[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 113 (Monday, July 13, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3845-S3846]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 6643. Mrs. MOODY submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
her to the bill S. 4784, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2027 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 title X, add the following:
Subtitle H--Space Ready Act
SEC. 1094. SHORT TITLE.
This subtitle may be cited as the ``Space Ready 2.0 Act''.
SEC. 1095. DEFINITIONS.
In this subtitle:
(1) Administration.--The term ``Administration'' means the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
(2) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the
Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration.
(3) Common use infrastructure.--The term ``common use
infrastructure''--
(A) means any infrastructure that benefits 1 or more NASA
Center users;
(B) includes roadways and commodities pipelines and
portions of roadways and commodities pipelines; and
(C) does not include any infrastructure that solely
benefits the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
(4) NASA.--The term ``NASA'' means the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration.
(5) Project.--The term ``project'' means any work performed
in support of a common activity or infrastructure effort
under 1 or more common use infrastructure agreements entered
into pursuant to this subtitle, regardless of whether such
work is conducted pursuant to a single agreement or multiple
separate agreements with different commercial entities.
[[Page S3846]]
SEC. 1096. PILOT PROGRAM FOR INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTS AT
NASA CENTERS.
(a) Pilot Program.--The Administrator may conduct a pilot
program for private and public investment in specific
infrastructure projects at 1 or more NASA Centers.
(b) Agreements in Support of Common Use Infrastructure
Projects.--
(1) Funding.--
(A) Voluntary infrastructure contributions.--The
Administrator may enter into agreements under section
20113(e) of title 51, United States Code, involving
transactions that support public and commercial activities at
1 or more NASA Centers, and such agreements may include the
authority to collect voluntary infrastructure contributions
to fund specific capital repair, maintenance, and improvement
projects described in paragraph (2), but no contribution may
be collected or accepted, and no agreement authorizing the
collection of such contributions may be executed, except to
the extent and in such amounts as provided in advance in an
appropriations Act. Any contributions so collected shall be
available only to the extent and in such amounts as provided
in advance in appropriations Acts, and shall be subject to
the same purposes, terms, and conditions as amounts otherwise
appropriated to the account.
(B) Transparency.--
(i) Cost and schedule estimates.--In any agreement that
includes the means for voluntary contributions described in
this section, the Administrator shall establish a reasonable
cost and schedule baseline for each project.
(ii) Project completion.--At the conclusion of each
designated project, the Administrator shall provide each
contributing commercial entity with a final project cost,
including a breakdown of cost sharing between government and
commercial entities.
(C) Project costs and timelines.--The Administrator shall--
(i) to the maximum extent practicable, ensure that the
projects described in this section are completed within the
cost estimates and timelines established under subparagraph
(B)(i); and
(ii) exercise streamlined acquisition procedures to the
maximum extent allowed by law.
(D) Cost-sharing.--The Administrator shall ensure that any
agreement entered into with a commercial entity under
subparagraph (A) provides that, at the conclusion of the
project, any funds contributed by the commercial entity that
remain unexpended shall be returned to such entity in
proportion to the amount originally contributed by the
partner.
(E) Nonconditioning of agreements.--The Administrator shall
not withhold execution of any agreement under section
20113(e) of title 51, United States Code, or deny a lease or
other authorization for commercial activities on the basis of
a failure to reach agreement on the amount or terms of
contributions described in this section.
(F) Requirements with respect to agreements.--Each
agreement entered into with a commercial entity under
subparagraph (A) shall, on a case-by-case basis--
(i) address the terms of use, ownership, and disposition of
the funds, services, or equipment contributed pursuant to the
agreement;
(ii) include a provision that the commercial entity will
not recover the costs of its contribution through any other
agreement with the United States; and
(iii) include a provision that mutually determines which
entity covers costs in the event of cost overruns or project
delays.
