[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 114 (Wednesday, July 10, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4370-S4371]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 2123. Mr. SCHMITT (for himself and Ms. Sinema) submitted an
amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 4638, to
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2025 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:
At the end of subtitle H of title X, add the following:
SEC. 1095. EXTENSIONS AND MODIFICATIONS RELATING TO HUMAN
OCCUPANT SAFETY.
(a) License Applications and Requirements for Commercial
Space Launch Activities.-- Section 50905 of title 51, United
States Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (b), by adding at the end the following:
``(7) The Secretary shall not issue any regulation or other
binding guidance regarding human occupant safety until the
date on which all of the following have occurred:
``(A) The Secretary has approved or denied all applications
submitted under this section during the 2 calendar years
ending before the date of the enactment of this paragraph
within the timelines set forth in this section, including any
period during the processing of such applications that is
tolled.
``(B) The date specified in subsection (c)(9) has
passed.''; and
(2) in subsection (c)--
(A) by amending paragraph (3) to read as follows:
``(3) Collaboration on development of consensus
standards.--
``(A) Participation of secretary.--
``(i) In general.--The Secretary, in collaboration with the
commercial human space flight industry, shall meaningfully
participate in the development of voluntary industry
consensus standards that facilitate the safety of crew,
government astronauts, and space flight participants.
``(ii) Technical expertise and feedback.--
``(I) In general.--The participation of the Secretary under
clause (i) shall include the contribution of technical
expertise and feedback during the standards development
process.
``(II) Limitation.--The technical expertise and feedback
referred to in subclause (I) shall be limited to such
expertise and feedback provided by technical experts from the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Federal
Aviation Administration, and the commercial human space
flight industry who have experience in reviewing human space
flight missions and implementing regulations.
``(B) Promotion of standards.--
``(i) In general.--The Secretary shall promote the adoption
of, but shall not require the commercial space sector to
implement, the standards developed through the collaboration
under subparagraph (A).
``(ii) Engagement with commercial space sector.--In
promoting the adoption of such standards, the Secretary shall
engage with the commercial space sector to collect feedback
on the practical application of such standards.'';
(B) in paragraph (5)--
(i) in subparagraph (A)--
(I) by striking ``December 31, 2016, and every 30 months
thereafter until December 31, 2021,'' and inserting ``90 days
after the date of the enactment of the National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025, and biannually
thereafter until the date that is 5 years after such date of
enactment,'';
(II) by striking ``a report'' and inserting ``, and publish
in the Federal Register, a report''; and
(III) by striking ``that promote best practices'' and
inserting ``to facilitate the safety of crew, government
astronauts, and space flight participants and''; and
(ii) in subparagraph (B)--
(I) by amending clause (v) to read as follows:
``(v) any lessons learned associated with--
``(I) the development, potential application, and
acceptance of voluntary industry consensus standards; and
``(II) commercial space launch operations; and'';
(II) by redesignating clause (vi) as clause (xi);
(III) by inserting after clause (v) the following:
``(vi) any lessons learned with respect to the need for new
standards applicable to emerging human space flight
technologies and approaches for future standards development
to ensure safety and innovation;
``(vii) recommendations on areas in which updates to
existing industry consensus standards may be appropriate;
``(viii) a description of the participation of the
Secretary in the development of the voluntary industry
consensus standards under paragraph (3)(A);
``(ix) a description of the efforts of the Secretary to
promote the adoption of such standards under paragraph
(3)(B)(i);
``(x) a description of the activities conducted by the
Secretary to engage with the commercial space sector to
collect feedback on the practical application of such
standards under paragraph (3)(B)(ii); and''; and
(IV) in clause (xi), as redesignated, by striking
``standards that promote'' and all that follows through the
period at the end and inserting ``standards--
``(I) to facilitate the safety of crew, government
astronauts, and space flight participants; and
``(II) to improve industry safety.'';
(C) in paragraph (6)--
(i) by striking ``Not later than 270 days after the date of
enactment of the SPACE Act of 2015,'' and inserting the
following:
``(A) In general.--Not later than 270 days after the date
of the enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act
for Fiscal Year 2025,''; and
(ii) by adding at the end the following:
``(B) Contents.--The report required by subparagraph (A)
shall include the following:
``(i) An assessment of the experience of the Office of
Commercial Space Transportation in evaluating novel public
safety frameworks.
``(ii) An assessment as to whether the timeframe in which
the Office of Commercial Space Transportation reviews,
processes, and completes applications is consistent with the
pace of development of the commercial human space flight
industry.
``(iii) An assessment of the continued implementation,
review, and improvement of
[[Page S4371]]
part 450 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations.
``(iv) An identification of any additional resources
necessary for the Office of Commercial Space Transportation
to fulfill its responsibilities.'';
(D) in paragraph (8), in the first sentence of the matter
preceding subparagraph (A), by striking ``December 31, 2022''
and inserting ``December 31, 2030'';
(E) by amending paragraph (9) to read as follows:
``(9) Learning period.--
``(A) In general.--Not earlier than 5 years after the date
of the enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act
for Fiscal Year 2025, the Secretary may propose regulations
under this subsection without regard to subparagraphs (C) and
(D) of paragraph (2).
