defense and

9 commercial sector systems, while sustaining safety

10 standards for personnel and hardware.

11 (2) The National Aeronautics and Space Ad12 ministration should sustain its proud history as the

13 leader of the United States in basic aeronautics and

14 space research.

15 (3) The United States is on the verge of cre16 ating and using new technologies in microsatellites,

17 information processing, and space launches that

18 could radically alter the manner in which the Fed19 eral Government approaches its space mission.

20 (4) The Federal Government should invest in

21 the types of research and innovative technology in

22 which United States commercial providers do not in23 vest, while avoiding competition with the activities in

24 which United States commercial providers do invest.
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1 (5) International cooperation in space explo2 ration and science activities serves the interest of the

3 United States.

4 (6) In participating in the National Aero5 nautical Test Alliance, the National Aeronautics and

6 Space Administration and the Department of De7 fense should cooperate more effectively in leveraging

8 the mutual capabilities of these agencies to conduct

9 joint aeronautics and space missions that not only

10 improve United States aeronautics and space capa11 bilities, but also reduce the cost of conducting those

12 missions.

13 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

14 In this Act:

15 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis16 trator’’ means the Administrator of the National

17 Aeronautics and Space Administration.

18 (2) COMMERCIAL PROVIDER.—The term ‘‘com19 mercial provider’’ means any person providing space

20 transportation services or other space-related activi21 ties, the primary control of which is held by persons

22 other than a Federal, State, local, or foreign govern23 ment.

24 (3) CRITICAL PATH.—The term ‘‘critical path’’

25 means the sequence of events of a schedule of events
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1 under which a delay in any event causes a delay in

2 the overall schedule.

3 (4) GRANT AGREEMENT.—The term ‘‘grant

4 agreement’’ has the meaning given that term in sec5 tion 6302(2) of title 31, United States Code.

6 (5) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The

7 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the

8 meaning given such term in section 1201(a) of the

9 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1141(a)).

10 (6) MAJOR REORGANIZATION.—With respect to

11 the National Aeronautics and Space Administration,

12 the term ‘‘major reorganization’’ means any reorga13 nization of the Administration that involves the reas14 signment of more than 25 percent of the employees

15 of the National Aeronautics and Space Administra16 tion.

17 (7) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of

18 the several States of the United States, the District

19 of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the

20 Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Com21 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and

22 any other commonwealth, territory, or possession of

23 the United States.
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1 TITLE I—AUTHORIZATION OF

2 APPROPRIATIONS

3 Subtitle A—Authorizations

4 SEC. 101. INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION.

5 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Na6 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration for the

7 International Space Station—

8 (1) $2,282,700,000 for fiscal year 2000;

9 (2) $2,328,000,000 for fiscal year 2001; and

10 (3) $2,091,000,000 for fiscal year 2002.

11 SEC. 102. LAUNCH VEHICLE AND PAYLOAD OPERATIONS.

12 There are authorized to be appropriated to National

13 Aeronautics and Space Administration for Launch Vehicle

14 and Payload Operations—

15 (1) for fiscal year 2000—

16 (A) $2,547,400,000 for space shuttle oper17 ations;

18 (B) $438,800,000 $463,800,000 for space

19 shuttle safety and performance upgrades; and

20 (C) $169,100,000 for payload and utiliza21 tion operations.

22 (2) for fiscal year 2001—

23 (A) $2,623,822,000 for space shuttle oper24 ations;
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1 (B) $451,964,000 $481,964,000 for space

2 shuttle safety and performance upgrades; and

3 (C) $174,173,000 for payload and utiliza4 tion operations.

5 (3) for fiscal year 2002—

6 (A) $2,702,537,000 for space shuttle oper7 ations;

8 (B) $465,523,000 $505,523,000 for space

9 shuttle safety/performance upgrades; and

10 (C) $179,398,000 for payload and utiliza11 tion operations.

12 SEC. 103. SCIENCE, AERONAUTICS, AND TECHNOLOGY.

13 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Na14 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration for Science,

15 Aeronautics, and Technology—

16 (1) for fiscal year 2000—

17 (A) $2,196,600,000 for Space Science;

18 (B) $256,200,000 for life and microgravity

19 sciences and applications, of which $2,000,000

20 shall be for research and early detection system

21 for breast and ovarian cancer and other wom22 en’s health issues;

23 (C) $1,459,100,000 for Earth Science;

24 (D) $1,006,500,000 for aeronautics and

25 space transportation technology, of which—
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1 (i) $620,000,000 shall be used for