(G) CECR funds.--
(i) In general.--As provided in advance in appropriations
Acts, the Administrator is authorized to use amounts
otherwise made available within the Construction and
Environmental Compliance and Restoration account to fulfill
the obligations entered into by the Administrator under
agreements pursuant to this section.
(ii) Receipt of funds.--Contributions may be collected only
as provided in subparagraph (A). Private contributions
deposited into the Construction and Environmental Compliance
and Restoration account shall be available only to the extent
and in such amounts as provided in advance in appropriations
Acts, and shall be subject to the same purposes, terms, and
conditions as amounts otherwise appropriated to the account.
(H) Contributions from other entities.--The Administrator
may enter into agreements for voluntary contributions from
other entities, including Federal, State, or local
authorities, for the purpose of funding projects.
(I) Direct agreements.--
(i) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this subtitle may be
construed to restrict the Administrator from entering into
direct agreements under section 20113(e) of title 51, United
States Code, with entities to perform work within a NASA
Center separate from the activities funded through projects.
(ii) Prioritization.--The Administrator shall prioritize
such direct agreements in instances in which required work
would be completed more expeditiously or at a lower cost than
through the pilot program described in this section.
(iii) Direct contributions.--The Administrator may make
direct financial or in-kind contributions to projects
undertaken by commercial entities under agreements entered
into under clause (i), as the Administrator considers
appropriate to support common use infrastructure at a NASA
Center.
(2) Use of funds.--
(A) In general.--Contributions proffered by entities under
agreements in support of projects shall be used by the
Administrator to conduct capital repairs, maintenance, and
improvements to NASA-owned infrastructure at a NASA Center,
as the Administrator considers necessary to support
activities conducted under agreements entered into under
section 20113(e) of title 51, United States Code, which may
include renovation, rehabilitation, sustainment, demolition,
construction, operation, maintenance, repair, enhancement,
expansion, and modernization of NASA-owned infrastructure at
a NASA Center.
(B) Consultation.--The Administrator shall consult and
partner with other Federal, State, and local public
entities--
(i) to ensure that such projects are not duplicative; and
(ii) to identify opportunities for projects to provide
increased capability or capacity to users.
(C) Treatment of improvements.--Improvements made to NASA-
owned infrastructure at a NASA Center with amounts made
available under a voluntary agreements under this section
shall be property of the United States, unless the
Administrator determines that transferring ownership of such
improvements would be in the best interests of the United
States.
(D) Unexpended contributions.--For any voluntary
contributions from a commercial entity designated to a
specific project that are not fully expended on that project
within 90 days of the project becoming operational, the
Administrator shall, at the election of the contributing
commercial entity--
(i) refund the unexpended portion to the entity; or
(ii) allow the commercial entity to redesignate the funds
to another eligible project under this subsection.
(3) Annual report.--Not later than 180 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the
Administrator shall submit to the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee
on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of
Representatives a report on projects conducted under this
section that includes the following:
(A) For the preceding calendar year, the total amount of
expenditures on projects by NASA and industry.
(B) The proposed uses of amounts contributed by NASA and
industry for the operating plans of the Administration.
(C) Additional recommendations for efforts to streamline or
reduce costs for each agreed upon project described in this
section.
(4) Updates.--Not less frequently than every 2 years, the
Administrator, in collaboration with commercial entities,
shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Science,
Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives interim
milestone updates relating to the pilot program under this
section.
(5) Termination.--
(A) In general.--The authority to collect voluntary
contributions under paragraph (1)(A) shall terminate on
December 31, 2031.
(B) Rule of construction.--The termination under
subparagraph (A) of the authority to collect voluntary
contributions may not be construed to otherwise affect the
validity or terms of agreements under section 20113(e) of
title 51, United States Code, or the retention or use by the
Administration of proceeds from such agreements.
(6) Prohibition on new budget authority.--Nothing in this
subtitle may be construed to provide new budget authority to
incur obligations in advance of appropriations.
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