(6) whether the public interest requires that cer-
tain Space Shuttle functions continue to be performed
by the Federal Government; and
(7) how much cost savings, if any, will be gen-
erated by privatization of the Space Shuttle.
(c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Within 60 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration shall complete the study re-
quired under subsection (b) and shall submit a report on
the study to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Science
of the House of Representatives.
SEC. 311. LAUNCH VOUCHER DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM
AMENDMENTS.
Section 504 of the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 1993 (15
U.S.C. 5803) is amended—
(1) in subsection (a)—
(A) by striking ‘‘the Office of Commercial
Programs within’’; and
(B) by striking ‘‘Such program shall not be
effective after September 30, 1995.’’;
(2) by striking subsection (c); and
(3) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as
subsections (c) and (d), respectively.
SEC. 312. USE OF ABANDONED AND UNDERUTILIZED BUILD-
INGS, GROUNDS, AND FACILITIES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—In meeting the needs of the Na-
tional Aeronautics and Space Administration for addi-
tional facilities, the Administrator, whenever feasible, shall
select abandoned and underutilized buildings, grounds, and
facilities in depressed communities that can be converted
to National Aeronautics and Space Administration facili-
ties at a reasonable cost, as determined by the Adminis-
trator.
(b) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the
term ‘‘depressed communities’’ means rural and urban com-
munities that are relatively depressed, in terms of age of
housing, extent of poverty, growth of per capita income, ex-
tent of unemployment, job lag, or surplus labor.
SEC. 313. COST EFFECTIVENESS CALCULATIONS.
In calculating the cost effectiveness of the cost of the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration engaging
in an activity as compared to a commercial provider, the
Administrator shall compare the cost of the National Aero-
nautics and Space Administration engaging in the activity
using full cost accounting principles with the price the com-
mercial provider will charge for such activity.
SEC. 314. FOREIGN CONTRACT LIMITATION.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration
shall not enter into any agreement or contract with a for-
eign government that grants the foreign government the
right to recover profit in the event that the agreement or
contract is terminated.
SEC. 315. AUTHORITY TO REDUCE OR SUSPEND CONTRACT
PAYMENTS BASED ON SUBSTANTIAL EVI-
DENCE OF FRAUD.
Section 2307(h)(8) of title 10, United States Code, is
amended by striking ‘‘and (4)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof
‘‘(4), and (6)’’.
SEC. 316. NEXT GENERATION INTERNET.
None of the funds authorized by this Act, or any other
Act enacted before the date of the enactment of this Act,
may be used for the Next Generation Internet. Notwith-
standing the previous sentence, funds may be used for the
continuation of programs and activities that were funded
and carried out during fiscal year 1997.
SEC. 317. LIMITATIONS.
(a) PROHIBITION OF LOBBYING ACTIVITIES.—None of
the funds authorized by this Act and the amendments made
by this Act shall be available for any activity whose purpose
is to influence legislation pending before the Congress, ex-
cept that this subsection shall not prevent officers or em-
ployees of the United States or of its departments or agen-
cies from communicating to Members of Congress on the re-
quest of any Member or to Congress, through the proper
channels, requests for legislation or appropriations which
they deem necessary for the efficient conduct of the public
business.
(b) LIMITATION ON APPROPRIATIONS.—No sums are
authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator for fis-
cal years 1998 and 1999 for the activities for which sums
are authorized by this Act and the amendments made by
this Act, unless such sums are specifically authorized to be
appropriated by this Act or the amendments made by this
Act.
(c) ELIGIBILITY FOR AWARDS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall ex-
clude from consideration for grant agreements made
by the National Aeronautics and Space Administra-
tion after fiscal year 1997 any person who received
funds, other than those described in paragraph (2),
appropriated for a fiscal year after fiscal year 1997,
under a grant agreement from any Federal funding
source for a project that was not subjected to a com-
petitive, merit-based award process. Any exclusion
from consideration pursuant to this subsection shall
be effective for a period of 5 years after the person re-
ceives such Federal funds.
(2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not apply
to the receipt of Federal funds by a person due to the
membership of that person in a class specified by law
for which assistance is awarded to members of the
class according to a formula provided by law.
(3) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this sub-
section, the term ‘‘grant agreement’’ means a legal in-
strument whose principal purpose is to transfer a
thing of value to the recipient to carry out a public
purpose of support or stimulation authorized by a
law of the United States, and does not include the ac-
quisition (by purchase, lease, or barter) of property or
services for the direct benefit or use of the United
States Government. Such term does not include a co-
operative agreement (as such term is used in section
6305 of title 31, United States Code) or a cooperative
research and development agreement (as such term is
defined in section 12(d)(1) of the Stevenson-Wydler
Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C.
3710a(d)(1))).
SEC. 318. NOTICE.
(a) NOTICE OF REPROGRAMMING.—If any funds au-
thorized by this Act or the amendments made by this Act
are subject to a reprogramming action that requires notice
to be provided to the Appropriations Committees of the
House of Representatives and the Senate, notice of such ac-
tion shall concurrently be provided to the Committee on
Science of the House of Representatives and the Committee
on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate.
(b) NOTICE OF REORGANIZATION.—The Administrator
shall provide notice to the Committees on Science and Ap-
propriations of the House of Representatives, and the Com-
mittees on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and Ap-
propriations of the Senate, not later than 15 days before
any major reorganization of any program, project, or activ-
ity of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
SEC. 319. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON THE YEAR 2000 PROB-
LEM.
With the year 2000 fast approaching, it is the sense
of Congress that the National Aeronautics and Space Ad-
ministration should—
(1) give high priority to correcting all 2-digit
date-related problems in its computer systems to en-
sure that those systems continue to operate effectively
in the year 2000 and beyond;
(2) assess immediately the extent of the risk to
the operations of the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration posed by the problems referred to in
paragraph (1), and plan and budget for achieving
Year 2000 compliance for all of its mission-critical
systems; and
(3) develop contingency plans for those systems
that the National Aeronautics and Space Administra-
tion is unable to correct in time.
SEC. 320. NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PARTNERSHIP PRO-
GRAM.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration
is authorized to participate in the National Oceanic Part-
nership Program established by the National Oceanic Part-
nership Act (Public Law 104–201).
SEC. 321. NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION ANTARCTIC
PROGRAM.
If the Administrator determines that excess capacity
is available on the Tracking Data Relay Satellite System
(TDRSS), the Administrator shall give strong consideration
to meeting the needs of the National Science Foundation
Antarctic Program.
SEC. 322. BUY AMERICAN.
(a) COMPLIANCE WITH BUY AMERICAN ACT.—No
funds appropriated pursuant to this Act or the amendments
made by this Act may be expended by an entity unless the
entity agrees that in expending the assistance the entity will
comply with sections 2 through 4 of the Act of March 3,
1933 (41 U.S.C. 10a–10c, popularly known as the ‘‘Buy
American Act’’).
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—In the case of any equip-
ment or products that may be authorized to be purchased
with financial assistance provided under this Act or the
amendments made by this Act, it is the sense of Congress
that entities receiving such assistance should, in expending
the assistance, purchase only American-made equipment
and products.
(c) NOTICE TO RECIPIENTS OF ASSISTANCE.—In pro-
viding financial assistance under this Act or the amend-
ments made by this Act, the Administrator shall provide
to each recipient of the assistance a notice describing the
statement made in subsection (a) by the Congress.