I

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4820

To impose accountability on the International Space Station, and for other

purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

OCTOBER 13, 1998

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

Committee on Science

A BILL

To impose accountability on the International Space Station,

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.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Save the International

5 Space Station Act of 1998’’.

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

7 For purposes of this Act—

8 (1) the term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Ad9 ministrator of the National Aeronautics and Space

10 Administration; and
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1 (2) the term ‘‘critical path’’ means the sequence

2 of events of a schedule of events under which a delay

3 in any of those events causes a delay in the overall

4 schedule.

5 SEC. 3. INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION LIMITATIONS.

6 (a) TRANSFER OF FUNDS TO RUSSIA.—Notwith7 standing any other provision of law, no funds or in-kind

8 payments shall be transferred to any entity of the Russian

9 Government or any Russian contractor when such funds

10 are intended to be used to perform work on the Inter11 national Space Station which the Russian Government

12 pledged, at any time, to provide at its expense. No funds

13 or in-kind payments shall be made to any entity of the

14 Russian Government in exchange for any goods or services

15 associated with the International Space Station, except

16 pursuant to a contract or agreement in effect as of the

17 date of the enactment of this Act. If the Administrator

18 determines that an exception to this subsection is nec19 essary, the Administrator shall submit the reasons and

20 justifications for such exception, in writing, to the Con21 gress. Such submittal shall also include an explanation of

22 whether such work will be the result of, or such goods or

23 services will be procured through, a competitively awarded

24 contract, and if not, shall also include the reasons and jus25 tifications why such work, goods, or services could not be
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1 competitively bid. Such exception shall not be approved if,

2 within 30 days after submittal to the Congress, any two

3 of the following Committees objects in writing: the Com4 mittee on Appropriations and the Committee on Science

5 of the House of Representatives, and of the Committee

6 on Appropriations and the Committee on Commerce,

7 Science, and Transportation of the Senate. This sub8 section shall not apply to the purchase or modification of

9 the Russian built, United States owned Functional Cargo

10 Block, known as the ‘‘FGB’’.

11 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the

12 Congress that if the Russian Government is unable to pro13 vide at its own expense any contribution, capability, or

14 launch service to the International Space Station which

15 the Russian Government pledged, at any time, to provide

16 at its own expense, the Memorandum of Understanding

17 between the National Aeronautics and Space Administra18 tion and the Russian Space Agency, and, if necessary, the

19 Intergovernmental Agreement among all the International

20 Space Station partners, should be renegotiated to reduce

21 Russia’s benefits commensurate with its reduced level of

22 contribution to the International Space Station.

23 (c) CONTINGENCY PLAN FOR RUSSIAN ELEMENTS IN

24 CRITICAL PATH.—The Administrator shall develop and

25 deliver to Congress, with the President’s budget request
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1 for fiscal year 2000, a contingency plan for the removal

2 or replacement of each Russian Government contribution

3 or capability of the International Space Station that lies

4 in the critical path, as well as Russian space launch serv5 ices. Such plan shall include—

6 (1) decision points for removing or replacing

7 those contributions, capabilities, and launch services

8 necessary for completion of the International Space

9 Station;

10 (2) the estimated cost of implementing each

11 such decision; and

12 (3) the estimated cost of removing or replacing

13 a Russian Government critical path contribution, ca14 pability, or launch service after its decision point has

15 passed, if—

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

17 remove or replace the Russian Government con18 tribution, capability, or launch service; and

19 (B) the Administrator later determines

20 that the Russian Government will be unable to

21 provide the critical path contribution, capabil22 ity, or launch service in a manner to allow com23 pletion of the International Space Station.

24 (d) BI-MONTHLY REPORTING ON RUSSIAN STA25 TUS.—On or before December 1, 1998, and until comple-
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1 tion of the assembly of the International Space Station,

2 the Administrator shall report to Congress on the first day

3 of every other month whether or not the Russians have

4 performed work expected of them and necessary to com5 plete the International Space Station. Such report shall

6 also include a statement of the Administrator’s judgment

7 concerning Russia’s ability to perform work anticipated

8 and required to complete the International Space Station

9 before the next report under this subsection.

