I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5587 

To establish a United States Commission on Planetary Defense, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 23, 2010 

Mr. ROHRABACHER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Science and Technology 

A BILL 

To establish a United States Commission on Planetary 

Defense, 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. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION. 

4 There is established in the legislative branch the 

5 United States Commission on Planetary Defense (in this 

6 Act referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’). 

7 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

8 The purposes of the Commission are to— 

9 (1) determine capabilities of United States Gov10 ernment entities, nongovernment organizations, forVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:07 Jun 24, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5587.IH H5587

srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 5587 IH

1 eign governments and entities, and international 

2 bodies to detect, characterize, and neutralize poten3 tially dangerous Near Earth Objects (in this Act re4 ferred to as ‘‘NEOs’’); 

5 (2) identify and evaluate roles and responsibil6 ities of United States Government entities to detect, 

7 characterize, and neutralize potentially dangerous 

8 NEOs; 

9 (3) determine United States effectiveness in 

10 leading international efforts to detect, characterize, 

11 and neutralize potentially dangerous NEOs; 

12 (4) build upon United States Government and 

13 foreign analyses, studies, and assessments, without 

14 duplicating efforts, to determine current and re15 quired NEO characterization and mitigation capa16 bilities; 

17 (5) identify and report on technology develop18 ment required to provide effective planetary defense 

19 from dangerous NEOs; and 

20 (6) investigate and report to the President and 

21 Congress on its findings, conclusions, and rec22 ommendations for corrective measures that can be 

23 taken to provide planetary defense. 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 5587 IH

1 SEC. 3. COMPOSITION OF COMMISSION. 

2 (a) MEMBERS.—The Commission shall be composed 

3 of 7 members, of whom— 

4 (1) 1 member shall be appointed by the Chair5 man of the Committee on Science and Technology of 

6 the House of Representatives, who shall serve as 

7 chairman of the Commission; 

8 (2) 1 member shall be appointed by the Chair9 man of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

10 Transportation of the Senate, who shall serve as vice 

11 chairman of the Commission; 

12 (3) 1 member shall be appointed by the Chair13 man of the Committee on Science and Technology of 

14 the House of Representatives; 

15 (4) 2 members shall be appointed by the Rank16 ing Minority Member of the Committee on Science 

17 and Technology of the House of Representatives; 

18 (5) 1 member shall be appointed by the Chair19 man of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

20 Transportation of the Senate; and 

21 (6) 1 member shall be appointed by the Rank22 ing Minority Member of the Committee on Com23 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate. 

24 (b) QUALIFICATIONS; INITIAL MEETING.— 

25 (1) NONGOVERNMENTAL APPOINTEES.—An in26 dividual appointed to the Commission may be an ofVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:07 Jun 24, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5587.IH H5587

srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 5587 IH

1 ficer or employee of the Federal Government or any 

2 State or local government. 

3 (2) OTHER QUALIFICATIONS.—Individuals ap4 pointed to the Commission shall be prominent 

5 United States citizens, with national recognition and 

6 significant depth of experience in astronomy, geol7 ogy, physics, nuclear weapons systems, space sys8 tems, advanced technology, foreign affairs, or other 

9 relevant disciplines. 

10 (3) DEADLINE FOR APPOINTMENT.—All mem11 bers of the Commission shall be appointed on or be12 fore ølllll, 2010¿. 

13 (4) INITIAL MEETING.—The Commission shall 

14 meet and begin the operations of the Commission as 

15 soon as practicable. 

16 (c) QUORUM; VACANCIES.—After its initial meeting, 

17 the Commission shall meet upon the call of the chairman 

18 or a majority of its members. Four members of the Com19 mission shall constitute a quorum. Any vacancy in the 

20 Commission shall not affect its powers, but shall be filled 

21 in the same manner in which the original appointment was 

22 made. 

23 SEC. 4. FUNCTIONS OF COMMISSION. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—The functions of the Commission 

25 are as follows: 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 5587 IH

1 (1) Identify, review, and evaluate the structure, 

2 coordination, management policies, and procedures 

3 of the Federal Government, and, as appropriate, 

4 international bodies, and nongovernmental entities, 

5 relative to detecting, characterizing, mitigating, and 

6 over all response efforts to dangerous NEOs. 

