[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4158 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4158

 To confirm full ownership rights for certain United States astronauts 
           to artifacts from the astronauts' space missions.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 7, 2012

Mr. Hall (for himself, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, Mr. Smith of 
Texas, Mr. Sensenbrenner, Mr. Lucas, Mr. Rohrabacher, Mr. Costello, Ms. 
Fudge, Mr. Aderholt, Mr. Palazzo, Mr. Brooks, Mr. Olson, Mr. Hultgren, 
Mr. Benishek, Mr. Lipinski, Mrs. Adams, Mr. Posey, Mr. Rigell, and Mr. 
 Clarke of Michigan) introduced the following bill; which was referred 
           to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To confirm full ownership rights for certain United States astronauts 
           to artifacts from the astronauts' space missions.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. DEFINITION OF ARTIFACT.

    For purposes of this Act, the term ``artifact'' means, with respect 
to an astronaut described in section 2(a), any expendable item utilized 
in missions for the Mercury, Gemini, or Apollo programs through the 
completion of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project not expressly required to 
be returned to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration at the 
completion of the mission and other expendable, disposable, or 
personal-use items utilized by such astronaut during participation in 
any such program. The term includes personal logs, checklists, flight 
manuals, prototype and proof test articles used in training, and 
disposable flight hardware salvaged from jettisoned lunar modules. The 
term does not include lunar rocks and other lunar material.

SEC. 2. FULL OWNERSHIP OF ARTIFACTS.

    (a) In General.--A United States astronaut who participated in any 
of the Mercury, Gemini, or Apollo programs through the completion of 
the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, who received an artifact during his 
participation in any such program, shall have full ownership of and 
clear title to such artifact.
    (b) No Federal Government Claim.--The Federal Government shall have 
no claim or right to ownership, control, or use of any artifact in 
possession of an astronaut as described in subsection (a) or any such 
artifact that was subsequently transferred, sold, or assigned to a 
third party by an astronaut described in subsection (a).
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