H. R. 2607
One Hundred Sixth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday,
the twenty-fourth day of January, two thousand
An Act
To promote the development of the commercial space transportation industry, to
authorize appropriations for the Office of the Associate Administrator for Commer-
cial Space Transportation, to authorize appropriations for the Office of Space
Commercialization, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Commercial Space Transportation
Competitiveness Act of 2000’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that—
(1) a robust United States space transportation industry
is vital to the Nation’s economic well-being and national secu-
rity;
(2) enactment of a 5-year extension of the excess third
party claims payment provision of chapter 701 of title 49,
United States Code (Commercial Space Launch Activities), will
have a beneficial impact on the international competitiveness
of the United States space transportation industry;
(3) space transportation may evolve into airplane-style
operations;
(4) during the next 3 years the Federal Government and
the private sector should analyze the liability risk-sharing
regime to determine its appropriateness and effectiveness, and,
if needed, develop and propose a new regime to Congress at
least 2 years prior to the expiration of the extension contained
in this Act;
(5) the areas of responsibility of the Office of the Associate
Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation have
significantly increased as a result of—
(A) the rapidly expanding commercial space transpor-
tation industry and associated government licensing
requirements;
(B) regulatory activity as a result of the emerging
commercial reusable launch vehicle industry; and
(C) the increased regulatory activity associated with
commercial operation of launch and reentry sites; and
(6) the Office of the Associate Administrator for Commercial
Space Transportation should continue to limit its promotional
activities to those which support its regulatory mission.
H. R. 2607—2
SEC. 3. OFFICE OF COMMERCIAL SPACE TRANSPORTATION.
(a) AMENDMENT.—Section 70119 of title 49, United States Code,
is amended to read as follows:
‘‘§ 70119. Office of Commercial Space Transportation
‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of
Transportation for the activities of the Office of the Associate
Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation—
‘‘(1) $12,607,000 for fiscal year 2001; and
‘‘(2) $16,478,000 for fiscal year 2002.’’.
(b) TABLE
OF SECTIONS AMENDMENT.—The item relating to
section 70119 in the table of sections of chapter 701 of title 49,
United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
‘‘70119. Office of Commercial Space Transportation.’’.
SEC. 4. OFFICE OF SPACE COMMERCIALIZATION.
(a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized
to be appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce for the activities
of the Office of Space Commercialization—
(1) $590,000 for fiscal year 2001;
(2) $608,000 for fiscal year 2002; and
(3) $626,000 for fiscal year 2003.
(b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 90 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce
shall transmit to the Congress a report on the Office of Space
Commercialization detailing the activities of the Office, the mate-
rials produced by the Office, the extent to which the Office has
fulfilled the functions established for it by the Congress, and the
extent to which the Office has participated in interagency efforts.
SEC. 5. COMMERCIAL SPACE TRANSPORTATION INDEMNIFICATION
EXTENSION.
(a) IN GENERAL.—If, on the date of the enactment of this
Act, section 70113(f ) of title 49, United States Code, has not been
amended by the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing
and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations
Act, 2001, then that section is amended by striking ‘‘December
31, 2000’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31, 2004’’.
(b) AMENDMENT OF MODIFIED SECTION.—If, on the date of the
enactment of this Act, section 70113(f ) of title 49, United States
Code, has been amended by the Departments of Veterans Affairs
and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies
Appropriations Act, 2001, then that section is amended by striking
‘‘December 31, 2001’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31, 2004’’.
SEC. 6. TECHNICAL AMENDMENT TO SECTION 70113 OF TITLE 49.
(a) Section 70113 of title 49, United States Code, is amended
by striking ‘‘———, 19——.’,’’ in subsection (e)(1)(A) and inserting
‘‘———, 20——.’,’’.
(b) The amendment made by subsection (a) takes effect on
January 1, 2000.
SEC. 7. LIABILITY REGIME FOR COMMERCIAL SPACE TRANSPOR-
TATION.
(a) REPORT REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 18 months after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transpor-
tation shall transmit to the Congress a report on the liability
H. R. 2607—3
risk-sharing regime in the United States for commercial space
transportation.
(b) CONTENTS.—The report required by this section shall—
(1) analyze the adequacy, propriety, and effectiveness of,
and the need for, the current liability risk-sharing regime in
the United States for commercial space transportation;
(2) examine the current liability and liability risk-sharing
regimes in other countries with space transportation capabili-
ties;
(3) examine the appropriateness of deeming all space
transportation activities to be ‘‘ultrahazardous activities’’ for
which a strict liability standard may be applied and which
liability regime should attach to space transportation activities,
whether ultrahazardous activities or not;
(4) examine the effect of relevant international treaties
on the Federal Government’s liability for commercial space
launches and how the current domestic liability risk-sharing
regime meets or exceeds the requirements of those treaties;
(5) examine the appropriateness, as commercial reusable
launch vehicles enter service and demonstrate improved safety
and reliability, of evolving the commercial space transportation
liability regime towards the approach of the airline liability
regime;
(6) examine the need for changes to the Federal Govern-
ment’s indemnification policy to accommodate the risks associ-
ated with commercial spaceport operations; and
(7) recommend appropriate modifications to the commercial
space transportation liability regime and the actions required
to accomplish those modifications.
(c) SECTIONS.—The report required by this section shall contain
sections expressing the views and recommendations of—
(1) interested Federal agencies, including—
(A) the Office of the Associate Administrator for
Commercial Space Transportation;
(B) the National Aeronautics and Space Administra-
tion;
(C) the Department of Defense; and
(D) the Office of Space Commercialization; and
(2) the public, received as a result of notice in Commerce
Business Daily, the Federal Register, and appropriate Federal
agency Internet websites.
SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF INTERAGENCY SUPPORT FOR GLOBAL
POSITIONING SYSTEM.
The use of interagency funding and other forms of support
is hereby authorized by Congress for the functions and activities
of the Interagency Global Positioning System Executive Board,