[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2617 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2617

To establish the Apollo Lunar Landing Sites National Historical Park on 
                   the Moon, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              July 8, 2013

   Ms. Edwards (for herself and Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
  Science, Space, and Technology, and in addition to the Committee on 
 Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To establish the Apollo Lunar Landing Sites National Historical Park on 
                   the Moon, 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 ``Apollo Lunar Landing Legacy Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) on July 20, 1969, Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. 
        ``Buzz'' Aldrin Jr. became the first people to set foot on 
        another celestial body, during the Apollo 11 mission;
            (2) between 1969 and 1972, Apollo Missions 11, 12, 14, 15, 
        16, and 17 all saw American astronauts visit the surface of the 
        Moon;
            (3) the 1970 Apollo 13 mission, which was aborted due to a 
        serious malfunction en route to the Moon, also circled the 
        Moon;
            (4) the Apollo lunar program was one of the greatest 
        achievements in American history;
            (5) as commercial enterprises and foreign nations acquire 
        the ability to land on the Moon it is necessary to protect the 
        Apollo lunar landing sites for posterity; and
            (6) establishing the Historical Park under this Act will 
        expand and enhance the protection and preservation of the 
        Apollo lunar landing sites and provide for greater recognition 
        and public understanding of this singular achievement in 
        American history.

SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to preserve and protect for the benefit of present and 
        future generations the nationally significant historic sites 
        associated with the Historical Park;
            (2) to preserve and protect for scientific inquiry the 
        artifacts described in section 5(b); and
            (3) to improve public understanding of the Apollo program 
        and its legacy through preservation of the historic resources 
        associated with the Apollo lunar landing sites.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
        Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space 
        Administration.
            (2) Apollo lunar landing sites.--The term ``Apollo lunar 
        landing sites'' means all areas of the Moon where astronauts 
        and instruments connected to the Apollo program between 1969 
        and 1972 touched the lunar surface.
            (3) Historical park.--The term ``Historical Park'' means 
        the Apollo Lunar Landing Sites National Historical Park 
        established under section 5.
            (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.

SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF APOLLO LUNAR LANDING SITES NATIONAL HISTORICAL 
              PARK.

    (a) Establishment.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, there shall be established as a unit of the 
National Park System the Apollo Lunar Landing Sites National Historical 
Park.
    (b) Park Components.--The Historical Park may only be comprised, as 
determined by the Secretary in consultation with the Administrator, 
of--
            (1) the artifacts on the surface of the Moon associated 
        with the Apollo 11 mission, which landed on the lunar surface 
        July 20, 1969, at Mare Tranquillitatis;
            (2) the artifacts on the surface of the Moon associated 
        with the Apollo 12 mission, which landed on the lunar surface 
        November 19, 1969, at Oceanus Procellarum;
            (3) the artifacts on the surface of the Moon associated 
        with the Apollo 13 mission, which had an instrumentality crash 
        land on the lunar surface April 14, 1970;
            (4) the artifacts on the surface of the Moon associated 
        with the Apollo 14 mission, which landed on the lunar surface 
        February 5, 1971, at Fra Mauro;
            (5) the artifacts on the surface of the Moon associated 
        with the Apollo 15 mission, which landed on the lunar surface 
        July 30, 1971, at Hadley-Apennines;
            (6) the artifacts on the surface of the Moon associated 
        with the Apollo 16 mission, which landed on the lunar surface 
        April 21, 1972, at Descartes; and
            (7) the artifacts on the surface of the Moon associated 
        with the Apollo 17 mission, which landed on the lunar surface 
        December 11, 1972, at Taurus-Littrow.

SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATION.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall administer the Historical Park 
in accordance with--
            (1) this Act;
            (2) the laws generally applicable to units of the National 
        Park System, including--
                    (A) the National Park System Organic Act (16 U.S.C. 
                1 et seq.); and
                    (B) the Act of August 21, 1935 (16 U.S.C. 461 et 
                seq.); and
            (3) applicable international law and treaties.
    (b) General Management Plan.--Not later than 18 months after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary and the Administrator, 
pursuant to the interagency management agreement entered into under 
section 7(a), shall jointly complete a general management plan for the 
Historical Park.
    (c) Donations; Cooperative Agreements.--
            (1) Agreements with other federal agencies.--The Secretary 
        may enter into one or more agreements with the head of a 
        Federal agency to provide public access to, and management, 
        interpretation, and historic preservation of, historically 
        significant Apollo lunar landing site resources under the 
        jurisdiction or control of the Federal agency.
            (2) Donations; cooperative agreements.--The Secretary may 
        accept donations from, and enter into cooperative agreements 
        with, foreign governments and international bodies, 
        organizations, or individuals to further the purpose of an 
        interagency agreement entered into under paragraph (1) or to 
        provide visitor services and administrative facilities within 
        reasonable proximity to the Historical Park.
            (3) Donations to nasa.--For the purposes of this Act, the 
        Administrator may accept, hold, administer, and use gifts, 
        bequests, and devises (including labor and services).

SEC. 7. MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary and the Administrator shall enter into an 
agreement providing for the primary management of the Historical Park 
by the Administrator. The agreement shall delineate the respective 
duties and responsibilities of the Secretary and the Administrator in 
managing the Historical Park. Responsibilities of the Administrator 
shall specifically include--
            (1) ensuring proper monitoring of the Apollo lunar landing 
        sites;
            (2) managing access to the sites, including through 
        coordination with other spacefaring nations and entities; and
            (3) in conjunction with the Director of the Smithsonian 
        Institution, ensuring an accurate cataloguing of items in the 
        Historical Park.
    (b) Other Agencies.--The Secretary and the Administrator shall 
consult with other agencies, as needed, to effectively carry out 
management of the Historical Park.

SEC. 8. WORLD HERITAGE SITE DESIGNATION.

    Not later than 1 year after the establishment of the Historical 
Park, the Secretary, in consultation with the Administrator, shall 
submit the Apollo 11 lunar landing site to the United Nations 
Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for 
designation as a World Heritage Site.

SEC. 9. SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.

    Nothing in this Act shall be construed to alter or terminate any 
existing agreements between the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration and the Smithsonian Institution concerning the 
management of National Aeronautics and Space Administration historical 
artifacts.
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