114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6076 

AN ACT 

To require the Administrator of the National Aeronautics 

and Space Administration to establish a program for 

the medical monitoring, diagnosis, and treatment of astronauts, 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. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘To Research, Evaluate, 

3 Assess, and Treat Astronauts Act’’ or the ‘‘TREAT Astro4 nauts Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

6 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find7 ings: 

8 (1) Human space exploration can pose signifi9 cant challenges and is full of substantial risk, which 

10 has ultimately claimed the lives of 24 National Aero11 nautics and Space Administration astronauts serving 

12 in the line of duty. 

13 (2) As United States government astronauts 

14 participate in long-duration and exploration 

15 spaceflight missions they may experience increased 

16 health risks, such as vision impairment, bone 

17 demineralization, and behavioral health and perform18 ance risks, and may be exposed to galactic cosmic 

19 radiation. Exposure to high levels of radiation and 

20 microgravity can result in acute and long-term 

21 health consequences that can increase the risk of 

22 cancer and tissue degeneration and have potential 

23 effects on the musculoskeletal system, central nerv24 ous system, cardiovascular system, immune function, 

25 and vision. 
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1 (3) To advance the goal of long-duration and 

2 exploration spaceflight missions, United States gov3 ernment astronaut Scott Kelly participated in a 1- 

4 year twins study in space while his identical twin 

5 brother, former United States government astronaut 

6 Mark Kelly, acted as a human control specimen on 

7 Earth, providing an understanding of the physical, 

8 behavioral, microbiological, and molecular reaction of 

9 the human body to an extended period of time in 

10 space. 

11 (4) Since the Administration currently provides 

12 medical monitoring, diagnosis, and treatment for 

13 United States government astronauts during their 

14 active employment, given the unknown long-term 

15 health consequences of long-duration space explo16 ration, the Administration has requested statutory 

17 authority from Congress to provide medical moni18 toring, diagnosis, and treatment to former United 

19 States government astronauts for psychological and 

20 medical conditions associated with human space 

21 flight. 

22 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con23 gress that— 

24 (1) the United States should continue to seek 

25 the unknown and lead the world in space exploration 
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1 and scientific discovery as the Administration pre2 pares for long-duration and exploration spaceflight 

3 in deep space and an eventual mission to Mars; 

4 (2) data relating to the health of astronauts will 

5 become increasingly valuable to improving our un6 derstanding of many diseases humans face on Earth; 

7 (3) the Administration should provide the type 

8 of monitoring, diagnosis, and treatment described in 

9 subsection (a) only for conditions the Administration 

10 considers unique to the training or exposure to the 

11 spaceflight environment of United States govern12 ment astronauts and should not require any former 

13 United States government astronauts to participate 

14 in the Administration’s monitoring; 

15 (4) such monitoring, diagnosis, and treatment 

16 should not replace a former United States govern17 ment astronaut’s private health insurance; 

18 (5) expanded data acquired from such moni19 toring, diagnosis, and treatment should be used to 

20 tailor treatment, inform the requirements for new 

21 spaceflight medical hardware, and develop controls 

22 in order to prevent disease occurrence in the astro23 naut corps; and 

24 (6) the 340-day space mission of Scott Kelly 

25 aboard the ISS— 
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1 (A) was pivotal for the goal of the United 

2 States for humans to explore deep space and 

3 Mars as the mission generated new insight into 

4 how the human body adjusts to weightlessness, 

5 isolation, radiation, and the stress of long-dura6 tion space flight; and 

7 (B) will help support the physical and 

8 mental well-being of astronauts during longer 

9 space exploration missions in the future. 

10 SEC. 3. MEDICAL MONITORING AND RESEARCH RELATING 

11 TO HUMAN SPACE FLIGHT. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter III of chapter 201 of 

13 title 51, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

14 end the following: 

15 ‘‘§ 20148. Medical monitoring and research relating to 

16 human space flight 

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro18 vision of law, the Administrator may provide for the med19 ical monitoring and diagnosis of a former United States 

20 government astronaut or a former payload specialist for 

21 conditions that the Administrator considers potentially as22 sociated with human space flight, and may provide for the 

23 treatment of a former United States government astro24 naut or a former payload specialist for conditions that the 

25 Administrator considers associated with human space 
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1 flight, including scientific and medical tests for psycho2 logical and medical conditions. 

