[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6388 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6388
To direct the National Space Council to develop a strategy to ensure
the United States remains the preeminent space power in the face of
growing global competition.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 25, 2020
Ms. Houlahan (for herself and Mr. Weber of Texas) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space,
and Technology
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the National Space Council to develop a strategy to ensure
the United States remains the preeminent space power in the face of
growing global competition.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Space Technology Advancement Report
(STAR) Act of 2020''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) As stated in the United States-China Economic and
Security Commission's 2019 Report to Congress, the United
States retains many advantages over the People's Republic of
China (PRC) in space, including--
(A) the organization and technical expertise of its
space program;
(B) NASA's national capabilities for human
spaceflight and exploration;
(C) its vibrant commercial space sector;
(D) its long history of space leadership; and
(E) many international partnerships.
(2) The PRC seeks to establish a leading position in the
economic and military use of outer space and views space as
critical to its future security and economic interests.
(3) The PRC's national-level commitment to establishing
itself as a global space leader harms United States interests
and threatens to undermine many of the advantages the United
States has worked so long to establish.
(4) For over 60 years, the United States has led the world
in space exploration and human space flight through a robust
national program that ensures NASA develops and maintains
critical spaceflight systems to enable this leadership,
including the Apollo program's Saturn V rocket, the Space
Shuttle, the International Space Station and the Space Launch
System and Orion today.
(5) A 2019 Defense Intelligence Agency noted in its
``Challenges to U.S. Security in Space'' report that the PRC
was developing a national super-heavy lift rocket comparable to
NASA's Space Launch System.
(6) The United States space program and commercial space
sector risks being hollowed out by the PRC's plans to attain
leadership in key technologies.
(7) It is in the economic and security interest of the
United States to remain the global leader in space power.
(8) A recent report by the Air Force Research Laboratory
and the Defense Innovation Unit found that China's strategy to
bolster its domestic space industry includes a global program
of theft and other misappropriation of intellectual property,
direct integration of state-owned entities and their technology
with commercial start-ups, the use of front companies to invest
in United States space companies, vertical control of supply
chains, and predatory pricing.
(9) The United States Congress passed the Wolf Amendment as
part of the Fiscal Year 2012 Consolidated and Further
Continuing Appropriations Act (Public Law 112-55) and every
year thereafter in response to the nefarious and offensive
nature of Chinese activities in the space industry.
SEC. 3. REPORT.
(a) Requirement for Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date
of enactment of this Act, and updated each year thereafter, the
National Space Council shall submit to the appropriate congressional
committees an interagency assessment of the United States ability to
effectively compete with foreign space programs and in the emerging
commercial space economy.
(b) Content of Report.--The report must include, at minimum, the
following:
(1) United States national space program human exploration
and spaceflight capabilities relative to PRC national programs.
(2) An assessment of--
(A) the viability of extraction of space-based
precious minerals, onsite exploitation of space-based
natural resources, and utilization of space-based solar
power;
(B) a comparative assessment of the PRC's programs
related to these issues; and
(C) an assessment of any potential terrestrial or
space environmental impacts of space-based solar power.
(3) An assessment of United States strategic interests in
or related to cislunar space.
(4) A comparative assessment of future United States space
launch capabilities and those of the PRC.
(5) The extent of foreign investment in the United States
commercial space sector, especially in venture capital and
other private equity investments that seek to work with the
United States Government.
(6) The steps by which NASA, the Department of Defense, and
other United States Federal agencies conduct the necessary due
diligence and security reviews prior to investing in private
space entities that may have received funding from foreign
investment.
(7) Current steps the United States Government is taking to
protect its domestic space industry from Chinese influence.
(8) An assessment of the U.S. Department of Defense's
current ability to guarantee the protection of commercial
communications and navigation in space from the PRC's growing
counterspace capabilities, and any actions required to improve
this capability.
(9) An assessment of how the PRC's activities are impacting
the United States commercial space industry's competitiveness
and United States national security, including--
(A) Chinese theft of United States intellectual
property through technology transfer requirements or
otherwise; and
(B) Chinese efforts to seize control of critical
elements of the United States space industry supply
chain and United States space industry companies or
sister companies with shared leadership; and government
cybersecurity capabilities.
(10) An assessment of Chinese efforts to pursue cooperative
agreements with other nations to advance space development.
(11) Recommendations to Congress including--
(A) any legislative action to address Chinese
threats to the United States national space programs as
well as domestic commercial launch and satellite
industries;
(B) how the United States Government can best
utilize existing Federal entities to investigate and
prevent potentially harmful Chinese investment in the
United States commercial space industry;
(C) how the United States Government can bolster
domestic investment in space traffic management (STM)
to ensure the United States space industry seizes and
retains leadership status in STM services, standards,
and best practices; and
(D) how the United States Government can bolster
domestic investment in critical United States space
industry technologies.
(c) Form.--The report required under subsection (a) shall be
submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex.
SEC. 4. STRATEGY.
(a) Requirement for Strategy.--Not later than 1 year after the
submission of the report required in section 3, the President, in
consultation with the National Space Council, shall develop and submit
to the appropriate congressional committees a strategy to ensure the
United States can effectively compete with other national space
programs, maintain dominance in the emerging commercial space economy,
and has market, regulatory, and other means available to address unfair
competition from the PRC based on the findings in the report required
in section 3.
(b) Content of Strategy.--The strategy should include, at minimum,
the following:
(1) A long-term plan for developing the economic potential
of space, including but not limited to the industries and
sectors detailed in section 3 (b)(1)(A).
(2) A plan to ensure the United States leads the creation
of international standards for interoperable commercial space
capabilities, including but not limited to the creation of a
space commodities exchange.
(3) A plan to streamline and strengthen United States
cooperation with allies and partners in space.
(4) An interagency strategy that includes but is not
limited to NASA, the Department of Defense, Department of
Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Department of
Commerce, Department of State, and Department of Energy to
defend United States supply chains and manufacturing capacity
critical to competitiveness in space.
(5) A plan to ensure the Department of Defense has the
legal and other authorities required to protect United States
economic and security interests in space.
(6) A plan to streamline and strengthen United States
cooperation with international allies and partners in space.
(c) Form.--The strategy required under subsection (a) shall be
submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex.
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.
In this section, the following definitions apply:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees of congress.--The
term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee
on Foreign Relations, and the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation of the Senate; and
(B) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee
on Foreign Affairs, and the Committee on Science,
Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives.
(2) PRC.--The term ``PRC'' means the ``People's Republic of
China''.
(3) Space commodities.--The term ``space commodities''
means all commodities to be defined by the Space Commodities
Exchange for trading thereon, including but not limited to--
(A) raw materials;
(B) processed goods, such as rare earth minerals;
(C) services, such as services in Low Earth Orbit
or cislunar orbit for energy storage, launch, in-orbit
refueling, satellite imagery, telecommunications, and
debris removal;
(D) financial derivatives, such as supply and risk
transfer hedges; and
(E) financial indexes, such as an index for
commodities used in Low Earth Orbit or cis-lunar orbit.
(4) Space commodities exchange.--The term ``Space
Commodities Exchange'' means an exchange licensed under the
Commodity Exchange Act of 1936 as amended (7 U.S.C. 1), or
another suitable Federal market regulatory scheme that serves
to enhance trading of commodities produced by, used in, or
derived or indexed to activities of the space economy.
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