7 (2) Assess United States and foreign technology 

8 readiness levels required to provide effective plan9 etary defense and make recommendations to develop 

10 required technologies, including NEO detection and 

11 characterization systems, spacecraft, propulsion sys12 tems, nuclear devices, high order explosive systems, 

13 modeling and simulation capabilities, and laser sys14 tems. 

15 (3) Submit to the President and Congress such 

16 reports as are required by this Act containing such 

17 findings, conclusions, and recommendations as the 

18 Commission shall determine, including proposing or19 ganization, coordination, planning, management ar20 rangements, procedures, rules, and regulations. 

21 SEC. 5. POWERS OF COMMISSION. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

23 (1) HEARINGS AND EVIDENCE.—The Commis24 sion or, on the authority of the Commission, any 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 5587 IH

1 subcommittee or member thereof, may, for the pur2 pose of carrying out this Act— 

3 (A) hold such hearings and sit and act at 

4 such times and places, take such testimony, re5 ceive such evidence, and administer such oaths. 

6 (b) CONTRACTING.—The Commission may, to such 

7 extent and in such amounts as are provided in appropria8 tion Acts, enter into contracts to enable the Commission 

9 to discharge its duties under this Act. 

10 (c) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission is author12 ized to secure directly from any executive depart13 ment, bureau, agency, board, commission, office, 

14 independent establishment, or instrumentality of the 

15 Government, information, suggestions, estimates, 

16 and statistics for the purposes of this Act. Each de17 partment, bureau, agency, board, commission, office, 

18 independent establishment, or instrumentality shall, 

19 to the extent authorized by law, furnish such infor20 mation, suggestions, estimates, and statistics di21 rectly to the Commission, upon request made by the 

22 chairman, the chairman of any subcommittee cre23 ated by a majority of the Commission, or any mem24 ber designated by a majority of the Commission. 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 5587 IH

1 (2) RECEIPT, HANDLING, STORAGE, AND DIS2 SEMINATION.—Information shall only be received, 

3 handled, stored, and disseminated by members of 

4 the Commission and its staff consistent with all ap5 plicable statutes, regulations, and Executive orders. 

6 (d) ASSISTANCE FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

7 (1) GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION.— 

8 The Administrator of General Services shall provide 

9 to the Commission on a reimbursable basis adminis10 trative support and other services for the perform11 ance of the Commission’s functions. 

12 (2) OTHER DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES.—In 

13 addition to the assistance prescribed in paragraph 

14 (1), departments and agencies of the United States 

15 may provide to the Commission such services, funds, 

16 facilities, staff, and other support services as they 

17 may determine advisable and as may be authorized 

18 by law. 

19 (e) GIFTS.—The Commission may accept, use, and 

20 dispose of gifts or donations of services or property. 

21 (f) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Commission may use 

22 the United States mails in the same manner and under 

23 the same conditions as departments and agencies of the 

24 United States. 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 5587 IH

1 SEC. 6. NONAPPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL ADVISORY COM2 MITTEE ACT. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Advisory Committee 

4 Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the Commission. 

5 (b) PUBLIC MEETINGS AND RELEASE OF PUBLIC

6 VERSIONS OF REPORTS.—The Commission shall— 

7 (1) hold public hearings and meetings to the ex8 tent appropriate; and 

9 (2) release public versions of the reports re10 quired under section 10(a) and (b). 

11 (c) PUBLIC HEARINGS.—Any public hearings of the 

12 Commission shall be conducted in a manner consistent 

13 with the protection of information provided to or developed 

14 for or by the Commission as required by any applicable 

15 statute, regulation, or Executive order. 

16 SEC. 7. STAFF OF COMMISSION. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

18 (1) APPOINTMENT AND COMPENSATION.—The 

19 chairman, in consultation with vice chairman, in ac20 cordance with rules agreed upon by the Commission, 

21 may appoint and fix the compensation of a staff di22 rector and such other personnel as may be necessary 

23 to enable the Commission to carry out its functions, 

24 without regard to the provisions of title 5, United 

25 States Code, governing appointments in the competi26 tive service, and without regard to the provisions of 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 5587 IH

1 chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such 

2 title relating to classification and General Schedule 

3 pay rates, except that no rate of pay fixed under this 

4 paragraph may exceed the equivalent of that payable 

5 for a position at level V of the Executive Schedule 

6 under section 5316 of title 5, United States Code. 