2 aeronautical research and technology, of

3 which $60,000,000 shall be used for the

4 Aviation Safety Program;

5 (ii) $254,000,000 shall be used for

6 advanced space transportation technology,

7 of which $111,600,000 shall be used only

8 for the X–33 advanced technology dem9 onstration vehicle program; and

10 (iii) $132,500,000 shall be used for

11 commercial technology, of which some

12 funds may be used for the expansion of the

13 NASA business incubation program which

14 is designed to foster partnerships between

15 educational institutions and small high16 technology businesses with preference

17 given to those programs associated with

18 community colleges;

19 (E) $406,300,000 for mission communica20 tions services; and

21 (F) $100,000,000 $130,000,000 for aca22 demic programs, of which $46,000,000 shall be

23 used for minority university research and edu24 cation (at institutions such as Hispanic-serving

25 institutions and tribally-controlled community
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1 colleges), of which $28,000,000 shall be used

2 for historically black colleges and universities.

3 universities; and

4 (G) $150,000,000 for future planning (space

5 launch).

6 (2) for fiscal year 2001—

7 (A) $2,262,498,000 for Space Science;

8 (B) $263,886,000 for life and microgravity

9 sciences and applications;

10 (C) $1,502,873,000 for Earth Science;

11 (D) $1,036,695,000 for aeronautics and

12 space transportation technology;

13 (E) $418,489,000 for mission communica14 tions services; and

15 (F) $103,000,000 for academic programs.

16 (F) $133,900,000 for academic programs;

17 and

18 (G) $150,000,000 for future planning (space

19 launch).

20 (3) for fiscal year 2002—

21 (A) $2,330,373,000 for Space Science;

22 (B) $271,803,000 for life and microgravity

23 sciences and applications;

24 (C) $1,547,959,000 for Earth Science;
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1 (D) $1,067,796,000 for aeronautics and

2 space transportation technology;

3 (E) $431,044,000 for mission communica4 tions services; and

5 (F) $106,090,000 for academic programs.

6 (F) $137,917,000 for academic programs;

7 and

8 (G) $280,000,000 for future planning (space

9 launch).

10 SEC. 104. MISSION SUPPORT.

11 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Na12 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration for mission

13 support—

14 (1) for fiscal year 2000—

15 (A) $43,000,000 for safety, mission assur16 ance, engineering, and advanced concepts;

17 (B) $89,700,000 for space communication

18 services;

19 (C) $181,000,000 for construction of fa20 cilities, including land acquisition; and

21 (D) $2,181,200,000 for research and pro22 gram management, including personnel and re23 lated costs, travel, and research operations sup24 port.

25 (2) $2,569,747,000 for fiscal year 2001.
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1 (3) $2,646,839,000 for fiscal year 2002.

2 SEC. 105. INSPECTOR GENERAL.

3 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Na4 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration for Inspector

5 General—

6 (1) $20,800,000 for fiscal year 2000;

7 (2) $21,424,000 for fiscal year 2001; and

8 (3) $22,066,720 for fiscal year 2002.

9 SEC. 106. EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM TO STIMULATE COM10 PETITIVE RESEARCH.

11 Of the amounts authorized to be appropriated for

12 academic programs under section 103(1)(F), for fiscal

13 year 2000, the Administrator shall use $10,000,000 for

14 the program known as the Experimental Program to Stim15 ulate Competitive Research.

16 Of the amounts authorized to be appropriated for aca17 demic programs under section 103(1)(F), 103(2)(F), and

18 103(3)(F), respectively, the Administrator shall use, for the

19 program known as the Experimental Program to Stimulate

20 Competitive Research—

21 (1) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2000;

22 (2) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2001; and

23 (3) $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2002.
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1 Subtitle B—Limitations and

2 Special Authority

3 SEC. 111. USE OF FUNDS FOR CONSTRUCTION.

4 (a) AUTHORIZED USES.—Funds made available by

5 appropriations under section 101, paragraphs (1)(A),

6 (1)(B), (2)(A), (2)(B), (3)(A), and (3)(B) of section 102,

7 section 103, and paragraphs (1)(A), (1)(B), (2)(A), and

8 (2)(B) of section 104 and funds made available by appro9 priations for research operations support pursuant to sec10 tion 104 may, at any location in support of the purposes

11 for which such funds are appropriated, be used for—

12 (1) the construction of new facilities; and

13 (2) additions to, repair of, rehabilitation of, or

14 modification of existing facilities (in existence on the

15 date on which such funds are made available by ap16 propriation).

17 (b) LIMITATION.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Until the date specified in

19 paragraph (2), no funds may be expended pursuant

20 to subsection (a) for a project, with respect to which

21 the estimated cost to the National Aeronautics and

22 Space Administration, including collateral equip23 ment, exceeds $1,000,000.

24 (2) DATE.—The date specified in this para25 graph is the date that is 30 days after the Adminis-
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1 trator notifies the Committee on Commerce, Science,

2 and Transportation of the Senate and the Com3 mittee on Science of the House of Representatives of

4 the nature, location, and estimated cost to the Na5 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration of the

6 project referred to in paragraph (1).