``(B) Aerospace rulemaking committee for commercial human
occupant safety.--Not earlier than 3 years after the date of
the enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2025, and before commencing the development of
proposed regulations under this paragraph, the Secretary of
Transportation shall, consistent with section 106(p)(5) of
title 49, United States Code, establish an aerospace
rulemaking committee, to be known as the `Aerospace
Rulemaking Committee for Commercial Human Occupant Safety'
(referred to in this paragraph as `SpARC').
``(C) Purposes.--The purposes of SpARC shall be--
``(i) to gather input from the commercial space flight
industry on the development of proposed regulations under
this paragraph;
``(ii) to survey and assess existing voluntary performance-
based industry consensus standards for commercial human space
flight;
``(iii) to determine which published standards, or
subcomponents of published standards, may contribute to
commercial human space flight regulations;
``(iv) to provide a forum for Federal Aviation
Administration technical experts with regulatory
implementation experience to meaningfully engage with
industry with respect to the regulation of commercial human
space flight; and
``(v) to make recommendations with respect to the scope and
substance of commercial human space flight regulations in a
report to the Secretary.
``(D) Composition.--
``(i) In general.--SpARC shall be composed only of
representatives of the commercial human space flight industry
with relevant expertise, including--
``(I) current and prospective commercial space launch
license and permit holders; and
``(II) any other individual or entity involved in
commercial human space flight services.
``(ii) Co-chairpersons.--The Secretary of Transportation
shall appoint as co-chairpersons of SpARC--
``(I) an official of the Federal Aviation Administration;
and
``(II) a representative of the commercial human space
flight industry described in clause (i).
``(iii) Observers.--The co-chairpersons of SpARC may invite
to serve as a SpARC observer any individual with relevant
expertise who is an employee of the Department of Commerce,
the Department of Defense, the Department of Transportation,
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or any
other Federal agency.
``(E) Considerations.--In developing recommendations under
this paragraph, SpARC shall take into consideration--
``(i) the evolving standards of the commercial space flight
industry as identified in the reports published under
paragraphs (5), (6), and (7); and
``(ii) the input of the commercial space flight industry.
``(F) Reporting requirements.--
``(i) Briefing.--Not later than 90 days after the date on
which SpARC is established under subparagraph (B), the
Secretary of Transportation shall provide a briefing to the
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the
Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of
the House of Representatives on the composition, charter,
work plan, and as applicable, work progress of SpARC.
``(ii) Biannual report.--
``(I) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date on
which the initial briefing required by clause (i) is
conducted, and biannually thereafter until the date on which
SpARC terminates, the Secretary of Transportation shall
submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate, the Committee on Science,
Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives, and
the Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee of the
Federal Aviation Administration a report on the efforts of
the Secretary and SpARC with respect to the development of
voluntary consensus human space flight standards.
``(II) Elements.--Each report required by subclause (I)
shall include the following:
``(aa) A list of voluntary consensus human space flight
standards that have been adopted or are in development as of
the date of the report.
``(bb) A prioritized list of any additional standard the
development of which the Secretary of Transportation
considers necessary in promoting the safety of commercial
human space flight.
``(cc) An estimate of the technical, personnel, and capital
resources required for the Federal Government to efficiently
and effectively develop and implement commercial human space
flight regulations.
``(dd) A description of the contribution that technical
experts of the Federal Government with regulatory
implementation experience are making to the development of
voluntary consensus human space flight standards and to the
efforts of SpARC.
``(ee) An assessment of the efforts and progress of SpARC.
``(iii) Final report.--Not later than 90 days after the
date on which the report referred to in subparagraph (C)(v)
is submitted by SpARC, the Secretary of Transportation shall
submit to Congress a report that includes the following:
``(I) The report submitted by SpARC.
``(II) The response of the Secretary of Transportation to
such report, including substantive reasoning for any
disagreement with the recommendations of SpARC.
``(III) A plan for drafting rules, including the extent to
which such rules will or will not reflect the input of SpARC.
``(IV) A plan for meaningfully engaging industry during the
rulemaking process through SpARC, the Commercial Space
Transportation Advisory Committee, and the conduct of public
forums.'';
(F) by redesignating paragraph (10) as paragraph (11); and
(G) by inserting after paragraph (9) the following:
``(10) Other agencies.--With respect to a commercial human
space flight operator that meets safety requirements, the
Secretary shall accept an application described in subsection
(a) from the operator that has, using the same or
substantially similar hardware and operations as the hardware
and operations proposed to be used under the application--
``(A) previously launched government astronauts or space
flight participants employed by a Federal agency on a launch
vehicle or launch system under a contract with any other
Federal agency; or
``(B)(i) entered into a contract with any other Federal
agency to launch government astronauts or space flight
participants employed by a Federal agency on a launch vehicle
or launch system; and
``(ii) has satisfactorily demonstrated compliance with the
safety requirements or qualifications of such other Federal
agency.''.
(b) Extension of Liability Insurance and Financial
Responsibility Requirements.--Section 50914 of title 51,
United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)(5), by striking ``September 30,
2025'' and inserting ``September 30, 2033''; and
(2) in subsection (b)(1)(C), by striking ``September 30,
2025'' and inserting ``September 30, 2033''.
(c) Extension of Payment of Claims Exceeding Liability
Insurance and Financial Responsibility Requirements.--Section
50915 of title 51, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)(3)(B), by striking ``September 30,
2025'' and inserting ``September 30, 2033''; and
(2) in subsection (f), in the first sentence, by striking
``September 30, 2025'' and inserting ``September 30, 2033''.
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