,i  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #hbc  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of   
,,representatives  ,february #bf1 #bjac 
,mr4 ,culberson 7for himself1 ,mr4      
,wolf1 ,mr4 ,gene ,green of ,texas1 ,mr4
 ,posey1 and ,mr4 ,olson7 introduced the
 following bill2 which was referred to  
the ,committee on ,science1 ,space1 and 
,technology1 and in addition to the     
,committee on the ,budget1 for a period 
to be subsequently determined by the    
,speaker1 in each case for consideration
 of such provisions as fall within the  
jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
,a ,,bill  ,to preserve ,american space 
leadership1 and for other purposes4  #a4
 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as
 the ,space ,leadership ,preservation   
,act of #bjac4  #b4 ,purpose ,the       
purpose of this ,act is to ensure that  
the ,american space program will always 
be the best in the world1 and to ensure 
that ,america will always be able to    
preserve and protect our leadership in  
the exploration of outer space1 the high

 ground of the future4 ,congress is     
hopeful that by restructuring ,,nasa we 
can make the ,agency less political and 
more professional so that visionary     
,,nasa scientists1 engineers1 and       
astronauts will continue to inspire     
future generations by their continuing  
mission3 to explore strange new worlds1 
to seek out new life1 to boldly go where
 no one has gone before4  #c4           
,administrator and ,deputy              
,administrator ,section #bjaaa of title 
#ea1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended--
  7#a7 in subsection 7a7--  7,a7 by     
striking ,administrator4--,there is     
established and inserting               
,administrator4-- 7#a7 ,in general      
,there is established  2  7,b7 in       
paragraph 7#a71 as so designated by     
subparagraph 7,a7 of this paragraph1 by 
inserting ,the ,administrator shall     
serve for a term of #f years4 after and 
activities thereof42 and  7,c7 by adding
 at the end the following new paragraph3
  7#b7 ,board of directors nominations  

,the ,president may appoint the         
,administrator under paragraph 7#a7 from
 among the list of nominees provided by 
the ,board of ,directors pursuant to    
section #bjaah7;j77#b77;,a74  2 and     
7#b7 in subsection 7b7--  7,a7 by       
striking ,administrator4--,there shall  
be and inserting  ,administrator4-- 7#a7
 ,in general ,there shall be  2  7,b7 in
 paragraph 7#a71 as so designated by    
subparagraph 7,a7 of this paragraph1 by 
inserting ,the ,deputy ,administrator   
shall not act for1 and exercise the     
powers of1 the ,administrator for a     
period in excess of #de days4 ,after #de
 days1 the ,associate ,administrator    
shall exercise the powers of            
,administrator until a new              
,administrator is appointed and         
confirmed by the ,senate4 after absence 
or disability42 and  7,c7 by adding at  
the end the following new paragraph3    
7#b7 ,board of directors nominations    
,the ,president may appoint the ,deputy 
,administrator under paragraph 7#a7 from

 among the list of nominees provided by 
the ,board of ,directors pursuant to    
section #bjaah7;j77#b77;,b74  4  #d4    
,board of ,directors  7a7 ,establishment
 ,subchapter ,,ii of chapter #bja of    
title #ea1 ,united ,states ,code1 is    
amended by adding at the end the        
following new section3  #bjaah4 ,board  
of ,directors  7a7 ,establishment ,there
 shall be established a ,board of       
,directors for the ,national            
,aeronautics and ,space ,administration 
in accordance with this section1 not    
later than #i months after the date of  
enactment of the ,space ,leadership     
,preservation ,act of #bjac4  7b7       
,membership and appointment ,the ,board 
shall consist of #aa members to be      
appointed as follows3  7#a7 #c members  
shall be appointed by the ,president4   
7#b7 #c members shall be appointed by   
the president pro tempore of the        
,senate4  7#c7 #a member shall be       
appointed by the minority leader of the 
,senate4  7#d7 #c members shall be      

appointed by the ,speaker of the ,house 
of ,representatives4  7#e7 #a member    
shall be appointed by the minority      
leader of the ,house of                 
,representatives4  ,in addition to the  
members appointed under paragraphs 7#a7 
through 7#e71 the ,administrator shall  
be an ex officio1 nonvoting member of   
the ,board4  7c7 ,qualifications ,the   
persons appointed as members of the     
,board shall be--  7#a7 former          
astronauts or scientists or engineers   
eminent in the fields of human          
spaceflight1 planetary science1 space   
science1 ,earth science1 and            
aeronautics1 or other scientific1       
engineering1 business1 and social       
science disciplines related to space and
 aeronautics2  7#b7 selected on the     
basis of established records of         
distinguished service2 and  7#c7 so     
selected as to provide representation of
 the views of engineering1 science1 and 
aerospace leaders in all areas of the   
,nation4  7d7 ,limitation on members ,an