7 (c) TITLE TO FACILITIES.—

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—If funds are used pursuant

9 to subsection (a) for grants for the purchase or con10 struction of additional research facilities to institu11 tions of higher education, or to nonprofit organiza12 tions whose primary purpose is the conduct of sci13 entific research, title to these facilities shall be vest14 ed in the United States.

15 (2) EXCEPTION.—If the Administrator deter16 mines that the national program of aeronautical and

17 space activities will best be served by vesting title to

18 a facility referred to in paragraph (1) in an institu19 tion or organization referred to in that paragraph,

20 the title to that facility shall vest in that institution

21 or organization.

22 (3) CONDITION.—Each grant referred to in

23 paragraph (1) shall be made under such conditions

24 as the Administrator determines to be necessary to

25 ensure that the United States will receive benefits
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1 from the grant that are adequate to justify the mak2 ing of the grant.

3 SEC. 112. AVAILABILITY OF APPROPRIATED AMOUNTS.

4 To the extent provided in appropriations Acts, appro5 priations authorized under subtitle A may remain avail6 able without fiscal year limitation.

7 SEC. 113. REPROGRAMMING FOR CONSTRUCTION OF FA8 CILITIES.

9 (a) USE OF CONSTRUCTION FUNDS.—Subject to sub10 section (b), in addition to the amounts authorized for con11 struction of facilities under section 101(4) or section

12 103(3), the Administrator may, for that purpose, from

13 funds otherwise available to the Administrator—

14 (1) use an additional amount equal to 10 per15 cent of the amount specified; or

16 (2) to meet unusual cost variations, use an ad17 ditional amount equal to 25 percent of that amount,

18 after the termination of a 30-day period beginning

19 on the date on which the Administrator submits a

20 report on the circumstances of such action by the

21 Administrator to the Committee on Commerce,

22 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the

23 Committee on Science of the House of Representa24 tives.
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1 (b) LIMITATION.—The aggregate amount authorized

2 to be appropriated for construction of facilities under sec3 tion 101(4) and section 103(3) shall not be increased as

4 a result of any action taken by the Administrator under

5 paragraph (1) or (2).

6 SEC. 114. CONSIDERATION BY COMMITTEES.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—

8 (1) LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS.—Except as

9 provided in subsection (b), notwithstanding any

10 other provision of law, no amount made available by

11 appropriations for the National Aeronautics and

12 Space Administration in excess of the amount au13 thorized for that program under this title may be

14 used for any program with respect to which—

15 (A) the annual budget request submitted

16 by the President under section 1105(a) of title

17 31, United States Code, included a request for

18 funding; and

19 (B) for the fiscal year of the request re20 ferred to in subparagraph (A), Congress denied

21 or did not provide funding.

22 (2) PROHIBITION.—Notwithstanding any other

23 provision of law, no amount made available by ap24 propriations to the National Aeronautics and Space

25 Administration may be used for any program that is
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1 not authorized under this Act, except for projects for

2 construction of facilities.

3 (b) EXCEPTION.—Funds may be used for a program

4 of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration

5 upon the expiration of the 30-day period beginning on the

6 date on which the Administrator provides a notice to the

7 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of

8 the Senate and the Committee on Science of the House

9 of Representatives that contains—

10 (1) a full and complete statement of the action

11 proposed to be taken by the Administrator with re12 spect to that program; and

13 (2) the facts and circumstances that the Ad14 ministrator relied on to support the proposed action

15 referred to in paragraph (1).

16 (c) INFORMATION.—The Administrator shall keep the

17 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of

18 the Senate and the Committee on Science of the House

19 of Representatives fully and currently informed with re20 spect to all activities and responsibilities of the National

21 Aeronautics and Space Administration within the jurisdic22 tion of those committees.
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1 SEC. 115. USE OF FUNDS FOR SCIENTIFIC CONSULTATIONS

2 OR EXTRAORDINARY EXPENSES.

3 Not more than $35,000 of the amounts made avail4 able by appropriations pursuant to section 103 may be

5 used by the Administrator for scientific consultations or

6 extraordinary expenses.

7 TITLE II—INTERNATIONAL

8 SPACE STATION

9 SEC. 201. INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION CONTINGENCY

10 PLAN.

11 (a) TRANSFER OF FUNDS TO RUSSIA.—Notwith12 standing any other provision of this Act, no funds or in13 kind payments shall be transferred to any entity of the

14 Russian Government or any Russian contractor to per15 form work on the International Space Station which the

16 Russian Government pledged, at any time, to provide at

17 its expense. This subsection shall not apply to the pur18 chase or modification of—

19 (1) the Russian Service Module, United States

20 owned Functional Cargo Block, Russian space

21 launch vehicles and launch services; or

22 (2) until the assembly of the United States lab

23 module, command and control capability.

