II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 342

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

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,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

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

5 ‘‘National Aeronautics and Space Administration Author6 ization Act for Fiscal Years 2000, 2001, and 2002’’.

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Findings.

Sec. 3. Definitions.
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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.

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
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1 commercial sector systems, while sustaining safety

2 standards for personnel and hardware.

3 (2) The National Aeronautics and Space Ad4 ministration should sustain its proud history as the

5 leader of the United States in basic aeronautics and

6 space research.

7 (3) The United States is on the verge of creat8 ing and using new technologies in microsatellites, in9 formation processing, and space launches that could

10 radically alter the manner in which the Federal Gov11 ernment approaches its space mission.

12 (4) The Federal Government should invest in

13 the types of research and innovative technology in

14 which United States commercial providers do not in15 vest, while avoiding competition with the activities in

16 which United States commercial providers do invest.

17 (5) International cooperation in space explo18 ration and science activities serves the interest of the

19 United States.

20 (6) In participating in the National Aeronauti21 cal Test Alliance, the National Aeronautics and

22 Space Administration and the Department of De23 fense should cooperate more effectively in leveraging

24 the mutual capabilities of these agencies to conduct

25 joint aeronautics and space missions that not only
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1 improve United States aeronautics and space capa2 bilities, but also reduce the cost of conducting those

3 missions.

4 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

5 In this Act:

6 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis7 trator’’ means the Administrator of the National

8 Aeronautics and Space Administration.

9 (2) COMMERCIAL PROVIDER.—The term ‘‘com10 mercial provider’’ means any person providing space

11 transportation services or other space-related activi12 ties, the primary control of which is held by persons

13 other than a Federal, State, local, or foreign govern14 ment.

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

16 means the sequence of events of a schedule of events

17 under which a delay in any event causes a delay in

18 the overall schedule.

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

20 agreement’’ has the meaning given that term in sec21 tion 6302(2) of title 31, United States Code.

22 (5) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The

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

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

25 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1141(a)).
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1 (6) MAJOR REORGANIZATION.—With respect to

2 the National Aeronautics and Space Administration,

3 the term ‘‘major reorganization’’ means any reorga4 nization of the Administration that involves the reas5 signment of more than 25 percent of the employees

6 of the National Aeronautics and Space Administra7 tion.

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

9 the several States of the United States, the District

10 of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the

11 Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Com12 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and

13 any other commonwealth, territory, or possession of

14 the United States.

15 TITLE I—AUTHORIZATION OF

16 APPROPRIATIONS

17 Subtitle A—Authorizations

18 SEC. 101. INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION.

19 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Na20 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration for the

21 International Space Station—

22 (1) $2,282,700,000 for fiscal year 2000;

23 (2) $2,328,000,000 for fiscal year 2001; and

24 (3) $2,091,000,000 for fiscal year 2002.
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1 SEC. 102. LAUNCH VEHICLE AND PAYLOAD OPERATIONS.

2 There are authorized to be appropriated to National

3 Aeronautics and Space Administration for Launch Vehicle

4 and Payload Operations—

5 (1) for fiscal year 2000—

6 (A) $2,547,400,000 for space shuttle oper7 ations;

8 (B) $438,800,000 for space shuttle safety

9 and performance upgrades; and

10 (C) $169,100,000 for payload and utiliza11 tion operations.

12 (2) for fiscal year 2001—

13 (A) $2,623,822,000 for space shuttle oper14 ations;

15 (B) $451,964,000 for space shuttle safety

16 and performance upgrades; and

17 (C) $174,173,000 for payload and utiliza18 tion operations.

19 (3) for fiscal year 2002—

20 (A) $2,702,537,000 for space shuttle oper21 ations;

22 (B) $465,523,000 for space shuttle safety/

23 performance upgrades; and

24 (C) $179,398,000 for payload and utiliza25 tion operations.
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1 SEC. 103. SCIENCE, AERONAUTICS, AND TECHNOLOGY.