7 (2) PERSONNEL AS FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—The executive director 

9 and any personnel of the Commission who are 

10 employees shall be employees under section 

11 2105 of title 5, United States Code, for pur12 poses of chapters 63, 81, 83, 84, 85, 87, 89, 

13 and 90 of that title. 

14 (B) MEMBERS OF COMMISSION.—Subpara15 graph (A) shall not be construed to apply to 

16 members of the Commission. 

17 (b) DETAILEES.—Any Federal Government employee 

18 may be detailed to the Commission without reimbursement 

19 from the Commission, and such detailee shall retain the 

20 rights, status, and privileges of his or her regular employ21 ment without interruption. 

22 (c) CONSULTANT SERVICES.—The Commission is au23 thorized to procure the services of experts and consultants 

24 in accordance with section 3109 of title 5, United States 

25 Code, but at rates not to exceed the daily rate paid a perVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:07 Jun 24, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5587.IH H5587

srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 5587 IH

1 son occupying a position at level IV of the Executive 

2 Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United States 

3 Code. 

4 SEC. 8. COMPENSATION AND TRAVEL EXPENSES. 

5 (a) COMPENSATION.—Each member of the Commis6 sion may be compensated at not to exceed the daily equiva7 lent of the annual rate of basic pay in effect for a position 

8 at level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 

9 of title 5, United States Code, for each day during which 

10 that member is engaged in the actual performance of the 

11 duties of the Commission. 

12 (b) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—While away from their 

13 homes or regular places of business in the performance 

14 of services for the Commission, members of the Commis15 sion shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem 

16 in lieu of subsistence, in the same manner as persons em17 ployed intermittently in the Government service are al18 lowed expenses under section 5703(b) of title 5, United 

19 States Code. 

20 SEC. 9. SECURITY CLEARANCES FOR COMMISSION MEM21 BERS AND STAFF. 

22 The appropriate Federal agencies or departments 

23 shall cooperate with the Commission in expeditiously pro24 viding to the Commission members and staff appropriate 

25 security clearances to the extent possible pursuant to exVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:07 Jun 24, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5587.IH H5587

srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 5587 IH

1 isting procedures and requirements, except that no person 

2 shall be provided with access to classified information 

3 under this Act without the appropriate security clearances. 

4 SEC. 10. REPORTS OF COMMISSION; TERMINATION. 

5 (a) INTERIM REPORTS.—The Commission may sub6 mit to the President and Congress interim reports con7 taining such findings, conclusions, and recommendations 

8 for corrective measures as have been agreed to by a major9 ity of Commission members. 

10 (b) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after 

11 the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall 

12 submit to the President and Congress a final report con13 taining such findings, conclusions, and recommendations 

14 for corrective measures as have been agreed to by a major15 ity of Commission members. 

16 (c) TERMINATION.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission, and all the 

18 authorities of this Act, shall terminate 120 days 

19 after the date on which the final report is submitted 

20 under subsection (b). 

21 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITIES BEFORE TER22 MINATION.—The Commission may use the 120-day 

23 period referred to in paragraph (1) for the purpose 

24 of concluding its activities, including providing testiVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:07 Jun 24, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5587.IH H5587

srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with BILLS
12 

•HR 5587 IH

1 mony to committees of Congress concerning its re2 ports and disseminating the final report. 

3 SEC. 11. FUNDING. 

4 ø(a) TRANSFER FROM THE llll.—Of the 

5 amounts authorized to be appropriated by this Act and 

6 made available in Public Law lllll not to exceed 

7 $2,000,000 shall be available for transfer to the Commis8 sion for purposes of the activities of the Commission under 

9 this Act.¿ 

10 (b) DURATION OF AVAILABILITY.—Amounts made 

11 available to the Commission under subsection (a) shall re12 main available until the termination of the Commission. 

Æ 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with BILLS