133 
(2) the past activities of the NASA Advisory 
Council and the activities of other analogous Federal 
advisory bodies; and 
(3) any other issues that the National Academy 
of Public Administration determines could poten-
tially impact the effectiveness of the Council. 
(c) REPORT.—The National Academy of Public Ad-
ministration shall submit to the appropriate committees 
of Congress the results of the assessment, including any 
recommendations. 
(d) CONSULTATION AND ADVICE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 20113(g) of title 51, 
United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘and 
Congress’’ after ‘‘advice to the Administration’’. 
(2) SUNSET.—Effective September 30, 2017, 
section 20113(g) of title 51, United States Code, is 
amended by striking ‘‘and Congress’’. 
SEC. 836. COST ESTIMATION. 
(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that— 
(1) realistic cost estimating is critically impor-
tant to the ultimate success of major space develop-
ment projects; and 
(2) the Administration has devoted significant 
efforts over the past 5 years to improving its cost- 
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estimating capabilities, but it is important that the 
Administration continue its efforts to develop and 
implement guidance in establishing realistic cost es-
timates. 
(b) GUIDANCE AND CRITERIA.—The Administrator 
shall provide to its acquisition programs and projects, in 
a manner consistent with the Administration’s Space 
Flight Program and Project Management Requirements— 
(1) guidance on when to use an Independent 
Cost Estimate and Independent Cost Assessment; 
and 
(2) criteria to use to make a determination 
under paragraph (1). 
SEC. 837. FACILITIES AND INFRASTRUCTURE. 
(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that— 
(1) the Administration must address, mitigate, 
and reverse, where possible, the deterioration of its 
facilities and infrastructure, as their condition is 
hampering the effectiveness and efficiency of re-
search performed by both the Administration and in-
dustry participants making use of Administration fa-
cilities, thus harming the competitiveness of the 
United States aerospace industry; 
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(2) the Administration has a role in providing 
laboratory capabilities to industry participants that 
are not economically viable as commercial entities 
and thus are not available elsewhere; 
(3) to ensure continued access to reliable and 
efficient world-class facilities by researchers, the Ad-
ministration should establish strategic partnerships 
with other Federal agencies, institutions of higher 
education, and industry, as appropriate; and 
(4) decisions on whether to dispose of, main-
tain, or modernize existing facilities must be made 
in the context of meeting Administration and other 
needs, including those required to meet the activities 
supporting the human exploration roadmap under 
section 432 of this Act, and shall consider other na-
tional laboratory needs as the Administrator deems 
appropriate. 
(b) POLICY.—It is the policy of the United States 
that the Administration maintain reliable and efficient fa-
cilities and infrastructure and that decisions on whether 
to dispose of, maintain, or modernize existing facilities or 
infrastructure be made in the context of meeting future 
Administration needs. 
(c) PLAN.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall de-
velop a facilities and infrastructure plan. 
(2) GOAL.—The goal of the plan is to position 
the Administration to have the facilities and infra-
structure, including laboratories, tools, and ap-
proaches, necessary to meet future Administration 
and other Federal agencies’ laboratory needs. 
(3) CONTENTS.—The plan shall identify— 
(A) current Administration and other Fed-
eral agency laboratory needs; 
(B) future Administration research and de-
velopment and testing needs; 
(C) a strategy for identifying facilities and 
infrastructure that are candidates for disposal, 
that is consistent with the national strategic di-
rection set forth in— 
(i) the National Space Policy; 
(ii) the National Aeronautics Re-
search, Development, Test, and Evaluation 
Infrastructure Plan; 
(iii) the National Aeronautics and 
Space Administration Authorization Act of 
2005 (Public Law 109–155; 119 Stat. 
2895), National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration Authorization Act of 2008 
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(Public Law 110–422; 122 Stat. 4779), 
and National Aeronautics and Space Ad-
ministration Authorization Act of 2010 (42 
U.S.C. 18301 et seq.); and 
(iv) the human exploration roadmap 
under section 432 of this Act; 
(D) a strategy for the maintenance, repair, 
upgrading, and modernization of Administra-
tion facilities and infrastructure, including lab-
oratories and equipment; and 
(E) criteria for— 
(i) prioritizing deferred maintenance 
tasks; 
(ii) maintaining, repairing, upgrading, 
or modernizing Administration facilities 
and infrastructure; and 
(iii) implementing processes, plans, 
and policies for guiding the Administra-
tion’s Centers on whether to maintain, re-
pair, upgrade, or modernize a facility or 
infrastructure and for determining the type 
of instrument to be used. 
(d) REQUIREMENT TO ESTABLISH POLICY.—Not 
later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this 
Act, the Administrator shall establish and make publicly 
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available a policy that guides the Administration’s use of 
existing authorities to out-grant, lease, excess to the Gen-
eral Services Administration, sell, decommission, demolish, 
or otherwise transfer property, facilities, or infrastructure. 
This policy shall establish criteria for the use of authori-
ties, best practices, standardized procedures, and guide-
lines for how to appropriately manage property, infra-
structure, and facilities. 
(e) TRANSMITTAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 
transmit the plan developed under subsection (c) to the 
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 
House of Representatives and the Committee on Com-
merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate. 
SEC. 838. HUMAN SPACE FLIGHT ACCIDENT INVESTIGA-
TIONS. 
Section 70702 of title 51, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(1) by amending subsection (a)(3) to read as 
follows: 
‘‘(3) any other orbital or suborbital space vehi-
cle carrying humans that is— 
‘‘(A) owned by the Federal Government; or 
‘‘(B) being used pursuant to a contract or 
Space Act Agreement with the Federal Govern-
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ment for carrying a government astronaut or a 
researcher funded by the Federal Government; 
or’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) GOVERNMENT
ASTRONAUT.—The term 
‘government astronaut’ has the meaning given the 
term in section 50902. 