2 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Na3 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration for Science,

4 Aeronautics, and Technology—

5 (1) for fiscal year 2000—

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

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

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

9 shall be for research and early detection system

10 for breast and ovarian cancer and other wom11 en’s health issues;

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

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

14 space transportation technology, of which—

15 (i) $620,000,000 shall be used for

16 aeronautical research and technology, of

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

18 Aviation Safety Program;

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

20 advanced space transportation technology,

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

22 for the X–33 advanced technology dem23 onstration vehicle program; and

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

25 commercial technology, of which some

26 funds may be used for the expansion of the
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1 NASA business incubation program which

2 is designed to foster partnerships between

3 educational institutions and small high4 technology businesses with preference

5 given to those programs associated with

6 community colleges;

7 (E) $406,300,000 for mission communica8 tions services; and

9 (F) $100,000,000 for academic programs,

10 of which $46,000,000 shall be used for minority

11 university research and education (at institu12 tions such as Hispanic-serving institutions and

13 tribally-controlled community colleges), of which

14 $28,000,000 shall be used for historically black

15 colleges and universities.

16 (2) for fiscal year 2001—

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

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

19 sciences and applications;

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

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

22 space transportation technology;

23 (E) $418,489,000 for mission communica24 tions services; and

25 (F) $103,000,000 for academic programs.
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1 (3) for fiscal year 2002—

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

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

4 sciences and applications;

5 (C) $1,547,959,000 for Earth Science;

6 (D) $1,067,796,000 for aeronautics and

7 space transportation technology;

8 (E) $431,044,000 for mission communica9 tions services; and

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

11 SEC. 104. MISSION SUPPORT.

12 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Na13 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration for mission

14 support—

15 (1) for fiscal year 2000—

16 (A) $43,000,000 for safety, mission assur17 ance, engineering, and advanced concepts;

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

19 services;

20 (C) $181,000,000 for construction of fa21 cilities, including land acquisition; and

22 (D) $2,181,200,000 for research and pro23 gram management, including personnel and re24 lated costs, travel, and research operations sup25 port.
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1 (2) $2,569,747,000 for fiscal year 2001.

2 (3) $2,646,839,000 for fiscal year 2002.

3 SEC. 105. INSPECTOR GENERAL.

4 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Na5 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration for Inspector

6 General—

7 (1) $20,800,000 for fiscal year 2000;

8 (2) $21,424,000 for fiscal year 2001; and

9 (3) $22,066,720 for fiscal year 2002.

10 SEC. 106. EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM TO STIMULATE COM11 PETITIVE RESEARCH.

12 Of the amounts authorized to be appropriated for

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

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

15 the program known as the Experimental Program to Stim16 ulate Competitive Research.

17 Subtitle B—Limitations and

18 Special Authority

19 SEC. 111. USE OF FUNDS FOR CONSTRUCTION.

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

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

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

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

24 (2)(B) of section 104 and funds made available by appro25 priations for research operations support pursuant to sec-
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1 tion 104 may, at any location in support of the purposes

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

3 (1) the construction of new facilities; and

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

5 modification of existing facilities (in existence on the

6 date on which such funds are made available by ap7 propriation).

8 (b) LIMITATION.—

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

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

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

12 the estimated cost to the National Aeronautics and

13 Space Administration, including collateral equip14 ment, exceeds $1,000,000.

15 (2) DATE.—The date specified in this para16 graph is the date that is 30 days after the Adminis17 trator notifies the Committee on Commerce, Science,

18 and Transportation of the Senate and the Commit19 tee on Science of the House of Representatives of

20 the nature, location, and estimated cost to the Na21 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration of the

22 project referred to in paragraph (1).

23 (c) TITLE TO FACILITIES.—

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

25 to subsection (a) for grants for the purchase or con-
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1 struction of additional research facilities to institu2 tions of higher education, or to nonprofit organiza3 tions whose primary purpose is the conduct of sci4 entific research, title to these facilities shall be vest5 ed in the United States.

6 (2) EXCEPTION.—If the Administrator deter7 mines that the national program of aeronautical and

8 space activities will best be served by vesting title to

9 a facility referred to in paragraph (1) in an institu10 tion or organization referred to in that paragraph,

11 the title to that facility shall vest in that institution

12 or organization.

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

14 paragraph (1) shall be made under such conditions

15 as the Administrator determines to be necessary to

16 ensure that the United States will receive benefits

17 from the grant that are adequate to justify the mak18 ing of the grant.

