[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 89 (Tuesday, June 7, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Page S3584]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 4509. Mr. NELSON (for himself, Mr. Gardner, Mr. Bennet, Mr. 
Shelby, and Mr. Durbin) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed 
by him to the bill S. 2943, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 
2017 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military 
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, 
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for 
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

       Strike sections 1036 and 1037 and insert the following:

     SEC. 1036. COMPETITIVE PROCUREMENT AND PHASE OUT OF ROCKET 
                   ENGINES FROM THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION IN THE 
                   EVOLVED EXPENDABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE PROGRAM FOR 
                   SPACE LAUNCH OF NATIONAL SECURITY SATELLITES.

       (a) In General.--Any competition for a contract for the 
     provision of launch services for the evolved expendable 
     launch vehicle program shall be open for award to all 
     certified providers of evolved expendable launch vehicle-
     class systems.
       (b) Award of Contracts.--In awarding a contract under 
     subsection (a), the Secretary of Defense--
       (1) subject to paragraph (2), shall award the contract to 
     the provider of launch services that offers the best value to 
     the Federal Government; and
       (2) notwithstanding any other provision of law, may, during 
     the period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act 
     and ending on December 31, 2022, award the contract to a 
     provider of launch services that intends to use any certified 
     launch vehicle in its inventory without regard to the country 
     of origin of the rocket engine that will be used on that 
     launch vehicle, in order to ensure robust competition and 
     continued assured access to space.
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