 individual employed by or representing 
an organization with which the          
,administration has a contract is not   
eligible to serve on the ,board1 except 
for scientists employed by or           
representing colleges1 universities1 and
 other not-for-profit organizations4    
,any such scientists serving on the     
,board shall not directly work on a     
study1 project1 or program that receives
 funding through a grant from or        
contract with the ,administration1 and  
shall recuse themselves from any ,board 
consideration of programs affecting     
their place of employment4              
,additionally1 a former ,board member   
may not take employment with or         
represent an organization with which the
 ,administration has a contract1 or     
which is seeking such a contract1 for a 
period of #b years following completion 
of service on the ,board4  7e7 ,terms   
,the term of office of each member of   
the ,board shall be #c years1 except    
that any member appointed to fill a     

vacancy occurring prior to the          
expiration of the term for which his    
predecessor was appointed shall be      
appointed for the remainder of such     
term4 ,any person who has been a member 
of the ,board for #ab consecutive years 
shall thereafter be ineligible for      
appointment during the #b-year period   
following the expiration of such #abth  
year4  7f7 ,meetings ,the ,board shall  
meet quarterly and at such other times  
as the ,chairman may determine1 but the 
,chairman shall also call a meeting     
whenever one-third of the members so    
request in writing4 ,the ,board shall   
adopt procedures governing the conduct  
of its meetings1 including delivery of  
notice and a definition of a quorum1    
which in no case shall be less than     
one-half plus one of the members of the 
,board4  7g7 ,chairman and ,vice        
,chairman ,the election of the ,chairman
 and ,vice ,chairman of the ,board shall
 take place at each first quarter       
meeting occurring in an even-numbered   

year4 ,the ,vice ,chairman shall perform
 the duties of the ,chairman in his     
absence4 ,in case a vacancy occurs in   
the chairmanship or vice chairmanship1  
the ,board shall elect a member to fill 
such vacancy4  7h7 ,staff ,the ,board   
may1 with the concurrence of a majority 
of its members1 permit the appointment  
of a staff consisting of professional   
staff members1 technical and            
professional personnel on leave of      
absence from academic1 industrial1 or   
research institutions for a limited     
term1 and such operations and support   
staff members as may be necessary4 ,such
 staff shall be appointed by the        
,chairman and assigned at the direction 
of the ,board4 ,the professional members
 and limited term technical and         
professional personnel of such staff may
 be appointed without regard to the     
provisions of title #e1 ,united ,states 
,code1 governing appointments in the    
competitive service1 and the provisions 
of chapter #ea of such title relating to

 classification1 and shall be           
compensated at a rate not exceeding the 
maximum rate payable under section #ecgf
 of such title1 as may be necessary to  
provide for the performance of such     
duties as may be prescribed by the      
,board in connection with the exercise  
of its powers and functions under this  
section4  7i7 ,committees ,the ,board is
 also authorized to appoint from among  
its members such committees as it deems 
necessary1 and to assign to committees  
so appointed such survey and advisory   
functions as the ,board deems           
appropriate to assist it in exercising  
its powers and functions under this     
section4  7j7 ,functions  7#a7 ,budget  
proposal ,not later than ,november #ae  
of each year1 the ,board shall provide  
to the ,president1 and to the ,committee
 on ,appropriations and the ,committee  
on ,science1 ,space1 and ,technology of 
the ,house of ,representatives and the  
,committee on ,appropriations and the   
,committee on ,commerce1 ,science1 and  

,transportation of the ,senate1 a       
proposed budget for the ,national       
,aeronautics and ,space ,administration 
for the next fiscal year4 ,such budget  
shall--  7,a7 carry out the purpose     
described in section #bjajb7;h72  7,b7  
be based on--  7i7 the best professional
 judgement of the ,board2  7ii7         
recommendations from the scientific1    
engineering1 and other technical experts
 communities2 and  7iii7 the            
recommendations of the most recent      
,national ,research ,council decadal    
surveys2 and  7,c7 follow such decadal  
surveys' recommended decision rules     
regarding program implementation1       
including a strict adherence to the     
recommendation that the ,national       
,aeronautics and ,space ,administration 
include in a balanced program a flagship
 class mission1 which may be executed in
 cooperation with one or more           
international partners4  7#b7 ,nominees 
for ,administrator1 ,deputy             
,administrator1 and ,chief ,financial   