19 SEC. 112. AVAILABILITY OF APPROPRIATED AMOUNTS.

20 To the extent provided in appropriations Acts, appro21 priations authorized under subtitle A may remain avail22 able without fiscal year limitation.
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1 SEC. 113. REPROGRAMMING FOR CONSTRUCTION OF FA2 CILITIES.

3 (a) USE OF CONSTRUCTION FUNDS.—Subject to sub4 section (b), in addition to the amounts authorized for con5 struction of facilities under section 101(4) or section

6 103(3), the Administrator may, for that purpose, from

7 funds otherwise available to the Administrator—

8 (1) use an additional amount equal to 10 per9 cent of the amount specified; or

10 (2) to meet unusual cost variations, use an ad11 ditional amount equal to 25 percent of that amount,

12 after the termination of a 30-day period beginning

13 on the date on which the Administrator submits a

14 report on the circumstances of such action by the

15 Administrator to the Committee on Commerce,

16 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the

17 Committee on Science of the House of Representa18 tives.

19 (b) LIMITATION.—The aggregate amount authorized

20 to be appropriated for construction of facilities under sec21 tion 101(4) and section 103(3) shall not be increased as

22 a result of any action taken by the Administrator under

23 paragraph (1) or (2).

24 SEC. 114. CONSIDERATION BY COMMITTEES.

25 (a) IN GENERAL.—
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1 (1) LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS.—Except as

2 provided in subsection (b), notwithstanding any

3 other provision of law, no amount made available by

4 appropriations for the National Aeronautics and

5 Space Administration in excess of the amount au6 thorized for that program under this title may be

7 used for any program with respect to which—

8 (A) the annual budget request submitted

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

10 31, United States Code, included a request for

11 funding; and

12 (B) for the fiscal year of the request re13 ferred to in subparagraph (A), Congress denied

14 or did not provide funding.

15 (2) PROHIBITION.—Notwithstanding any other

16 provision of law, no amount made available by ap17 propriations to the National Aeronautics and Space

18 Administration may be used for any program that is

19 not authorized under this Act, except for projects for

20 construction of facilities.

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

22 of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration

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

24 date on which the Administrator provides a notice to the

25 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of
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1 the Senate and the Committee on Science of the House

2 of Representatives that contains—

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

4 proposed to be taken by the Administrator with re5 spect to that program; and

6 (2) the facts and circumstances that the Ad7 ministrator relied on to support the proposed action

8 referred to in paragraph (1).

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

10 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of

11 the Senate and the Committee on Science of the House

12 of Representatives fully and currently informed with re13 spect to all activities and responsibilities of the National

14 Aeronautics and Space Administration within the jurisdic15 tion of those committees.

16 SEC. 115. USE OF FUNDS FOR SCIENTIFIC CONSULTATIONS

17 OR EXTRAORDINARY EXPENSES.

18 Not more than $35,000 of the amounts made avail19 able by appropriations pursuant to section 103 may be

20 used by the Administrator for scientific consultations or

21 extraordinary expenses.
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1 TITLE II—INTERNATIONAL

2 SPACE STATION

3 SEC. 201. INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION CONTINGENCY

4 PLAN.

5 (a) TRANSFER OF FUNDS TO RUSSIA.—Notwith6 standing any other provision of this Act, no funds or in7 kind payments shall be transferred to any entity of the

8 Russian Government or any Russian contractor to per9 form work on the International Space Station which the

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

11 its expense. This subsection shall not apply to the pur12 chase or modification of—

13 (1) the Russian Service Module, United States

14 owned Functional Cargo Block, Russian space

15 launch vehicles and launch services; or

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

17 module, command and control capability.

18 (b) CONTINGENCY PLAN FOR RUSSIAN ELEMENTS IN

19 CRITICAL PATH.—The Administrator shall develop and

20 deliver to Congress, within 60 days of enactment, a contin21 gency plan for the removal or replacement of each Russian

22 Government element of the International Space Station

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

24 space launch services. Such plan shall include—
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1 (1) decision points for removing or replacing

2 those elements and launch services, to the maximum

3 extent feasible, necessary for completion of the

4 International Space Station;

5 (2) the estimated cost of implementing each

6 such decision; and

7 (3) the cost, to the extent determinable, of re8 moving or replacing a Russian Government critical

