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.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Save the International
Space Station Act of 1998’’.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act—
(1) the term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Ad-
ministrator of the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration; and
(2) the term ‘‘critical path’’ means the sequence
of events of a schedule of events under which a delay
in any of those events causes a delay in the overall
schedule.
SEC. 3. INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION LIMITATIONS.
(a) TRANSFER
OF FUNDS
TO RUSSIA.—Notwith-
standing any other provision of law, no funds or in-kind
payments shall be transferred to any entity of the Russian
Government or any Russian contractor when such funds
are intended to be used to perform work on the Inter-
national Space Station which the Russian Government
pledged, at any time, to provide at its expense. No funds
or in-kind payments shall be made to any entity of the
Russian Government in exchange for any goods or services
associated with the International Space Station, except
pursuant to a contract or agreement in effect as of the
date of the enactment of this Act. If the Administrator
determines that an exception to this subsection is nec-
essary, the Administrator shall submit the reasons and
justifications for such exception, in writing, to the Con-
gress. Such submittal shall also include an explanation of
whether such work will be the result of, or such goods or
services will be procured through, a competitively awarded
contract, and if not, shall also include the reasons and jus-
tifications why such work, goods, or services could not be
competitively bid. Such exception shall not be approved if,
within 30 days after submittal to the Congress, any two
of the following Committees objects in writing: the Com-
mittee on Appropriations and the Committee on Science
of the House of Representatives, and of the Committee
on Appropriations and the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation of the Senate. This sub-
section shall not apply to the purchase or modification of
the Russian built, United States owned Functional Cargo
Block, known as the ‘‘FGB’’.
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the
Congress that if the Russian Government is unable to pro-
vide at its own expense any contribution, capability, or
launch service to the International Space Station which
the Russian Government pledged, at any time, to provide
at its own expense, the Memorandum of Understanding
between the National Aeronautics and Space Administra-
tion and the Russian Space Agency, and, if necessary, the
Intergovernmental Agreement among all the International
Space Station partners, should be renegotiated to reduce
Russia’s benefits commensurate with its reduced level of
contribution to the International Space Station.
(c) CONTINGENCY PLAN FOR RUSSIAN ELEMENTS IN
CRITICAL PATH.—The Administrator shall develop and
deliver to Congress, with the President’s budget request
for fiscal year 2000, a contingency plan for the removal
or replacement of each Russian Government contribution
or capability of the International Space Station that lies
in the critical path, as well as Russian space launch serv-
ices. Such plan shall include—
(1) decision points for removing or replacing
those contributions, capabilities, and launch services
necessary for completion of the International Space
Station;
(2) the estimated cost of implementing each
such decision; and
(3) the estimated cost of removing or replacing
a Russian Government critical path contribution, ca-
pability, or launch service after its decision point has
passed, if—
(A) the decision at that point was not to
remove or replace the Russian Government con-
tribution, capability, or launch service; and
(B) the Administrator later determines
that the Russian Government will be unable to
provide the critical path contribution, capabil-
ity, or launch service in a manner to allow com-
pletion of the International Space Station.
(d) BI-MONTHLY REPORTING
ON RUSSIAN STA-
TUS.—On or before December 1, 1998, and until comple-
and crew return activities subsequent to substantial
completion of the International Space Station.
(3) SUBSTANTIAL COMPLETION.—For purposes
of this subsection, the International Space Station is
considered to be substantially completed when the
development costs comprise 5 percent or less of the
total International Space Station costs for the fiscal
year.
(c) 
AUTOMATIC
INCREASE
OF
LIMITATION
AMOUNT.—The amounts set forth in subsection (a) shall
each be increased to reflect any increase in costs attrib-
utable to—
(1) economic inflation;
(2) compliance with changes in Federal, State,
or local laws enacted after the date of enactment of
this Act;
(3) the lack of performance or the termination
of participation of any of the International countries
participating in the International Space Station; and
(4) new technologies to improve safety, reliabil-
ity, maintainability, availability, or utilization of the
International Space Station, or to reduce costs after
completion of assembly, including increases in costs
for on-orbit assembly sequence problems, increased
ground testing, verification and integration activi-
ties, contingency responses to on-orbit failures, and
design improvements to reduce the risk of on-orbit
failures.
