[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1403 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1403

   To require the Discovery space shuttle to be transferred from the 
  Smithsonian Institution to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, 
                                 Texas.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 10, 2025

 Mr. Cornyn (for himself and Mr. Cruz) introduced the following bill; 
    which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and 
                             Administration

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To require the Discovery space shuttle to be transferred from the 
  Smithsonian Institution to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, 
                                 Texas.

    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 ``Bring the Space Shuttle Home Act''.

SEC. 2. TRANSFER OF DISCOVERY SPACE SHUTTLE TO JOHNSON SPACE CENTER IN 
              HOUSTON, TEXAS.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 18 months after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, under the direction of the Administrator of the 
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (referred to in this Act 
as the ``Administrator''), the Discovery space shuttle shall be 
transferred from the Smithsonian Institution's Steven F. Udvar Hazy 
Center of the National Air and Space Museum, near Washington, DC, to 
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Johnson Space 
Center in Houston, Texas.
    (b) Plan.--
            (1) In general.--The Administrator and the Smithsonian 
        Institution shall jointly develop a plan to transfer the 
        Discovery space shuttle under subsection (a), which shall 
        include an estimated timeline and cost estimate for such 
        transfer.
            (2) Submission to congress.--Not later than 90 days after 
        the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator and 
        the Smithsonian Institution shall submit to Congress the plan 
        developed under paragraph (1).
    (c) Transfer of Title to NASA.--Not later than 1 year after the 
date on which the Discovery space shuttle is transferred under 
subsection (a), the Smithsonian Institution shall transfer the title to 
the shuttle to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
    (d) Public Exhibition.--On the transfer of the Discovery space 
shuttle under subsection (a)--
            (1) the shuttle shall be placed on public exhibition to 
        advance science, technology, engineering, and mathematics 
        learning at a location not more than 5 miles from the Johnson 
        Space Center; and
            (2) the Johnson Space Center shall be responsible for 
        oversight of the shuttle until the date on which the shuttle is 
        transferred to a nonprofit entity under subsection (e).
    (e) Role of Nonprofit Entity.--On any date after the transfer of 
title under subsection (c), the Administrator shall transfer the title 
to the Discovery space shuttle to a nonprofit entity designated by the 
Administrator, on the condition that the nonprofit entity shall 
maintain the shuttle on public exhibition to advance science, 
technology, engineering, and mathematics learning in a location not 
more than 5 miles from the Johnson Space Center.
    (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Administrator such sums as may be necessary to 
carry out this section, which shall be in addition to any amounts 
authorized to be appropriated by any other Act, and may be requested by 
the President as supplemental requirements, if needed, in the 
appropriate fiscal years.
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