[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9592 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 9592
To authorize the Secretary of State to take certain actions to counter
and reduce threats to the space security of the United States, to
require the Secretary of State to provide certain consultations to
Congress on the space security of the United States, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 6, 2026
Mrs. Biggs of South Carolina (for herself and Mr. Bera) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To authorize the Secretary of State to take certain actions to counter
and reduce threats to the space security of the United States, to
require the Secretary of State to provide certain consultations to
Congress on the space security of the United States, 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 ``American Space Leadership for the
21st Century Act''.
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) maintaining space as a secure, stable, and accessible
domain is vital to United States national security, economic
prosperity, and technological leadership;
(2) the United States should coordinate diplomatic,
economic, and security tools to ensure space remains secure and
accessible for future use;
(3) it is in the interest of the United States to cooperate
with its allies and partners to promote space security of the
United States and its allies and partners, including through
information sharing, coordination, and development of
interoperable space capabilities;
(4) United States space companies are a soft power tool for
the nation, providing unique capabilities that support the
needs of allies and partners, while extending American
influence, enhancing United States security and resiliency in
space, and benefiting the United States economy;
(5) threats to United States space capabilities are growing
in scale, speed, and sophistication, risking space-enabled
services that underpin national security and power United
States economic growth; and
(6) the prohibition on the placement of nuclear weapons and
other weapons of mass destruction in space, as outlined in the
Outer Space Treaty of 1967 (entered into force with respect to
the United States on October 10, 1967), is important for the
continued use of space by all nations.
SEC. 3. COUNTERING THREATS TO SPACE SECURITY OF THE UNITED STATES.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of State, acting through the Under
Secretary for Arms Control and International Security, shall lead the
diplomatic engagements of the Department of State to mitigate threats
to the space security of the United States.
(b) Responsibilities.--Under subsection (a), the Under Secretary,
in coordination with the head of any other relevant bureau of the
Department of State or other Federal department or agency, may--
(1) assess current threats to the space interests of the
United States and anticipate future threats from low earth
orbit through cislunar space, including by leveraging allied
and partner capabilities to assess and attribute actions in
space;
(2) characterize and communicate threats with allies and
partners, where determined appropriate, including risks posed
by civil, military, or commercial cooperation with the People's
Republic of China or the Russian Federation;
(3) coordinate with allies and partners, including by
identifying strategic locations where additional space
infrastructure or military cooperation would promote the space
security of the United States and its allies and partners; and
(4) lead the efforts of the Department of State to promote
international norms of behavior in space that are favorable to
the national security and foreign policy priorities of the
United States.
SEC. 4. SPACE RISK REDUCTION MEASURES.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of State, acting through the Under
Secretary for Arms Control and International Security, may pursue
international norms and transparency and confidence-building measures
on issues of space arms control and military-related space policy
issues.
(b) Risk Reduction.--The Under Secretary, in coordination with the
head of any other Federal department or agency, may pursue
international risk reduction efforts for the purposes of--
(1) shaping international norms in space to deter actions
in space that would disrupt the space systems of the United
States and its allies and partners;
(2) enhancing the ability of the United States and its
allies and partners to assess, attribute, and respond to
destabilizing actions in space, including by helping the United
States identify if a country places or plans to place a nuclear
weapon or nuclear-capable delivery vehicle in space;
(3) increasing the strategic costs to an adversary for
disruptive actions in space;
(4) improving communication among allies and partners to
reduce the risk of miscommunication or miscalculation regarding
threat reduction activities in space;
(5) reducing the risk of miscommunication and
miscalculation with the People's Republic of China or the
Russian Federation;
(6) enhancing international cooperation on space domain
awareness; and
(7) mitigating the intentional creation of debris in space.
SEC. 5. INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS RELATED TO OUTER SPACE.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of State, in consultation with the
heads of any other Federal department or agency such secretary
determines appropriate, is authorized to enter into international
agreements with allies and partners that enhance United States outer
space security--
(1) for the purposes of--
(A) information sharing, promoting international
access, as appropriate and practical, to United States
Government or commercial outer space capabilities,
systems, or services; or
(B) achieving the responsibilities set forth in
section 3(b); and
(2) which are mutually beneficial and consistent with the
national security or foreign policy priorities of the United
States.
(b) Congressional Consultation.--The Secretary of State shall
consult with the appropriate congressional committees when considering
entering into an agreement under subsection (a).
(c) Congressional Notification.--The Secretary of State shall
notify the appropriate congressional committees of its intent to enter
into an agreement under subsection (a) not later than 15 days before
the date on which such secretary enters into such agreement.
(d) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be
construed to affect the normal procedures for seeking advice and
consent from the Senate on treaties within the meaning of Article II of
the United States Constitution.
SEC. 6. SPACE SECURITY DIALOGUES.
The Secretary of State, in coordination with the Secretary of
Defense and the head of any other Federal department or agency, may
initiate space security dialogues with key allies and partners of the
United States, which may be held in conjunction with civil and
commercial space dialogues, as a forum to discuss efforts to improve
allied and partner contributions to collective space security,
including by--
(1) identifying opportunities to integrate space security
issues into collective defense and deterrence concepts;
(2) determining priority areas for investment in space
systems that are interoperable and complementary to space
systems of the United States;
(3) identify and pursue mechanisms to leverage collective
industrial base strengths of allied and partner countries to
promote secure and resilient supply chains;
(4) identify opportunities where promoting United States
space companies can address security and resiliency needs of
allies and partners; and
(5) coordinating approaches to diplomatic engagements in
international forums on space security issues, including risk
reduction efforts, norm-building activities, and engagements in
standards-setting organizations that enhance stability and
deterrence.
SEC. 7. CONSULTATIONS ON THREATS TO UNITED STATES SPACE SECURITY.
(a) In General.--No later than 90 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for 3 years, the
Secretary of State, acting through the Under Secretary for Arms Control
and International Security, shall consult the appropriate congressional
committees on the current and emerging threats to the space security of
the United States. The consultations may include--
(1) information on any roles and responsibilities of the
Department of State pursuant to Executive Order 14369 (90 Fed.
Reg. 60537; relating to ensuring American space superiority);
(2) threats posed to the space interests of the United
States and its allies and partners from the military or dual-
use space systems of the adversaries of the United States;
(3) an assessment of such adversaries' intentions in the
space domain and their posture toward developing international
norms or bilateral or multilateral risk reduction mechanisms in
space;
(4) the Department of State's efforts to prevent such
adversaries from endangering the space systems of the United
States, including through efforts with allies and partners and
shaping international norms for behavior in space;
(5) information on any country's plans or intent to put a
nuclear weapon in space;
(6) the intent of the People's Republic of China or the
Russian Federation to use ground-based or in-orbit counterspace
systems against the space assets of the United States or
efforts to hold such assets at risk;
(7) the status of international discussions on space arms
control or related space security issues, including
transparency and confidence building measures and space
security dialogues undertaken under section 6;
(8) an identification of any existing barriers, including
policies, processes, or authorities that limit the ability of
United States companies to cooperate with allies and partners,
and information on the steps the Secretary of State is taking
to address such barriers; and
(9) actions taken in the preceding year, or planned
coordination for the proceeding year, with allies and partners
to safeguard the space security interests of the United States
and its allies and partners.
(b) Adversary Changes.--Not later than 30 days after the date on
which the Secretary of State determines that there has been a
significant change to the space posture, intention, or capability of an
adversary of the United States, the Secretary shall notify and consult
the appropriate congressional committees on such change.
SEC. 8. APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DEFINED.
In this Act, the term ``appropriate congressional committees''
means--
(1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives; and
(2) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.
<all>