3 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) NO COST SHARING.—The medical moni5 toring, diagnosis, or treatment described in sub6 section (a) shall be provided without any deductible, 

7 copayment, or other cost sharing obligation. 

8 ‘‘(2) ACCESS TO LOCAL SERVICES.—The med9 ical monitoring, diagnosis, and treatment described 

10 in subsection (a) may be provided by a local health 

11 care provider if it is unadvisable due to the health 

12 of the applicable former United States government 

13 astronaut or former payload specialist for that 

14 former United States government astronaut or 

15 former payload specialist to travel to the Lyndon B. 

16 Johnson Space Center, as determined by the Admin17 istrator. 

18 ‘‘(3) SECONDARY PAYMENT.—Payment or reim19 bursement for the medical monitoring, diagnosis, or 

20 treatment described in subsection (a) shall be sec21 ondary to any obligation of the United States gov22 ernment or any third party under any other provi23 sion of law or contractual agreement to pay for or 

24 provide such medical monitoring, diagnosis, or treat25 ment. Any costs for items and services that may be 
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1 provided by the Administrator for medical moni2 toring, diagnosis, or treatment under subsection (a) 

3 that are not paid for or provided under such other 

4 provision of law or contractual agreement, due to the 

5 application of deductibles, copayments, coinsurance, 

6 other cost sharing, or otherwise, are reimbursable by 

7 the Administrator on behalf of the former United 

8 States government astronaut or former payload spe9 cialist involved to the extent such items or services 

10 are authorized to be provided by the Administrator 

11 for such medical monitoring, diagnosis, or treatment 

12 under subsection (a). 

13 ‘‘(4) CONDITIONAL PAYMENT.—The Adminis14 trator may provide for conditional payments for or 

15 provide medical monitoring, diagnosis, or treatment 

16 described in subsection (a) that is obligated to be 

17 paid for or provided by the United States or any 

18 third party under any other provision of law or con19 tractual agreement to pay for or provide such med20 ical monitoring, diagnosis, or treatment if— 

21 ‘‘(A) payment for (or the provision of) 

22 such medical monitoring, diagnosis, or treat23 ment services has not been made (or provided) 

24 or cannot reasonably be expected to be made 
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1 (or provided) promptly by the United States or 

2 such third party, respectively; and 

3 ‘‘(B) such payment (or such provision of 

4 services) by the Administrator is conditioned on 

5 reimbursement by the United States or such 

6 third party, respectively, for such medical moni7 toring, diagnosis, or treatment. 

8 ‘‘(c) EXCLUSIONS.—The Administrator may not— 

9 ‘‘(1) provide for medical monitoring or diag10 nosis of a former United States government astro11 naut or former payload specialist under subsection 

12 (a) for any psychological or medical condition that 

13 is not potentially associated with human space flight; 

14 ‘‘(2) provide for treatment of a former United 

15 States government astronaut or former payload spe16 cialist under subsection (a) for any psychological or 

17 medical condition that is not associated with human 

18 space flight; or 

19 ‘‘(3) require a former United States govern20 ment astronaut or former payload specialist to par21 ticipate in the medical monitoring, diagnosis, or 

22 treatment authorized under subsection (a). 

23 ‘‘(d) PRIVACY.—Consistent with applicable provisions 

24 of Federal law relating to privacy, the Administrator shall 
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1 protect the privacy of all medical records generated under 

2 subsection (a) and accessible to the Administration. 

3 ‘‘(e) REGULATIONS.—The Administrator shall pro4 mulgate such regulations as are necessary to carry out this 

5 section. 

