[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4827 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4827

To authorize the Assistant Secretary of Space Commerce to provide space 
  situational awareness data, information, and services to non-United 
          States Government entities, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

             October 21 (legislative day, October 19), 2020

  Mr. Wicker introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To authorize the Assistant Secretary of Space Commerce to provide space 
  situational awareness data, information, and services to non-United 
          States Government entities, 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 ``Space Preservation And Conjunction 
Emergency Act of 2020'' or the ``SPACE Act of 2020''.

SEC. 2. BUREAU OF SPACE COMMERCE.

    (a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) growing commercial activity in space requires immediate 
        action to address the increasing probability of collisions 
        between spacecraft and orbital debris;
            (2) such collisions threaten the billions of dollars of 
        existing United States and allied spacecraft, including the 
        International Space Station, and endanger the future usability 
        of space;
            (3) the provision of accurate and timely notice to 
        commercial satellite operators with respect to potential 
        conjunctions enhances safety; and
            (4) a 2020 National Academies for Public Administration 
        study identified the Department of Commerce as the preferred 
        Federal agency to provide space situational awareness services 
        to commercial satellite operators.
    (b) Amendments.--Chapter 507 of title 51, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) in the chapter heading, by striking ``OFFICE'' and 
        inserting ``BUREAU'';
            (2) by amending section 50701 to read as follows:
``Sec. 50701. Definition of Bureau
    ``In this chapter, the term `Bureau' means the Bureau of Space 
Commerce established in section 50702.'';
            (3) in section 50702--
                    (A) by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
    ``(a) In General.--There is established within the Department of 
Commerce a Bureau of Space Commerce.'';
                    (B) by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:
    ``(b) Assistant Secretary.--The Bureau shall be headed by an 
Assistant Secretary for Space Commerce, to be appointed by the 
President, with the advice and consent of the Senate, and compensated 
at level II or III of the Executive Schedule, as determined by the 
Secretary of Commerce. The Assistant Secretary shall report directly to 
the Secretary of Commerce.'';
                    (C) in subsection (c)--
                            (i) in the subsection heading, by striking 
                        ``Office'' and inserting ``Bureau'';
                            (ii) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 
                        by striking ``Office'' and inserting 
                        ``Bureau'';
                            (iii) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``, 
                        including activities licensed under chapter 
                        601'' before the semicolon; and
                            (iv) in paragraph (5), by striking 
                        ``Position,'' and inserting ``Positioning,''; 
                        and
                    (D) in subsection (d)--
                            (i) in the subsection heading, by striking 
                        ``Director'' and inserting ``Assistant 
                        Secretary'';
                            (ii) in the matter preceding paragraph 
                        (1)--
                                    (I) by striking ``Director'' and 
                                inserting ``Assistant Secretary''; and
                                    (II) by striking ``Office shall'' 
                                and inserting ``Bureau shall, under the 
                                direction and supervision of the 
                                Secretary of Commerce,'';
                            (iii) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 
                        through (7) as paragraphs (3) through (9), 
                        respectively;
                            (iv) by inserting before paragraph (3), as 
                        redesignated, the following:
            ``(1) overseeing the issuing of licenses under chapter 601;
            ``(2) coordinating Department of Commerce policy affecting 
        commercial space activities and working with other executive 
        agencies to promote policies that advance commercial space 
        activities;''; and
                            (v) in paragraph (8), as redesignated, by 
                        inserting ``, consistent with the international 
                        obligations, foreign policy, and national 
                        security interests of the United States'' 
                        before the semicolon;
            (4) in section 50703--
                    (A) by striking ``Office'' and inserting 
                ``Bureau''; and
                    (B) by striking ``Committee on Science and 
                Technology of the House of Representatives'' and 
                inserting ``Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 
                of the House of Representatives''; and
            (5) by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 50705. Authorization of appropriations
    ``There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 
Commerce to carry out this chapter $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2021.''.
    (c) Technical and Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) Table of contents.--The table of sections for chapter 
        507 of title 51, United States Code, is amended--
                    (A) by striking the item relating to section 50701 
                and inserting the following:

``50701. Definition of Bureau.'';
                and
                    (B) by adding after the item relating to section 
                50703 the following:

``50705. Authorization of appropriations.''.
            (2) Table of chapters.--The table of chapters for title 51, 
        United States Code, is amended by striking the item relating to 
        chapter 507 and inserting the following:

``Chapter 507.  Bureau of Space Commerce....................  50701.''.
            (3) Cooperation with former soviet republics.--Section 218 
        of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration 
        Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 1993 (51 U.S.C. 50702 note) is 
        amended by striking ``Office'' each place it appears and 
        inserting ``Bureau''.