9 path element or launch service after its decision

10 point has passed, if—

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

12 remove or replace the Russian Government ele13 ment or launch service; and

14 (B) the National Aeronautics and Space

15 Administration later determines that the Rus16 sian Government will be unable to provide the

17 critical path element or launch service in a

18 manner to allow completion of the International

19 Space Station.

20 (c) BIMONTHLY REPORTING ON RUSSIAN STATUS.—

21 On or before December 1, 1999, and until substantial

22 completion (as defined in section 202(b)(3) of this Act)

23 of the assembly of the International Space Station, the

24 Administrator shall report to Congress on the first day

25 of every other month whether or not the Russians have
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1 performed work expected of them and necessary to com2 plete the International Space Station. Such report shall

3 also include a statement of the Administrator’s judgment

4 concerning Russia’s ability to perform work anticipated

5 and required to complete the International Space Station

6 before the next report under this subsection.

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

8 The President shall notify Congress within 90 days of en9 actment of this Act of the decision on whether or not to

10 proceed with permanent replacement of the Russian Serv11 ice Module, other Russian elements in the critical path of

12 the International Space Station, or Russian launch serv13 ices. Such notification shall include the reasons and jus14 tifications for the decision and the costs associated with

15 the decision. Such decision shall include a judgment of

16 when the assembly of the International Space Station will

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

18 permanent replacement for the Russian Service Module or

19 any other Russian element in the critical path or Russian

20 launch service, the President shall notify Congress of the

21 reasons and the justification for the decision to proceed

22 with the permanent replacement, and the costs associated

23 with the decision.
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1 SEC. 202. COST LIMITATION FOR THE INTERNATIONAL

2 SPACE STATION.

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

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

5 (1) costs of the International Space Station

6 through completion of assembly may not exceed

7 $21,900,000,000; and

8 (2) space shuttle launch costs in connection

9 with the assembly of the International Space Station

10 through completion of assembly may not exceed

11 $17,700,000,000 (determined at the rate of

12 $380,000,000 per space shuttle flight).

13 (b) COSTS TO WHICH LIMITATION APPLIES.—

14 (1) DEVELOPMENT COSTS.—The limitation im15 posed by subsection (a)(1) does not apply to funding

16 for operations, research, and crew return activities

17 subsequent to substantial completion of the Inter18 national Space Station.

19 (2) LAUNCH COSTS.—The limitation imposed

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

21 launch costs in connection with operations, research,

22 and crew return activities subsequent to substantial

23 completion of the International Space Station.

24 (3) SUBSTANTIAL COMPLETION.—For purposes

25 of this subsection, the International Space Station is

26 considered to be substantially completed when the
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1 development costs comprise 5 percent or less of the

2 total International Space Station costs for the fiscal

3 year.

4 (c) AUTOMATIC INCREASE OF LIMITATION

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

6 each be increased to reflect any increase in costs attrib7 utable to—

8 (1) economic inflation;

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

10 or local laws enacted after the date of enactment of

11 this Act;

12 (3) the lack of performance or the termination

13 of participation of any of the International countries

14 participating in the International Space Station; and

15 (4) new technologies to improve safety, reliabil16 ity, maintainability, availability, or utilization of the

17 International Space Station, or to reduce costs after

18 completion of assembly, including increases in costs

19 for on-orbit assembly sequence problems, increased

20 ground testing, verification and integration activi21 ties, contingency responses to on-orbit failures, and

22 design improvements to reduce the risk of on-orbit

23 failures.

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

25 provide with each annual budget request a written notice
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1 and analysis of any changes under subsection (c) to the

2 amounts set forth in subsection (a) to the Senate Commit3 tees on Appropriations and on Commerce, Science, and

4 Transportation and to the House of Representatives Com5 mittees on Appropriations and on Science. The written no6 tice shall include—

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

8 including the costs associated with the change and

9 the expected benefit to the program to be derived

10 from the change; and

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

12 schedule and annual funding estimates of not receiv13 ing the requested increases.

14 (e) REPORTING AND REVIEW.—

15 (1) IDENTIFICATION OF COSTS.—

16 (A) SPACE SHUTTLE.—As part of the over17 all space shuttle program budget request for

18 each fiscal year, the Administrator shall iden19 tify separately the amounts of the requested

20 funding that are to be used for completion of

21 the assembly of the International Space Sta22 tion.