(d) NOTICE OF CHANGES.—The Administrator shall
provide with each annual budget request a written notice
and analysis of any changes under subsection (c) to the
amounts set forth in subsection (a) to the Senate Commit-
tees on Appropriations and on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation and to the House of Representatives Com-
mittees on Appropriations and on Science. The written no-
tice shall include—
(1) an explanation of the basis for the change,
including the costs associated with the change and
the expected benefit to the program to be derived
from the change; and
(2) an analysis of the impact on the assembly
schedule and annual funding estimates of not receiv-
ing the requested increases.
(e) REPORTING AND REVIEW.—
(1) IDENTIFICATION OF COSTS.—
(A) SPACE SHUTTLE.—As part of the over-
all space shuttle program budget request for
each fiscal year, the Administrator shall iden-
tify separately the amounts of the requested
funding that are to be used for completion of
the assembly of the International Space Sta-
tion.
(B) INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION.—As
part of the overall International Space Station
budget request for each fiscal year, the Admin-
istrator shall identify the amount to be used for
development of the International Space Station.
(2) ACCOUNTING FOR COST LIMITATIONS.—As
part of the annual budget request to the Congress,
the Administrator shall account for the cost limita-
tions imposed by subsection (a).
(3) VERIFICATION OF ACCOUNTING.—The Ad-
ministrator shall arrange for a verification, by the
General Accounting Office, of the accounting sub-
mitted to the Congress within 60 days after the date
on which the budget request is transmitted to the
Congress.
(4) INSPECTOR
GENERAL.—Within 60 days
after the Administrator provides a notice and analy-
sis to the Congress under subsection (d), the Inspec-
tor General of the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration shall review the notice and analysis
and report the results of the review to the commit-
tees to which the notice and analysis was provided.
SEC. 5. LIABILITY CROSS-WAIVERS FOR INTERNATIONAL
SPACE STATION-RELATED ACTIVITIES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi-
sion of law, the Administrator, on behalf of the United
States, its departments, agencies, and related entities,
may reciprocally waive claims with cooperating parties,
and the related entities of such cooperating parties, under
which each party to each such waiver agrees to be respon-
sible, and agrees to ensure that its own related entities
are responsible, for damage or loss to its property or to
property for which it is responsible, or for losses resulting
from any injury or death sustained by its own employees
or agents, as a result of activities connected to the Inter-
national Space Station Program.
(b) LIMITATIONS.—
(1) CLAIMS.—A reciprocal waiver under sub-
section (a) may not preclude a claim by any natural
person (including, but not limited to, a natural per-
son who is an employee of the United States, the co-
operating party, or the cooperating party’s sub-
contractors) or that natural person’s estate, sur-
vivors, or subrogees for injury or death, except with
respect to a subrogee that is a party to the waiver
or has otherwise agreed to be bound by the terms
of the waiver.
(2) LIABILITY FOR NEGLIGENCE.—A reciprocal
waiver under subsection (a) may not absolve any
party of liability to any natural person (including,
but not limited to, a natural person who is an em-
ployee of the United States, the cooperating party,
or the cooperating party’s subcontractors) or such
natural person’s estate, survivors, or subrogees for
negligence, except with respect to a subrogee that is
a party to the waiver or has otherwise agreed to be
bound by the terms of the waiver.
(3) INDEMNIFICATION FOR DAMAGES.—A recip-
rocal waiver under subsection (a) may not be used
as the basis of a claim by the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration or the cooperating party
for indemnification against the other for damages
paid to a natural person, or that natural person’s es-
tate, survivors, or subrogees, for injury or death sus-
tained by that natural person as a result of activities
connected to the International Space Station Pro-
gram.
(c) SAFETY OVERSIGHT AND REVIEW REQUIRED.—
In the exercise of the authority provided in subsection (a),
and consistent with relevant agreements with cooperating
parties in the International Space Station Program, the
Administrator shall establish overall safety requirements
and plans and shall conduct overall integrated system
safety reviews for International Space Station elements
and payloads, and may undertake any and all authorized
steps (including, but not limited to, removal from launch
manifest) to ensure, to the maximum extent possible, that
such elements and payloads pose no safety risks for the
International Space Station.
(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
(1) COOPERATING PARTY.—The term ‘‘cooper-
ating party’’ means any person who enters into an
agreement or contract with the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration for the performance or
support of scientific, aeronautical, or space activities
in furtherance of the International Space Station
Program.
(2) RELATED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘related en-
tity’’ includes contractors or subcontractors at any
tier, suppliers, grantees, and investigators or
detailees.
(3) COMMON TERMS.—Any term used in this
section that is defined in the National Aeronautics
and Space Act of 1958 (42 U.S.C. 2451 et seq.) has
the same meaning in this section as when it is used
in that Act.