24 (b) CONTINGENCY PLAN FOR RUSSIAN ELEMENTS IN

25 CRITICAL PATH.—The Administrator shall develop and

26 deliver to Congress, within 60 days of enactment, a contin-
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1 gency plan for the removal or replacement of each Russian

2 Government element of the International Space Station

3 that lies in the Station’s critical path, as well as Russian

4 space launch services. Such plan shall include—

5 (1) decision points for removing or replacing

6 those elements and launch services, to the maximum

7 extent feasible, necessary for completion of the

8 International Space Station;

9 (2) the estimated cost of implementing each

10 such decision; and

11 (3) the cost, to the extent determinable, of re12 moving or replacing a Russian Government critical

13 path element or launch service after its decision

14 point has passed, if—

15 (A) the decision at that point was not to

16 remove or replace the Russian Government ele17 ment or launch service; and

18 (B) the National Aeronautics and Space

19 Administration later determines that the Rus20 sian Government will be unable to provide the

21 critical path element or launch service in a

22 manner to allow completion of the International

23 Space Station.

24 (c) BIMONTHLY REPORTING ON RUSSIAN STATUS.—

25 On or before December 1, 1999, and until substantial
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1 completion (as defined in section 202(b)(3) of this Act)

2 of the assembly of the International Space Station, the

3 Administrator shall report to Congress on the first day

4 of every other month whether or not the Russians have

5 performed work expected of them and necessary to com6 plete the International Space Station. Such report shall

7 also include a statement of the Administrator’s judgment

8 concerning Russia’s ability to perform work anticipated

9 and required to complete the International Space Station

10 before the next report under this subsection.

11 (d) DECISION ON RUSSIAN CRITICAL PATH ITEMS.—

12 The President shall notify Congress within 90 days of en13 actment of this Act of the decision on whether or not to

14 proceed with permanent replacement of the Russian Serv15 ice Module, other Russian elements in the critical path of

16 the International Space Station, or Russian launch serv17 ices. Such notification shall include the reasons and jus18 tifications for the decision and the costs associated with

19 the decision. Such decision shall include a judgment of

20 when the assembly of the International Space Station will

21 be completed. If the President decides to proceed with a

22 permanent replacement for the Russian Service Module or

23 any other Russian element in the critical path or Russian

24 launch service, the President shall notify Congress of the

25 reasons and the justification for the decision to proceed
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1 with the permanent replacement, and the costs associated

2 with the decision.

3 SEC. 202. COST LIMITATION FOR THE INTERNATIONAL

4 SPACE STATION.

5 (a) LIMITATION OF COSTS.—Except as provided in

6 subsection (c), the total amount appropriated for—

7 (1) costs of the International Space Station

8 through completion of assembly may not exceed

9 $21,900,000,000; and

10 (2) space shuttle launch costs in connection

11 with the assembly of the International Space Station

12 through completion of assembly may not exceed

13 $17,700,000,000 (determined at the rate of

14 $380,000,000 per space shuttle flight).

15 (b) COSTS TO WHICH LIMITATION APPLIES.—

16 (1) DEVELOPMENT COSTS.—The limitation im17 posed by subsection (a)(1) does not apply to funding

18 for operations, research, and crew return activities

19 subsequent to substantial completion of the Inter20 national Space Station.

21 (2) LAUNCH COSTS.—The limitation imposed

22 by subsection (a)(2) does not apply to space shuttle

23 launch costs in connection with operations, research,

24 and crew return activities subsequent to substantial

25 completion of the International Space Station.
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1 (3) SUBSTANTIAL COMPLETION.—For purposes

2 of this subsection, the International Space Station is

3 considered to be substantially completed when the

4 development costs comprise 5 percent or less of the

5 total International Space Station costs for the fiscal

6 year.

7 (c) AUTOMATIC INCREASE OF LIMITATION

8 AMOUNT.—The amounts set forth in subsection (a) shall

9 each be increased to reflect any increase in costs attrib10 utable to—

11 (1) economic inflation;

12 (2) compliance with changes in Federal, State,

13 or local laws enacted after the date of enactment of

14 this Act;

15 (3) the lack of performance or the termination

16 of participation of any of the International countries

17 participating in the International Space Station; and

18 (4) new technologies to improve safety, reli19 ability, maintainability, availability, or utilization of

20 the International Space Station, or to reduce costs

21 after completion of assembly, including increases in

22 costs for on-orbit assembly sequence problems, in23 creased ground testing, verification and integration

24 activities, contingency responses to on-orbit failures,
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1 and design improvements to reduce the risk of on2 orbit failures.