23 (B) INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION.—As

24 part of the overall International Space Station

25 budget request for each fiscal year, the Admin-
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1 istrator shall identify the amount to be used for

2 development of the International Space Station.

3 (2) ACCOUNTING FOR COST LIMITATIONS.—As

4 part of the annual budget request to the Congress,

5 the Administrator shall account for the cost limita6 tions imposed by subsection (a).

7 (3) VERIFICATION OF ACCOUNTING.—The Ad8 ministrator shall arrange for a verification, by the

9 General Accounting Office, of the accounting sub10 mitted to the Congress within 60 days after the date

11 on which the budget request is transmitted to the

12 Congress.

13 (4) INSPECTOR GENERAL.—Within 60 days

14 after the Administrator provides a notice and analy15 sis to the Congress under subsection (d), the Inspec16 tor General of the National Aeronautics and Space

17 Administration shall review the notice and analysis

18 and report the results of the review to the commit19 tees to which the notice and analysis was provided.

20 SEC. 203. LIABILITY CROSS-WAIVERS FOR INTERNATIONAL

21 SPACE STATION-RELATED ACTIVITIES.

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi23 sion of law, the Administrator, on behalf of the United

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

25 may reciprocally waive claims with cooperating parties,
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1 and the related entities of such cooperating parties, under

2 which each party to each such waiver agrees to be respon3 sible, and agrees to ensure that its own related entities

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

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

6 from any injury or death sustained by its own employees

7 or agents, as a result of activities connected to the Inter8 national Space Station Program.

9 (b) LIMITATIONS.—

10 (1) CLAIMS.—A reciprocal waiver under sub11 section (a) may not preclude a claim by any natural

12 person (including, but not limited to, a natural per13 son who is an employee of the United States, the co14 operating party, or the cooperating party’s sub15 contractors) or that natural person’s estate, sur16 vivors, or subrogees for injury or death, except with

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

18 or has otherwise agreed to be bound by the terms

19 of the waiver.

20 (2) LIABILITY FOR NEGLIGENCE.—A reciprocal

21 waiver under subsection (a) may not absolve any

22 party of liability to any natural person (including,

23 but not limited to, a natural person who is an em24 ployee of the United States, the cooperating party,

25 or the cooperating party’s subcontractors) or such
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1 natural person’s estate, survivors, or subrogees for

2 negligence, except with respect to a subrogee that is

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

4 bound by the terms of the waiver.

5 (3) INDEMNIFICATION FOR DAMAGES.—A recip6 rocal waiver under subsection (a) may not be used

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

8 cooperating party for indemnification against the

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

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

11 injury or death sustained by that natural person as

12 a result of activities connected to the International

13 Space Station Program.

14 (c) SAFETY OVERSIGHT AND REVIEW REQUIRED.—

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

16 and consistent with relevant agreements with cooperating

17 parties in the International Space Station Program, the

18 Administrator shall establish overall safety requirements

19 and plans and shall conduct overall integrated system

20 safety reviews for International Space Station elements

21 and payloads, and may undertake any and all authorized

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

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

24 such elements and payloads pose no safety risks for the

25 International Space Station.
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1 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

2 (1) COOPERATING PARTY.—The term ‘‘cooper3 ating party’’ means any person who enters into an

4 agreement or contract with the Administration for

5 the performance or support of scientific, aeronauti6 cal, or space activities in furtherance of the Inter7 national Space Station Program.

8 (2) RELATED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘related en9 tity’’ includes contractors or subcontractors at any

10 tier, suppliers, grantees, and investigators or

11 detailees.

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

13 section that is defined in the National Aeronautics

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

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

16 in that Act.

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

18 applies to any waiver of claims entered into by the Admin19 istrator without regard to whether it was entered into be20 fore, on, or after the date of enactment of this Act.
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1 TITLE III—MISCELLANEOUS

2 PROVISIONS

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

4 AMENDMENTS.

5 (a) DECLARATION OF POLICY AND PURPOSE.—Sec6 tion 102 of the National Aeronautics and Space Act of

7 1958 (42 U.S.C. 2451) is amended—

8 (1) by striking subsection (f);

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

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

11 (3) in subsection (g), as redesignated by para12 graph (1) of this subsection, by striking ‘‘(f), and

13 (g)’’ and inserting ‘‘and (f)’’.

