[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 49 (Tuesday, March 24, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1823-S1824]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 561. Mr. RUBIO submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
him to the concurrent resolution S. Con. Res. 11, setting forth the
congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year
2016 and setting forth the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal
years 2017 through 2025; which was ordered to lie on the table; as
follows:
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
SEC. ___. SPENDING-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO
UNDERUTILIZED FACILITIES OF THE NATIONAL
AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION AND THEIR
POTENTIAL USE.
(a) Findings.--The Senate makes the following findings:
(1) The National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA) is the ninth largest real property holder of the
Federal Government, with more than 123,000 acres and 4,819
buildings and other structures with a replacement value of
more than $32,700,000,000.
(2) The annual operation and maintenance costs of the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration have increased
steadily, and, as of November 2014, the Administration had
more than $3,350,000,000 in deferred annual maintenance
costs.
(3) According to Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the
Administration continues to retain real property that is
underutilized, does not have identified future mission uses,
or is duplicative of other assets in its real property
inventory.
(4) The Office of Inspector General, the Government
Accountability Office (GAO), and Congress have identified the
aging and duplicative infrastructure of the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration as a high priority and
longstanding management challenge.
(5) In the NASA Authorization Act of 2010, Congress
directed the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to
examine its real property assets and downsize to fit current
and future missions and expected funding levels, paying
particular attention to identifying and removing unneeded or
duplicative infrastructure.
(6) The Office of Inspector General found at least 33
facilities, including wind tunnels, test stands, airfields,
and launch infrastructure, that were underutilized or for
which National Aeronautics and Space Administration managers
could not identify a future mission use and that the need for
these facilities have declined in recent years as a result of
changes in the mission focus of the Administration, the
condition and obsolescence of some facilities, and the advent
of alternative testing methods.
(7) The Office of Inspector General found that the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration has taken steps to
minimize the costs of continuing to maintain some of these
facilities by placing them in an inactive state or leasing
them to other parties.
(8) The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has a
series of initiatives underway that, in the judgment of the
Office of
[[Page S1824]]
Inspector General, are ``positive steps towards `rightsizing'
its real property footprint'', and the Office of Inspector
General has concluded that ``it is imperative that NASA move
forward aggressively with its infrastructure reduction
efforts''.
(9) Existing and emerging United States commercial launch
and exploration capabilities are providing cargo
transportation to the International Space Station and offer
the potential for providing crew support, access to the
International Space Station, and missions to low Earth orbit
while the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
focuses its efforts on heavy-lift capabilities and deep space
missions.
(10) National Aeronautics and Space Administration
facilities and property that are underutilized, duplicative,
or no longer needed for Administration requirements could be
utilized by commercial users and State and local entities,
resulting in savings for the Administration and a reduction
in the burden of the Federal Government to fund space
operations.
(b) Spending-neutral Reserve Fund.--The Chairman of the
Committee on the Budget of the Senate may revise the
allocations of a committee or committees, aggregates, and
other appropriate levels in this resolution for one or more
bills, joint resolutions, amendments, amendments between the
Houses, motions, or conference reports relating to
underutilized facilities of the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration and their potential use, which may
include actions described in subsection (c), by the amounts
provided in such legislation for those purposes, provided
that such legislation would not raise new revenue and would
not increase the deficit over either the period of the total
of fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the period of the total
of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.
(c) Actions.--The actions referred to in this subsection
are--
(1) reduction of National Aeronautics and Space
Administration infrastructure and, to the greatest extent
practicable, making Administration property available for
lease to a government or private tenant;
(2) pursuit of opportunities for streamlined sale or lease
of National Aeronautics and Space Administration property and
facilities, including for exclusive use, to a private entity,
or expedited conveyance or transfer to a State or political
subdivision, municipality, instrumentality of a State, or
Department of Transportation-licensed launch site operators
for the promotion of commercial or scientific space activity
and for developing and operating space launch facilities; and
(3) lease or transfer of underutilized National Aeronautics
and Space Administration facilities and properties to
commercial space entities or State or local governments to
reduce operation and maintenance costs for the
Administration, save money for the Federal Government, and
promote commercial space and the exploration goals of the
Administration and the United States.
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