‘‘(2) SPACE
ACT
AGREEMENT.—The term 
‘Space Act Agreement’ means an agreement entered 
into by the Administration pursuant to its other 
transactions authority under section 20113(e).’’. 
SEC. 839. ORBITAL DEBRIS. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 
(1) orbital debris poses serious risks to the 
operational space capabilities of the United States; 
(2) an international commitment and integrated 
strategic plan are needed to mitigate the growth of 
orbital debris wherever possible; and 
(3) the delay in the Office of Science and Tech-
nology Policy’s submission of a report on the status 
of international coordination and development of or-
bital debris mitigation strategies is inconsistent with 
such risks. 
(b) REPORTS.— 
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(1) COORDINATION.—Not later than 90 days 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis-
trator shall submit to the appropriate committees of 
Congress a report on the status of efforts to coordi-
nate with foreign countries within the Inter-Agency 
Space Debris Coordination Committee to mitigate 
the effects and growth of orbital debris under sec-
tion 1202(b)(1) of the National Aeronautics and 
Space Administration Authorization Act of 2010 (42 
U.S.C. 18441(b)(1)). 
(2) MITIGATION STRATEGY.—Not later than 90 
days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Di-
rector of the Office of Science and Technology Policy 
shall submit to the appropriate committees of Con-
gress a report on the status of the orbital debris 
mitigation 
strategy 
required 
under 
section 
1202(b)(2) of the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration Authorization Act of 2010 (42 
U.S.C. 18441(b)(2)). 
SEC. 840. REVIEW OF ORBITAL DEBRIS REMOVAL CON-
CEPTS. 
(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that— 
(1) orbital debris in low-Earth orbit poses sig-
nificant risks to spacecraft; 
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(2) such orbital debris may increase due to col-
lisions between existing debris objects; and 
(3) understanding options to address and re-
move orbital debris is important for ensuring safe 
and effective spacecraft operations in low-Earth 
orbit. 
(b) REVIEW.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 270 days 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis-
trator— 
(A) in collaboration with the heads of other 
relevant Federal agencies, shall solicit and re-
view concepts and options for removing orbital 
debris from low-Earth orbit; and 
(B) shall submit to the appropriate com-
mittees of Congress a report on the solicitation 
and review under subparagraph (A), including 
recommendations on the best options for de-
creasing the risks associated with orbital debris. 
(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The solicitation and re-
view under paragraph (1) shall address the require-
ments for and feasibility of developing and imple-
menting each of the options. 
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SEC. 841. PROJECT AND PROGRAM RESERVES. 
(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that— 
(1) the judicious use of program and project re-
serves provides the Administration’s project and pro-
gram managers with the flexibility needed to manage 
projects and programs to ensure that the impacts of 
contingencies can be mitigated; and 
(2) the Administration should vigorously pursue 
a policy on termination liability that maximizes the 
utilization of its appropriated funds to make max-
imum progress in meeting established technical goals 
and schedule milestones on these high-priority pro-
grams. 
(b) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit 
to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of 
the House of Representatives and the Committee on Com-
merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 
describing— 
(1) the Administration’s criteria for establishing 
the amount of reserves held at the project and pro-
gram levels; 
(2) how such criteria relate to the agency’s pol-
icy of budgeting at a 70-percent confidence level; 
and 
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(3) the Administration’s criteria for waiving the 
policy of budgeting at a 70-percent confidence level 
and alternative strategies and mechanisms aimed at 
controlling program and project costs when a waiver 
is granted. 
SEC. 842. SPACE ACT AGREEMENTS. 
(a) COST SHARING.—To the extent that the Adminis-
trator determines practicable, the funds provided by the 
Government under a funded Space Act Agreement shall 
not exceed the total amount provided by other parties to 
the Space Act Agreement. 
(b) NEED.—A funded Space Act Agreement may be 
used only when the use of a standard contract, grant, or 
cooperative agreement is not feasible or appropriate, as 
determined by the Associate Administrator for Procure-
ment. 
(c) PUBLIC NOTICE AND COMMENT.—The Adminis-
trator shall make available for public notice and comment 
each proposed Space Act Agreement at least 30 days be-
fore entering into such agreement, with appropriate 
redactions for proprietary, sensitive, or classified informa-
tion. 
(d) TRANSPARENCY.—The Administrator shall pub-
licly disclose on the Administration’s website and make 
available in a searchable format each Space Act Agree-
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ment, with appropriate redactions for proprietary, sen-
sitive, or classified information, not later than 60 days 
after such agreement is signed. 
(e) ANNUAL REPORT.— 
(1) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 90 days 
after the end of each fiscal year, the Administrator 
shall submit to the Committee on Science, Space, 
and Technology of the House of Representatives and 
the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans-
portation of the Senate a report on the use of Space 
Act Agreement authority by the Administration dur-
ing the previous fiscal year. 
(2) CONTENTS.—The report shall include for 
each Space Act Agreement in effect at the time of 
the report— 
(A) an indication of whether the agreement 
is a reimbursable, non-reimbursable, or funded 
Space Act Agreement; 
(B) a description of— 
(i) the subject and terms; 
(ii) the parties; 
(iii) the responsible— 
(I) Mission Directorate; 
(II) Center; or 
(III) headquarters element; 
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practices that support the United States; 
and 
(C) the total amount of value received by 
the Federal Government during the fiscal year 
pursuant to such Space Act Agreements; 
(5) an assessment of modifications needed to 
maximize usage of facilities that offer unique and 
highly specialized benefits to the aerospace industry 
and the American public; and 
(6) implementation steps, including a timeline, 
milestones, and an estimate of resources required for 
carrying out the plan. 
Æ 
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