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

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

16 2476(a)) is amended—

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

18 and

19 (2) by striking ‘‘calendar’’ and inserting ‘‘fis20 cal’’.

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

22 of the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 (42

23 U.S.C. 2454) is amended by adding at the end the follow24 ing new subsection:
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1 ‘‘(c) The Administrator may delay for a period not

2 to exceed 5 years after development, the unrestricted pub3 lic disclosure of technical data that would have been a

4 trade secret or commercial or financial information that

5 is privileged or confidential under the meaning of section

6 552(b)(4) of title 5, United States Code, if the information

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

8 in which the technical data is generated in the perform9 ance of experimental, developmental, or research activities

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

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

12 the preceding sentence shall not be subject to the disclo13 sure requirements of section 552 of title 5, United States

14 Code.’’.

15 SEC. 302. USE OF EXISTING FACILITIES.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—In any case in which the Adminis17 trator considers the purchase, lease, or expansion of a fa18 cility to meet requirements of the National Aeronautics

19 and Space Administration, the Administrator, taking into

20 account the applicable requirements of Federal law relat21 ing to the use or disposal of excess or surplus property,

22 including the Federal Property and Administrative Serv23 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 2307(h)(8) of title 10, United States Code,

10 is amended by striking ‘‘and (4)’’ and inserting ‘‘(4), and

11 (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.’’.

22 SEC. 309. NASA MID-RANGE PROCUREMENT TEST PRO23 GRAM.

24 Section 5062 of the Federal Acquisition Streamlining

25 Act of 1994 (108 Stat. 3356) is amended—
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1 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting after the first

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

3 other notice of any acquisition under the test con4 ducted under this section, the Administrator shall

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

6 a notice available through, the automated version of

7 the Commerce Business Daily published by the Sec8 retary of Commerce.’’;

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

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

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

12 by the Administrator)—

13 ‘‘(1) of $2,000,000 or less; or

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

15 $10,000,000 or less.’’;

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

17 ‘‘$100,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$500,000,000’’; and

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

19 inserting ‘‘6 years’’.

20 SEC. 310. SPACE ADVERTISING.

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

22 States Code, is amended—

23 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (8) through

24 (12) as paragraphs (9) through (13), respectively;

25 and
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1 (2) by inserting after paragraph (7) the follow2 ing:

3 ‘‘(8) ‘obtrusive space advertising’ means adver4 tising in outer space that is capable of being recog5 nized by a human being on the surface of the Earth

6 without the aid of a telescope or other technological

7 device.’’.

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

9 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 70109

10 the following new section:

11 ‘‘§ 70109a. Space advertising

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

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

14 may not, for the launch of a payload containing any mate15 rial to be used for the purposes of obtrusive space

16 advertising—

17 ‘‘(1) issue or transfer a license under this chap18 ter; or

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

20 chapter.

21 ‘‘(b) LAUNCHING.—No holder of a license under this

22 chapter may launch a payload containing any material to

23 be used for purposes of obtrusive space advertising on or

24 after the date of enactment of the National Aeronautics
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1 and Space Administration Authorization Act for Fiscal

2 Year 2000.

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

4 this section shall apply to nonobtrusive commercial space

5 advertising, including advertising on—

6 ‘‘(1) commercial space transportation vehicles;

7 ‘‘(2) space infrastructure, payloads;

8 ‘‘(3) space launch facilities; and

9 ‘‘(4) launch support facilities.’’.

10 (c) NEGOTIATION WITH FOREIGN LAUNCHING NA11 TIONS.—

12 (1) The President is requested to negotiate with

13 foreign launching nations for the purpose of reach14 ing 1 or more agreements that prohibit the use of

15 outer space for obtrusive space advertising purposes.

16 (2) It is the sense of Congress that the Presi17 dent should take such action as is appropriate and

18 feasible to enforce the terms of any agreement to

19 prohibit the use of outer space for obtrusive space

20 advertising purposes.

21 (3) As used in this subsection, the term ‘‘for22 eign launching nation’’ means a nation—

23 (A) that launches, or procures the launch24 ing of, a payload into outer space; or
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1 (B) from the territory or facility of which

2 a payload is launched into outer space.

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

4 for chapter 701 is amended by inserting after the item

5 relating to section 70109 the following:

‘‘70109a. Space advertising.’’.

Æ