3 (d) NOTICE OF CHANGES.—The Administrator shall

4 provide with each annual budget request a written notice

5 and analysis of any changes under subsection (c) to the

6 amounts set forth in subsection (a) to the Senate Commit7 tees on Appropriations and on Commerce, Science, and

8 Transportation and to the House of Representatives Com9 mittees on Appropriations and on Science. The written no10 tice shall include—

11 (1) an explanation of the basis for the change,

12 including the costs associated with the change and

13 the expected benefit to the program to be derived

14 from the change; and

15 (2) an analysis of the impact on the assembly

16 schedule and annual funding estimates of not receiv17 ing the requested increases.

18 (e) REPORTING AND REVIEW.—

19 (1) IDENTIFICATION OF COSTS.—

20 (A) SPACE SHUTTLE.—As part of the over21 all space shuttle program budget request for

22 each fiscal year, the Administrator shall iden23 tify separately the amounts of the requested

24 funding that are to be used for completion of
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1 the assembly of the International Space Sta2 tion.

3 (B) INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION.—As

4 part of the overall International Space Station

5 budget request for each fiscal year, the Admin6 istrator shall identify the amount to be used for

7 development of the International Space Station.

8 (2) ACCOUNTING FOR COST LIMITATIONS.—As

9 part of the annual budget request to the Congress,

10 the Administrator shall account for the cost limita11 tions imposed by subsection (a).

12 (3) VERIFICATION OF ACCOUNTING.—The Ad13 ministrator shall arrange for a verification, by the

14 General Accounting Office, of the accounting sub15 mitted to the Congress within 60 days after the date

16 on which the budget request is transmitted to the

17 Congress.

18 (4) INSPECTOR GENERAL.—Within 60 days

19 after the Administrator provides a notice and anal20 ysis to the Congress under subsection (d), the In21 spector General of the National Aeronautics and

22 Space Administration shall review the notice and

23 analysis and report the results of the review to the

24 committees to which the notice and analysis was

25 provided.
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1 SEC. 203. LIABILITY CROSS-WAIVERS FOR INTERNATIONAL

2 SPACE STATION-RELATED ACTIVITIES.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi4 sion of law, the Administrator, on behalf of the United

5 States, its departments, agencies, and related entities,

6 may reciprocally waive claims with cooperating parties,

7 and the related entities of such cooperating parties, under

8 which each party to each such waiver agrees to be respon9 sible, and agrees to ensure that its own related entities

10 are responsible, for damage or loss to its property or to

11 property for which it is responsible, or for losses resulting

12 from any injury or death sustained by its own employees

13 or agents, as a result of activities connected to the Inter14 national Space Station Program.

15 (b) LIMITATIONS.—

16 (1) CLAIMS.—A reciprocal waiver under sub17 section (a) may not preclude a claim by any natural

18 person (including, but not limited to, a natural per19 son who is an employee of the United States, the co20 operating party, or the cooperating party’s sub21 contractors) or that natural person’s estate, sur22 vivors, or subrogees for injury or death, except with

23 respect to a subrogee that is a party to the waiver

24 or has otherwise agreed to be bound by the terms

25 of the waiver.
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1 (2) LIABILITY FOR NEGLIGENCE.—A reciprocal

2 waiver under subsection (a) may not absolve any

3 party of liability to any natural person (including,

4 but not limited to, a natural person who is an em5 ployee of the United States, the cooperating party,

6 or the cooperating party’s subcontractors) or such

7 natural person’s estate, survivors, or subrogees for

8 negligence, except with respect to a subrogee that is

9 a party to the waiver or has otherwise agreed to be

10 bound by the terms of the waiver.

11 (3) INDEMNIFICATION FOR DAMAGES.—A recip12 rocal waiver under subsection (a) may not be used

13 as the basis of a claim by the Administration or the

14 cooperating party for indemnification against the

15 other for damages paid to a natural person, or that

16 natural person’s estate, survivors, or subrogees, for

17 injury or death sustained by that natural person as

18 a result of activities connected to the International

19 Space Station Program.

20 (c) SAFETY OVERSIGHT AND REVIEW REQUIRED.—

21 In the exercise of the authority provided in subsection (a),

22 and consistent with relevant agreements with cooperating

23 parties in the International Space Station Program, the

24 Administrator shall establish overall safety requirements

25 and plans and shall conduct overall integrated system
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1 safety reviews for International Space Station elements

2 and payloads, and may undertake any and all authorized

3 steps (including, but not limited to, removal from launch

4 manifest) to ensure, to the maximum extent possible, that

5 such elements and payloads pose no safety risks for the

6 International Space Station.

7 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

8 (1) COOPERATING PARTY.—The term ‘‘cooper9 ating party’’ means any person who enters into an

10 agreement or contract with the Administration for

11 the performance or support of scientific, aero12 nautical, or space activities in furtherance of the

13 International Space Station Program.

14 (2) RELATED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘related enti15 ty’’ includes contractors or subcontractors at any

16 tier, suppliers, grantees, and investigators or

17 detailees.

