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matters with respect to major acquisition programs 
from objective sources independent of the prime con-
tractor; 
(3) require that a contract for the performance 
of systems engineering and technical assistance 
functions for a major acquisition program contains 
a provision prohibiting the contractor or any affiliate 
of the contractor from participating as a prime con-
tractor or a major subcontractor in the development 
of a system under the program; and 
(4) establish such limited exceptions to the re-
quirement in paragraphs (2) and (3) as the Admin-
istrator considers necessary to ensure that the Ad-
ministration has continued access to advice on sys-
tems architecture and systems engineering matters 
from highly qualified contractors with domain expe-
rience and expertise, while ensuring that such advice 
comes from sources that are objective and unbiased. 
SEC. 831. PROTECTION OF APOLLO LANDING SITES. 
(a) ASSESSMENT.—The Director of the Office of 
Science and Technology Policy, in consultation with rel-
evant Federal agencies and stakeholders, shall assess the 
issues relating to protecting and preserving historically 
important Apollo Program lunar landing sites and Apollo 
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program artifacts residing on the lunar surface, including 
those pertaining to Apollo 11 and Apollo 17. 
(b) CONTENTS.—In conducting the assessment, the 
Director shall include— 
(1) a determination of what risks to the protec-
tion and preservation of those sites and artifacts 
exist or may exist in the future; 
(2) a determination of what measures are re-
quired to ensure such protection and preservation; 
(3) a determination of the extent to which addi-
tional domestic legislation or international treaties 
or agreements will be required; and 
(4) specific recommendations for protecting and 
preserving those lunar landing sites and artifacts. 
(c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Director shall submit to the 
appropriate committees of Congress the results of the as-
sessment. 
SEC. 832. NASA LEASE OF NON-EXCESS PROPERTY. 
Section 20145(g) of title 51, United States Code, is 
amended by striking ‘‘10 years after December 26, 2007’’ 
and inserting ‘‘December 31, 2018’’. 
SEC. 833. TERMINATION LIABILITY. 
It is the sense of Congress that— 
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(1) the ISS, the Space Launch System, and the 
Orion will enable the Nation to continue operations 
in low-Earth orbit and to send its astronauts to deep 
space; 
(2) the James Webb Space Telescope will revo-
lutionize our understanding of star and planet for-
mation and how galaxies evolved, and will advance 
the search for the origins of our universe; 
(3) as a result of their unique capabilities and 
their critical contribution to the future of space ex-
ploration, these systems have been designated by 
Congress and the Administration as priority invest-
ments; 
(4) contractors are currently holding program 
funding, estimated to be in the hundreds of millions 
of dollars, to cover the potential termination liability 
should the Government choose to terminate a pro-
gram for convenience; 
(5) as a result, hundreds of millions of taxpayer 
dollars are unavailable for meaningful work on these 
programs; 
(6) according to the Government Accountability 
Office, the Administration procures most of its 
goods and services through contracts, and it termi-
nates very few of them; 
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(7) in fiscal year 2010, the Administration ter-
minated 28 of 16,343 active contracts and orders, a 
termination rate of about 0.17 percent; and 
(8) 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. 
SEC. 834. INDEPENDENT REVIEWS. 
Not later than 270 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Administrator shall submit to the appro-
priate committees of Congress a report describing— 
(1) the Administration’s procedures for con-
ducting independent reviews of projects and pro-
grams at life cycle milestones; 
(2) how the Administration ensures the inde-
pendence of the individuals who conduct those re-
views prior to their assignment; 
(3) the internal and external entities inde-
pendent of project and program management that 
conduct reviews of projects and programs at life 
cycle milestones; and 
(4) how the Administration ensures the inde-
pendence of such entities and their members. 
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SEC. 835. NASA ADVISORY COUNCIL. 
(a) ASSESSMENT.—The Administrator shall enter 
into an arrangement with the National Academy of Public 
Administration to assess the effectiveness of the NASA 
Advisory Council and to make recommendations to Con-
gress for any change to— 
(1) the functions of the Council; 
(2) the appointment of members to the Council; 
(3) the qualifications for members of the Coun-
cil; 
(4) the duration of terms of office for members 
of the Council; 
(5) the frequency of meetings of the Council; 
(6) the structure of leadership and Committees 
of the Council; and 
(7) the levels of professional staffing for the 
Council. 
(b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In carrying out the assess-
ment under subsection (a), the National Academy of Pub-
lic Administration shall consider— 
(1) the impacts of broadening the Council’s role 
to include providing consultation and advice to Con-
gress under section 20113(g) of title 51, United 
States Code; 
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