10 (e) DECISION ON RUSSIAN CRITICAL PATH ITEMS.—

11 The President shall notify Congress, by April 1, 1999, of

12 the decision on whether or not to proceed with permanent

13 replacement of the Russian Service Module, other Russian

14 contributions or capabilities in the critical path of the

15 International Space Station, or Russian launch services.

16 Such notification shall include the reasons and justifica17 tions for the decision and the costs associated with the

18 decision. Such decision shall include a judgment of when

19 the assembly of the International Space Station will be

20 completed. If the President decides, after April 1, 1999,

21 to proceed with a permanent replacement for the Russian

22 Service Module or any other Russian contribution or capa23 bility in the critical path or Russian launch service, the

24 President shall notify Congress of the reasons and jus25 tification for the decision to proceed with the permanent
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1 replacement, and the costs associated with the decision,

2 including the cost difference between making such decision

3 by April 1, 1999, and any later date at which it is made.

4 SEC. 4. COST LIMITATION FOR THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE

5 STATION.

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

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

8 (1) costs of the International Space Station

9 through completion of assembly may not exceed

10 $21,900,000,000; and

11 (2) space shuttle launch costs in connection

12 with the assembly of the International Space Station

13 through completion of assembly may not exceed

14 $17,700,000,000 (determined at the rate of

15 $380,000,000 per space shuttle flight).

16 (b) COSTS TO WHICH LIMITATION APPLIES.—

17 (1) DEVELOPMENT COSTS.—The limitation im18 posed by subsection (a)(1) does not apply to funding

19 for operations, research, and crew return activities

20 subsequent to substantial completion of the Inter21 national Space Station.

22 (2) LAUNCH COSTS.—The limitation imposed

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

24 launch costs in connection with operations, research,
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1 and crew return activities subsequent to substantial

2 completion of the International Space Station.

3 (3) SUBSTANTIAL COMPLETION.—For purposes

4 of this subsection, the International Space Station is

5 considered to be substantially completed when the

6 development costs comprise 5 percent or less of the

7 total International Space Station costs for the fiscal

8 year.

9 (c) AUTOMATIC INCREASE OF LIMITATION

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

11 each be increased to reflect any increase in costs attrib12 utable to—

13 (1) economic inflation;

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

15 or local laws enacted after the date of enactment of

16 this Act;

17 (3) the lack of performance or the termination

18 of participation of any of the International countries

19 participating in the International Space Station; and

20 (4) new technologies to improve safety, reliabil21 ity, maintainability, availability, or utilization of the

22 International Space Station, or to reduce costs after

23 completion of assembly, including increases in costs

24 for on-orbit assembly sequence problems, increased

25 ground testing, verification and integration activi-
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1 ties, contingency responses to on-orbit failures, and

2 design improvements to reduce the risk of on-orbit

3 failures.

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

5 provide with each annual budget request a written notice

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

7 amounts set forth in subsection (a) to the Senate Commit8 tees on Appropriations and on Commerce, Science, and

9 Transportation and to the House of Representatives Com10 mittees on Appropriations and on Science. The written no11 tice shall include—

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

13 including the costs associated with the change and

14 the expected benefit to the program to be derived

15 from the change; and

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

17 schedule and annual funding estimates of not receiv18 ing the requested increases.

19 (e) REPORTING AND REVIEW.—

20 (1) IDENTIFICATION OF COSTS.—

21 (A) SPACE SHUTTLE.—As part of the over22 all space shuttle program budget request for

23 each fiscal year, the Administrator shall iden24 tify separately the amounts of the requested

25 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 analy20 sis to the Congress under subsection (d), the Inspec21 tor General of the National Aeronautics and Space

22 Administration shall review the notice and analysis

23 and report the results of the review to the commit24 tees to which the notice and analysis was provided.
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1 SEC. 5. 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 National Aeronautics

14 and Space Administration or the cooperating party

15 for indemnification against the other for damages

16 paid to a natural person, or that natural person’s es17 tate, survivors, or subrogees, for injury or death sus18 tained by that natural person as a result of activities

19 connected to the International Space Station Pro20 gram.