18 (3) COMMON TERMS.—Any term used in this

19 section that is defined in the National Aeronautics

20 and Space Act of 1958 (42 U.S.C. 2451 et seq.) has

21 the same meaning in this section as when it is used

22 in that Act.

23 (e) EFFECT ON PREVIOUS WAIVERS.—Subsection (a)

24 applies to any waiver of claims entered into by the Admin-
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1 istrator without regard to whether it was entered into be2 fore, on, or after the date of enactment of this Act.

3 TITLE III—MISCELLANEOUS

4 PROVISIONS

5 SEC. 301. NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ACT OF 1958

6 AMENDMENTS.

7 (a) DECLARATION OF POLICY AND PURPOSE.—Sec8 tion 102 of the National Aeronautics and Space Act of

9 1958 (42 U.S.C. 2451) is amended—

10 (1) by striking subsection (f);

11 (2) by redesignating subsections (g) and (h) as

12 subsections (f) and (g), respectively; and

13 (3) in subsection (g), as redesignated by para14 graph (1) of this subsection, by striking ‘‘(f), and

15 (g)’’ and inserting ‘‘and (f)’’.

16 (b) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Section 206(a) of the

17 National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 (42 U.S.C.

18 2476(a)) is amended—

19 (1) by striking ‘‘January’’ and inserting ‘‘May’’;

20 and

21 (2) by striking ‘‘calendar’’ and inserting ‘‘fis22 cal’’.

23 (c) DISCLOSURE OF TECHNICAL DATA.—Section 303

24 of the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 (42
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1 U.S.C. 2454) is amended by adding at the end the fol2 lowing new subsection:

3 ‘‘(c) The Administrator may delay for a period not

4 to exceed 5 years after development, the unrestricted pub5 lic disclosure of technical data that would have been a

6 trade secret or commercial or financial information that

7 is privileged or confidential under the meaning of section

8 552(b)(4) of title 5, United States Code, if the information

9 had been obtained from a non-Federal party, in any case

10 in which the technical data is generated in the perform11 ance of experimental, developmental, or research activities

12 or programs conducted by, or funded in whole or in part

13 by, the Administration. The technical data referred to in

14 the preceding sentence shall not be subject to the disclo15 sure requirements of section 552 of title 5, United States

16 Code.’’.

17 SEC. 302. USE OF EXISTING FACILITIES.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—In any case in which the Adminis19 trator considers the purchase, lease, or expansion of a fa20 cility to meet requirements of the National Aeronautics

21 and Space Administration, the Administrator, taking into

22 account the applicable requirements of Federal law relat23 ing to the use or disposal of excess or surplus property,

24 including the Federal Property and Administrative Serv25 ices Act of 1949, shall—
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1 (1) consider whether there is available to the

2 Administrator for use for meeting those

3 requirements—

4 (A) any military installation that is closed

5 or being closed;

6 (B) any facility at an installation referred

7 to in subparagraph (A); or

8 (C) any other facility that the Adminis9 trator determines to be—

10 (i) owned or leased by the United

11 States for the use of another agency of the

12 Federal Government; and

13 (ii) considered by the head of the

14 agency involved—

15 (I) to be excess to the needs of

16 that agency; or

17 (II) to be underutilized by that

18 agency; and

19 (2) in the case of an underutilized facility avail20 able in part for use to meet those requirements, con21 sider locating an activity of the National Aeronautics

22 and Space Administration for which a facility is re23 quired at that underutilized facility in such manner

24 as to share the use of the facility with 1 or more

25 agencies of the Federal Government.
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1 (b) ADDITION OR EXPANSION.—To the maximum ex2 tent feasible and cost-effective (and not inconsistent with

3 the purposes of the Defense Base Closure and Realign4 ment Act of 1990 (104 Stat. 1808 et seq.) and the amend5 ments made by that Act), the Administrator shall meet

6 the requirements of the National Aeronautics and Space

7 Administration for additional or expanded facilities by

8 using facilities that—

9 (1) the Administrator considers, pursuant to

10 subsection (a), to be available to the Administrator

11 for use to meet those requirements; and

12 (2) meet the management needs of the National

13 Aeronautics and Space Administration.

14 (c) UNDERUTILIZED INFRASTRUCTURE.—The

15 United States space launch industry has identified under16 utilized infrastructure at the Stennis Space Center for po17 tential use in launch vehicle development activities. The

18 proposed use of this infrastructure is compatible with the

19 Center’s propulsion test programs and consistent with

20 other efforts to optimize taxpayer investments while fos21 tering United States competitiveness and commercial use

22 of space. The National Aeronautics and Space Administra23 tion is encouraged to pursue an appropriate method for

24 making the underutilized Stennis Space Center infrastruc25 ture available under suitable terms and conditions, if so
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1 requested by industry, and to notify the United States

2 Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor3 tation and the United States House of Representatives

4 Committee on Science if existing Administration authority

5 is insufficient for this purpose.

