HR5174-119

What This Bill Does

This bill is a law-revision measure for title 51, the space title of the United States Code. It states that the restatement does not change the meaning or effect of existing law; instead, it reorganizes provisions enacted over multiple years, conforms style and terminology, modernizes obsolete language, and corrects drafting errors. It directs courts to treat wording changes as clarifications rather than substantive changes, with revision notes available for interpretation.

The bill revises a wide range of NASA and space provisions. It updates NASA prize authority references, enhanced-use lease proceeds, STEM education reporting, chapter headings for funding and budgets, program cost and control reports, counterfeit-parts provisions, information security, aeronautics research goals, commercial suborbital research, space-technology policy, commercial cargo and crew transportation, fair and open competition for space transportation, Earth observation transition work, International Space Station continuation, national laboratory management, human spaceflight policy, Space Launch System and Orion requirements, Moon-to-Mars exploration roadmaps, planetary science mission priorities, extrasolar planet and astrobiology strategies, space-technology infusion, IT governance, cybersecurity plans, education outreach, commercial satellite servicing, flight opportunities, and Space Act Agreements.

Who Benefits and How

NASA program managers benefit from clearer title 51 organization for budgets, cost controls, mission-directorate collaboration, commercial services, and space-technology provisions. Congressional science and commerce committee staff benefit from updated committee names, cost reports, annual implementation reports, and program oversight text. Commercial cargo providers, commercial crew providers, reusable suborbital research providers, and satellite-servicing companies benefit from more navigable title 51 language around NASA partnerships and transportation services. NASA cybersecurity staff benefit from updated information-security and IT-governance provisions. STEM education programs, space-technology researchers, planetary science researchers, and International Space Station users benefit from codified program language that is easier to find and apply.

Who Bears the Burden and How

NASA Office of General Counsel staff must interpret the restatement, crosswalk old citations, and preserve non-substantive meaning. NASA budget, cost-control, IT, cybersecurity, education, exploration, and science offices must update internal references to the reorganized title 51 sections. Law Revision Counsel staff and congressional counsel must maintain revision notes and technical amendments. Courts and litigants must use the restatement and revision notes without treating wording changes as substantive legal changes.

Key Provisions

• Provides that the title 51 restatement does not change the meaning or effect of existing law.
• Amends NASA funding, budget, cost-control, and annual-report provisions.
• Requires updated NASA counterfeit-parts, information-security, IT-governance, and cybersecurity sections.
• Modifies commercial cargo, commercial crew, reusable suborbital research, and fair-competition space-transportation provisions.
• Provides updated International Space Station, national laboratory, Space Launch System, Orion, and exploration-roadmap language.
• Establishes revised planetary science, extrasolar planet, astrobiology, space-technology, education, and Space Act Agreement provisions.