,officer ,the ,board shall provide to   
the ,president--  7,a7 a list of #c     
nominees from which the ,president may  
appoint an ,administrator pursuant to   
section #bjaaa7;a72  7,b7 a list of #c  
nominees from which the ,president may  
appoint a ,deputy ,administrator        
pursuant to section #bjaaa7;b7 and  7,c7
 a list of #c nominees from which the   
,president may appoint a ,chief         
,financial ,officer pursuant to section 
#bje7;a7 of the ,chief ,financial       
,officers ,act 7#ca ,u4,s4,c4 #ija7;a774
  ,the ,board shall provide the first   
set of nominees under this paragraph not
 later than #ae months after the date of
 enactment of the ,space ,leadership    
,preservation ,act of #bjac4  7#c7      
,reports  7,a7 ,annual infrastructure1  
capabilities1 and workforce assessment  
,the ,board shall provide to the        
,president and the ,congress annually a 
report assessing the status of ,united  
,states spaceflight infrastructure1     
unique space capabilities1 and the      

health of the ,united ,states workforce 
necessary to maintain such              
infrastructure and capabilities4 ,the   
assessment shall also identify areas of 
concern1 gaps in capability compared to 
foreign spaceflight capabilities1 and   
recommendations on how to strengthen or 
improve ,united ,states capabilities and
 workforce4  7,b7 ,specific policy      
matter reports ,the ,board shall provide
 to the ,president and the ,congress    
reports on specific1 individual policy  
matters within the authority of the     
,administration 7or otherwise as        
requested by the ,congress or the       
,president7 related to human space      
flight1 planetary science1 earth        
science1 aeronautics1 and science1      
technology1 engineering1 and mathematics
 education1 as the ,board1 the          
,president1 or the ,congress determines 
the need for such reports4  7#d7        
,quadrennial review ,the ,board shall   
provide to the ,president and the       
,congress1 not later than the later of  

#ahj days after the establishment of the
 ,board or the third quarterly meeting  
of the ,board1 and once every #d years  
thereafter1 a quadrennial review of     
current space programs and a vision for 
future space exploration4  7#e7 ,removal
 for cause ,the ,board may provide to   
the ,president and the ,congress a      
report recommending the removal of the  
,administrator1 the ,deputy             
,administrator1 or the ,chief ,financial
 ,officer for cause4 ,any such report   
shall include the reasons for such      
recommendation4  7k7 ,budget meetings   
,portions of ,board meetings in which   
the ,board considers the budget proposal
 required under subsection 7j77#a7 for a
 particular fiscal year may be closed to
 the public until the ,board submits the
 proposal to the ,president and the     
,congress4  7l7 ,financial disclosure   
,members of the ,board shall be required
 to file a financial disclosure report  
under title ,,ii of the ,ethics in      
,government ,act of #aigh 7#e ,u4,s4,c4 

,app4 #ib ,stat4 #ahcf71 except that    
such reports shall be held confidential 
and exempt from any law otherwise       
requiring their public disclosure4  4   
7b7 ,table of sections ,the table of    
sections for chapter #bja of title #ea1 
,united ,states ,code1 is amended by    
adding at the end of the items for      
subchapter ,,ii the following new item3 
#bjaah4 ,board of ,directors4  4  #e4   
,budget proposal ,section #cjajc of     
title #ea1 ,united ,states ,code1 is    
amended by adding at the end the        
following new subsection3  7e7 ,board of
 ,directors proposal  7#a7 ,inclusion in
 ,president's proposed budget ,the      
proposed budget for the ,administration 
submitted to the ,congress by the       
,president for each fiscal year shall   
include a description of1 and a detailed
 justification for1 any differences     
between the ,president's proposed budget
 and the budget provided by the ,board  
of ,directors under section             
#bjaah7;j77#a74  7#b7 ,elements of      

budget proposal ,subsections 7a7 through
 7d7 of this section shall apply to the 
proposed budget provided by the ,board  
of ,directors under section             
#bjaah7;j77#a74  4  #f4 ,long term      
contracting  7a7 ,amendments ,section   
#bjadb of title #ea1 ,united ,states    
,code1 is amended--  7#a7 in the section
 heading1 by striking ,contracts        
regarding expendable launch vehicles and
 inserting ,long term contracting2  7#b7
 in subsection 7a71 by--  7,a7 striking 
expendable launch vehicle services and  
inserting rocket propulsion systems and 
manned and unmanned space transportation
 vehicles and payloads1 including       
expendable launch vehicles1 and any     
other infrastructure intended for       
placement or operation in space or on   
celestial bodies1 and services related  
thereto12 and  7,b7 striking related to 
launch and inserting related to2 and    
7#c7 in subsection 7b71 by striking     
launch services and inserting the goods 
and services to have been provided under

 the contract4  7b7 ,table of sections  
amendment ,the item relating to section 
#bjadb in the table of sections for     
chapter #bja of title #ea1 ,united      
,states ,code1 is amended to read as    
follows3  #bjadb4 ,long term            
contracting4  4