6 SEC. 303. AUTHORITY TO REDUCE OR SUSPEND CONTRACT

7 PAYMENTS BASED ON SUBSTANTIAL EVI8 DENCE OF FRAUD.

9 Section ø2307(h)(8)¿ 2307(i)(8) of title 10, United

10 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘and (4)’’ and insert11 ing ‘‘(4), and (6)’’.

12 SEC. 304. NOTICE.

13 (a) NOTICE OF REPROGRAMMING.—If any funds ap14 propriated pursuant to the amendments made by this Act

15 are subject to a reprogramming action that requires notice

16 to be provided to the Committees on Appropriations of the

17 Senate and the House of Representatives, notice of that

18 action shall concurrently be provided to the Committee on

19 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and

20 the Committee on Science of the House of Representa21 tives.

22 (b) NOTICE OF REORGANIZATION.—Not later than

23 30 days before any major reorganization involving the re24 assignment of more than 25 percent of the employees of

25 any program, project, or activity of the National Aero-
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1 nautics and Space Administration, the Administrator shall

2 provide notice to the Committees on Commerce, Science,

3 and Transportation and Appropriations of the Senate and

4 the Committees on Science and Appropriations of the

5 House of Representatives.

6 SEC. 305. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON THE YEAR 2000 PROB7 LEM.

8 With the year 2000 rapidly approaching, it is the

9 sense of Congress that the Administrator should—

10 (1) give high priority to correcting all 2-digit

11 date-related problems in the computer systems of

12 the National Aeronautics and Space Administration

13 to ensure that those systems continue to operate ef14 fectively in the year 2000 and in subsequent years;

15 (2) as soon as practicable after the date of en16 actment of this Act, assess the extent of the risk to

17 the operations of the National Aeronautics and

18 Space Administration posed by the problems re19 ferred to in paragraph (1), and plan and budget for

20 achieving compliance for all of the mission-critical

21 systems of the system by the year 2000; and

22 (3) develop contingency plans for those systems

23 that the National Aeronautics and Space Adminis24 tration is unable to correct by the year 2000.
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1 SEC. 306. UNITARY WIND TUNNEL PLAN ACT OF 1949

2 AMENDMENTS.

3 The Unitary Wind Tunnel Plan Act of 1949 (50

4 U.S.C. 511 et seq.) is amended—

5 (1) in section 101 by striking ‘‘transsonic and

6 supersonic’’ and inserting ‘‘transsonic, supersonic,

7 and hypersonic’’; and

8 (2) in section 103—

9 (A) in subsection (a)—

10 (i) by striking ‘‘laboratories’’ and in11 serting ‘‘laboratories and centers’’; and

12 (ii) by striking ‘‘supersonic’’ and in13 serting ‘‘transsonic, supersonic, and

14 hypersonic’’; and

15 (B) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘labora16 tory’’ and inserting ‘‘facility’’.

17 SEC. 307. ENHANCEMENT OF SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS

18 PROGRAMS.

19 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

20 (1) EDUCATIONALLY USEFUL FEDERAL EQUIP21 MENT.—The term ‘‘educationally useful Federal

22 equipment’’ means computers and related peripheral

23 tools and research equipment that is appropriate for

24 use in schools.
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1 (2) SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘school’’ means a pub2 lic or private educational institution that serves any

3 of the grades of kindergarten through grade 12.

4 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—It is the sense of Congress

6 that the Administrator should, to the greatest extent

7 practicable and in a manner consistent with applica8 ble Federal law (including Executive Order No.

9 12999), donate educationally useful Federal equip10 ment to schools in order to enhance the science and

11 mathematics programs of those schools.

12 (2) REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year after the

13 date of enactment of this Act, and annually there14 after, the Administrator shall prepare and submit to

15 Congress a report describing any donations of edu16 cationally useful Federal equipment to schools made

17 during the period covered by the report.