6 ‘‘(f) DEFINITION OF UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT

7 ASTRONAUT.—In this section, the term ‘United States 

8 government astronaut’ has the meaning given the term 

9 ‘government astronaut’ in section 50902, except it does 

10 not include an individual who is an international partner 

11 astronaut. 

12 ‘‘(g) DATA USE AND DISCLOSURE.—The Adminis13 trator may use or disclose data acquired in the course of 

14 medical monitoring, diagnosis, or treatment of a former 

15 United States government astronaut or a former payload 

16 specialist under subsection (a), in accordance with sub17 section (d). Former United States government astronaut 

18 or former payload specialist participation in medical moni19 toring, diagnosis, or treatment under subsection (a) shall 

20 constitute consent for the Administrator to use or disclose 

21 such data.’’. 

22 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

23 for chapter 201 of title 51, United States Code is amended 

24 by inserting after the item relating to section 20147 the 

25 following: 

‘‘20148. Medical monitoring and research relating to human space flight’’. 
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1 (c) ANNUAL REPORTS.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each fiscal year, not later 

3 than the date of submission of the President’s an4 nual budget request for that fiscal year under sec5 tion 1105 of title 31, United States Code, the Ad6 ministrator of the National Aeronautics and Space 

7 Administration shall publish a report, in accordance 

8 with applicable Federal privacy laws, on the activi9 ties of the National Aeronautics and Space Adminis10 tration under section 20148 of title 51, United 

11 States Code, as added by subsection (a). 

12 (2) CONTENTS.—Each report under paragraph 

13 (1) shall include a detailed cost accounting of the 

14 Administration’s activities under such section 20148 

15 of title 51, United States Code, and a 5-year budget 

16 estimate. 

17 (3) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—The Adminis18 trator shall submit to the appropriate committees of 

19 Congress each report under paragraph (1) not later 

20 than the date of submission of the President’s an21 nual budget request for that fiscal year under sec22 tion 1105 of title 31, United States Code. 

23 (d) COST ESTIMATE.— 

24 (1) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 90 days 

25 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis-
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1 trator of the National Aeronautics and Space Ad2 ministration shall enter into an arrangement with an 

3 independent external organization to undertake an 

4 independent cost estimate of the cost to the National 

5 Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Fed6 eral Government to implement and administer the 

7 activities of the National Aeronautics and Space Ad8 ministration under section 20148 of title 51, United 

9 States Code, as added by subsection (a). The inde10 pendent external organization may not be an entity 

11 of the National Aeronautics and Space Administra12 tion, such as the Office of Safety and Mission Assur13 ance. 

14 (2) SUBMITTAL TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 

15 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

16 the Administrator shall submit the independent cost 

17 estimate undertaken pursuant to paragraph (1) to 

18 the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of 

19 the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

20 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen21 ate. 

22 (e) PRIVACY STUDY.— 

23 (1) STUDY.—The Administrator of the National 

24 Aeronautics and Space Administration shall carry 

25 out a study on any potential privacy or legal issues 
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1 related to the possible sharing beyond the Federal 

2 Government of data acquired under the activities of 

3 the National Aeronautics and Space Administration 

4 under section 20148 of title 51, United States Code, 

5 as added by subsection (a). 

6 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 270 days after 

7 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Adminis8 trator shall submit to the Committee on Science, 

9 Space, and Technology of the House of Representa10 tives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

11 Transportation of the Senate a report containing the 

12 results of the study carried out under paragraph (1). 

13 (f) INSPECTOR GENERAL AUDIT.—The Inspector 

14 General of the National Aeronautics and Space Adminis15 tration shall periodically audit or review, as the Inspector 

16 General considers necessary to prevent waste, fraud, and 

17 abuse, the activities of the National Aeronautics and 

18 Space Administration under section 20148 of title 51, 

19 United States Code, as added by subsection (a). 

Passed the House of Representatives December 7, 

2016. 

Attest: 

Clerk. 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6076 

AN ACT 

To require the Administrator of the National Aeroposes. and treatment of astronauts, and for other pur- program for the medical monitoring, diagnosis, nautics and Space Administration to establish a