21 (c) SAFETY OVERSIGHT AND REVIEW REQUIRED.—

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

23 and consistent with relevant agreements with cooperating

24 parties in the International Space Station Program, the

25 Administrator shall establish overall safety requirements
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1 and plans and shall conduct overall integrated system

2 safety reviews for International Space Station elements

3 and payloads, and may undertake any and all authorized

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

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

6 such elements and payloads pose no safety risks for the

7 International Space Station.

8 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

9 (1) COOPERATING PARTY.—The term ‘‘cooper10 ating party’’ means any person who enters into an

11 agreement or contract with the National Aeronautics

12 and Space Administration for the performance or

13 support of scientific, aeronautical, or space activities

14 in furtherance of the International Space Station

15 Program.

16 (2) RELATED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘related en17 tity’’ includes contractors or subcontractors at any

18 tier, suppliers, grantees, and investigators or

19 detailees.

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

21 section that is defined in the National Aeronautics

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

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

24 in that Act.
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1 (e) EFFECT ON PREVIOUS WAIVERS.—Subsection (a)

2 applies to any waiver of claims entered into by the Admin3 istrator without regard to whether it was entered into be4 fore, on, or after the date of enactment of this Act.

5 SEC. 6. SPACE STATION ACCOUNTING REPORTS.

6 (a) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after

7 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator

8 shall transmit to the Congress a report containing a de9 scription of all Space Station-related agreements entered

10 into by the United States with a foreign entity after Sep11 tember 30, 1993, along with—

12 (1) a complete accounting of all costs and bene13 fits to the United States during fiscal years 1994

14 through 1998 pursuant to each such agreement; and

15 (2) an estimate of costs and benefits after fiscal

16 year 1998 to the United States pursuant to each

17 such agreement.

18 (b) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than 90 days after

19 the date of the enactment of this Act, and not later than

20 60 days after the end of each fiscal year beginning with

21 fiscal year 1999, the Administrator shall transmit to the

22 Congress a report containing a description of all Space

23 Station-related agreements entered into by the United

24 States with a foreign entity during the preceding fiscal

25 year, along with—
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1 (1) a complete accounting of all costs and bene2 fits to the United States during that fiscal year pur3 suant to each such agreement; and

4 (2) an estimate of future costs and benefits to

5 the United States pursuant to each such agreement.

6 SEC. 7. REPORT ON INTERNATIONAL HARDWARE AGREE7 MENTS.

8 Not later than 90 days after the date of the enact9 ment of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit to the

10 Committee on Science of the House of Representatives

11 and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor12 tation of the Senate a report on—

13 (1) agreements that have been reached with for14 eign entities to transfer to a foreign entity the devel15 opment and manufacture of International Space Sta16 tion hardware baselined to be provided by the

17 United States; and

18 (2) the impact of those agreements on United

19 States operating costs and United States utilization

20 shares of the International Space Station.

21 At least 60 days before entering into any additional agree22 ments of the type described in paragraph (1), the Admin23 istrator shall report to the Committee on Science of the

24 House of Representatives and the Committee on Com25 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate the na-
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1 ture of the proposed agreement and the anticipated cost,

2 schedule, commercial, and utilization impacts of the pro3 posed agreement.

4 SEC. 8. FOREIGN CONTRACT LIMITATION.

5 The National Aeronautics and Space Administration

6 shall not enter into any agreement or contract with a for7 eign government, for the provision by that government of

8 goods and services, that grants the foreign government the

9 right to recover profit in the event that the agreement or

10 contract is terminated.

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