18 SEC. 308. AUTHORITY TO VEST TITLE.

19 Title III of the National Aeronautics and Space Act

20 of 1958 (72 Stat. 432 et seq.) is amended by adding at

21 the end the following:

22 ‘‘AUTHORITY TO VEST TITLE TO TANGIBLE PERSONAL

23 PROPERTY FOR RESEARCH OR TECHNOLOGY DEVEL24 OPMENT

25 ‘‘SEC. 313. Notwithstanding any other provision of

26 law, the Administrator may vest title in tangible property
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1 (as that term is defined by the Administrator) in any par2 ticipant that enters into a cooperative agreement with the

3 Administrator if—

4 ‘‘(1) the primary purpose of the participant is

5 to conduct scientific research or technology develop6 ment;

7 ‘‘(2) the property is acquired with amounts pro8 vided under a cooperative agreement between the

9 participant and the Administrator to conduct sci10 entific research or technology development;

11 ‘‘(3) the Administrator determines that vesting

12 the title to the property in the participant furthers

13 the objectives of the National Aeronautics and Space

14 Administration; and

15 ‘‘(4) the vesting of the title in the participant

16 is made—

17 ‘‘(A) on the condition that the United

18 States Government will not incur any further

19 obligation; and

20 ‘‘(B) subject to any other condition that

21 the Administrator considers to be appropriate.’’.
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1 SEC. 309. NASA MID-RANGE PROCUREMENT TEST PRO2 GRAM.

3 Section 5062 of the Federal Acquisition Streamlining

4 Act of 1994 ø(108 Stat. 3356)¿ (42 U.S.C. 2473 nt) is

5 amended—

6 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting after the first

7 sentence the following: ‘‘In addition to providing any

8 other notice of any acquisition under the test con9 ducted under this section, the Administrator shall

10 publish a notice of that acquisition in, or make such

11 a notice available through, the automated version of

12 the Commerce Business Daily published by the Sec13 retary of Commerce.’’;

14 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘an estimated

15 annual total obligation of funds of $500,000 or less’’

16 and inserting ‘‘a basic value (as that term is defined

17 by the Administrator)—

18 ‘‘(1) of $2,000,000 or less; or

19 ‘‘(2) if options to purchase are involved, of

20 $10,000,000 or less.’’;

21 (3) in subsection (c), by striking

22 ‘‘$100,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$500,000,000’’; and

23 (4) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘4 years’’ and

24 inserting ‘‘6 years’’.
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1 SEC. 310. SPACE ADVERTISING.

2 (a) DEFINITION.—Section 70102 of title 49, United

3 States Code, is amended—

4 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (8) through

5 ø(12)¿ (16) as paragraphs (9) through ø(13),¿ (17),

6 respectively; and

7 (2) by inserting after paragraph (7) the fol8 lowing:

9 ‘‘(8) ‘obtrusive space advertising’ means adver10 tising in outer space that is capable of being recog11 nized by a human being on the surface of the Earth

12 without the aid of a telescope or other technological

13 device.’’.

14 (b) PROHIBITION.—Chapter 701 of title 49, United

15 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 70109

16 the following new section:

17 ‘‘§ 70109a. Space advertising

18 ‘‘(a) LICENSING.—Notwithstanding the provisions of

19 this chapter or any other provision of law, the Secretary

20 may not, for the launch of a payload containing any mate21 rial to be used for the purposes of obtrusive space

22 advertising—

23 ‘‘(1) issue or transfer a license under this chap24 ter; or

25 ‘‘(2) waive the license requirements of this

26 chapter.
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1 ‘‘(b) LAUNCHING.—No holder of a license under this

2 chapter may launch a payload containing any material to

3 be used for purposes of obtrusive space advertising on or

4 after the date of enactment of the National Aeronautics

5 and Space Administration Authorization Act for Fiscal

6 Year 2000.

7 ‘‘(c) COMMERCIAL SPACE ADVERTISING.—Nothing in

8 this section shall apply to nonobtrusive commercial space

9 advertising, including advertising on—

10 ‘‘(1) commercial space transportation vehicles;

11 ‘‘(2) space infrastructure, payloads;

12 ‘‘(3) space launch facilities; and

13 ‘‘(4) launch support facilities.’’.

14 (c) NEGOTIATION WITH FOREIGN LAUNCHING NA15 TIONS.—

16 (1) The President is requested to negotiate with

17 foreign launching nations for the purpose of reach18 ing 1 or more agreements that prohibit the use of

19 outer space for obtrusive space advertising purposes.

20 (2) It is the sense of Congress that the Presi21 dent should take such action as is appropriate and

22 feasible to enforce the terms of any agreement to

23 prohibit the use of outer space for obtrusive space

24 advertising purposes.
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1 (3) As used in this subsection, the term ‘‘for2 eign launching nation’’ means a nation—

3 (A) that launches, or procures the launch4 ing of, a payload into outer space; or

5 (B) from the territory or facility of which

6 a payload is launched into outer space.

7 (d) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections

8 for chapter 701 is amended by inserting after the item

9 relating to section 70109 the following:

‘‘70109a. Space advertising.’’.