SEC. 3. SPACE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS DATA, INFORMATION, AND SERVICES: 
              PROVISION TO NON-UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT ENTITIES.

    (a) Bureau of Space Commerce Authority.--Title 51, United States 
Code, is amended by inserting after section 50703 the following:
``Sec. 50704. Space situational awareness data, information, and 
              services: provision to non-United States Government 
              entities
    ``(a) Authority.--The Assistant Secretary for Space Commerce 
(referred to in this section as the `Assistant Secretary') may provide 
space situational awareness data, information, and services to, and may 
obtain space situational awareness data, information, and services 
from, non-United States Government entities in accordance with this 
section.
    ``(b) Eligible Entities.--The Assistant Secretary may provide data, 
information, and services under subsection (a) to, and may obtain data, 
information, and services under subsection (a) from, any non-United 
States Government entity, including any of the following:
            ``(1) A State.
            ``(2) A political subdivision of a State.
            ``(3) A United States commercial entity.
            ``(4) The government of a foreign country.
            ``(5) A foreign commercial entity.
    ``(c) Agreement.--The Assistant Secretary may not provide space 
situational awareness data, information, or services under subsection 
(a) to a non-United States Government entity unless that entity enters 
into an agreement with the Assistant Secretary under which the entity--
            ``(1) agrees to pay an amount that may be charged by the 
        Assistant Secretary under subsection (d);
            ``(2) agrees not to transfer any data or technical 
        information received under the agreement, including the 
        analysis of data, to any other entity without the express 
        approval of the Assistant Secretary; and
            ``(3) agrees to any other terms and conditions considered 
        necessary by the Assistant Secretary.
    ``(d) Charges.--(1) As a condition of an agreement under subsection 
(c), the Assistant Secretary may (except as provided in paragraph (2)) 
require the non-United States Government entity entering into the 
agreement to pay to the Department of Commerce such amounts as the 
Assistant Secretary determines appropriate.
    ``(2) The Assistant Secretary may not require the government of a 
State, or of a political subdivision of a State, to pay any amount 
under paragraph (1).
    ``(3) The Assistant Secretary may designate a basic level of space 
situational awareness services to be provided at no charge to non-
United States Government entities.
    ``(e) Crediting of Funds Received.--
            ``(1) In general.--Funds received for the provision of 
        space situational awareness data, information, or services 
        pursuant to an agreement under this section shall be credited, 
        at the election of the Assistant Secretary, to the following:
                    ``(A) The appropriation, fund, or account used in 
                incurring the obligation.
                    ``(B) An appropriate appropriation, fund, or 
                account currently available for the purposes for which 
                the expenditures were made.
            ``(2) Treatment of credited funds.--Funds credited under 
        this subsection shall be merged with, and remain available for 
        obligation with, the funds in the appropriation, fund, or 
        account to which credited.
    ``(f) Procedures.--The Assistant Secretary shall establish 
procedures by which the authority under this section shall be carried 
out. As part of those procedures, the Assistant Secretary may allow 
space situational awareness date, information, or services to be 
provided through a contractor of the Department of Commerce.
    ``(g) Immunity.--The United States, any agencies and 
instrumentalities thereof, and any individuals, firms, corporations, 
and other persons acting for the United States, shall be immune from 
any suit in any court for any cause of action arising from the 
provision or receipt of space situational awareness data, information, 
or services, whether or not provided in accordance with this section, 
or any related action or omission.
    ``(h) Notice of Concerns of Disclosure of Information.--If the 
Assistant Secretary determines that a commercial or foreign entity has 
declined or is reluctant to provide data, information, or services to 
the Assistant Secretary in accordance with this section due to the 
concerns of such entity about the potential disclosure of such data, 
information, or services, the Assistant Secretary shall, not later than 
60 days after the Assistant Secretary makes that determination, provide 
notice to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 
Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of 
Representatives of the declination or reluctance of such entity.''.
    (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for 
chapter 507 of title 51, United States Code, is amended by inserting 
after the item relating to section 50703 the following:

``50704. Space situational awareness data, information, and services: 
                            provision to non-United States Government 
                            entities.''.
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