[Pages S4123-S4124]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 2780. Ms. CANTWELL submitted an amendment intended to be proposed 
to amendment SA 2360 proposed by Mr. Thune (for Mr. Graham) to the bill 
H.R. 1, to provide for reconciliation pursuant to title II of H. Con. 
Res. 14; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

       Strike section 40004 and insert the following:

     SEC. 40004. SPACE LAUNCH AND REENTRY USER FEES.

       (a) In General.--Chapter 509 of title 51, United States 
     Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 
     section:

     ``Sec. 50924. Space launch and reentry user fees

       ``(a) Fees.--
       ``(1) Proposal.--
       ``(A) In general.--On or before June 1, 2026, the Secretary 
     of Transportation shall submit to the appropriate committees 
     of Congress a proposal for imposing fees, which shall be 
     deposited in the account established by subsection (e), on 
     each launch or reentry carried out under a license or 
     experimental permit issued under section 50904 during 2027 or 
     a subsequent year.
       ``(B) Development and review.--The proposal required by 
     subparagraph (A)--
       ``(i) shall be developed by the Office of Commercial Space 
     Transportation of the Federal Aviation Administration, in 
     consultation with the Commercial Space Transportation 
     Advisory Committee and, as necessary and appropriate, a 
     dedicated aerospace rulemaking committee; and

[[Page S4124]]

       ``(ii) before submission to Congress under that 
     subparagraph, reviewed and approved by the Secretary of 
     Transportation.
       ``(C) Elements.--The proposal developed and submitted under 
     this paragraph shall include the following:
       ``(i) Fee categories.--Separate proposed fees for each of 
     the following categories of licenses and permits:

       ``(I) Experimental permits.
       ``(II) Suborbital launch licenses.
       ``(III) Orbital launch licenses.
       ``(IV) Reentry licenses.

       ``(ii) Fee amounts.--Fee amounts that generate the 
     recommended revenue set forth in subsection (d).
       ``(iii) Avoidance of duplication.--A provision that 
     requires that, in a case in which the same operator is 
     conducting both a launch and a reentry during a single 
     mission, the operator shall only be charged for the greater 
     of--

       ``(I) the launch fee; or
       ``(II) the reentry fee.

       ``(iv) Fee refund.--A provision that sets forth that 
     licensees shall be eligible for a fee refund if the Secretary 
     of Transportation issues the relevant license or permit on a 
     date that is, as applicable--

       ``(I) more than 180 calendar days after the date on which 
     the application for such license is submitted; or
       ``(II) more than 120 calendar days after the date on which 
     an application for a license modification is submitted.

       ``(v) Fee waiver.--A provision that authorizes Federal 
     agencies that contract for commercially provided launches and 
     reentries to request a fee waiver on a case-by-case basis for 
     such launches and reentries.
       ``(2) Review.--Not later than October 1, 2026, the 
     appropriate committees of Congress shall--
       ``(A) complete a review of the proposal submitted under 
     paragraph (1); and
       ``(B) submit to the Secretary of Transportation a response 
     with respect to such proposal that indicates whether the 
     appropriate committees of Congress approve or reject the fee 
     structure contained in the proposal.
       ``(3) Implementation.--If the appropriate committees of 
     Congress approve the proposal submitted under this 
     subsection, the Secretary of Transportation may commence 
     implementation of the fees set forth in such proposal.
       ``(b) Annual Report.--Beginning on January 1, 2028, and 
     annually thereafter, as long as fees under this section 
     remain in effect, the Secretary of Transportation shall 
     submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report 
     that includes, with respect to the preceding calendar year, 
     the amount of such fees assessed and a description of the 
     activities funded by such fees.
       ``(c) GAO Review.--
       ``(1) In general.--Not later than January 1, 2030, the 
     Comptroller General of the United States shall commence a 
     review of the fees implemented under this section to 
     determine whether such fees--
       ``(A) meet congressional intent, including with respect to 
     the generation of the required annual revenue set forth in 
     subsection (d);
       ``(B) are being implemented by the Secretary of 
     Transportation in a manner consistent with the purposes of 
     commercial space launch and reentry activities described in 
     section 50901(b); and
       ``(C) affect any sector of the United States commercial 
     space industry in a manner that is detrimental to safety, 
     innovation, growth, or economic competitiveness.
       ``(2) Report.--Not later than 270 days after the date on 
     which the review under this subsection is commenced, the 
     Comptroller General shall submit to the appropriate 
     committees of Congress a report on the results of the review.
       ``(d) Required Revenue.--The fees proposed by the Secretary 
     of Transportation and approved by the appropriate committees 
     of Congress should be structured so as to generate the 
     following sum total annual revenue, to be collected and 
     deposited in the account established by subsection (e):
       ``(1) For 2027, $2,000,000.
       ``(2) For 2028, $4,000,000.
       ``(3) For 2029, $5,000,000.
       ``(4) For 2030, $7,000,000.
       ``(5) For 2031, $10,000,000.
       ``(6) For 2032, $14,000,000.
       ``(7) For 2033, $18,000,000.
       ``(8) For fiscal year 2034 and each subsequent fiscal year, 
     the amount specified in this paragraph for the previous year 
     increased by the percentage increase in the consumer price 
     index for all urban consumers (all items; United States city 
     average) over the previous year.
       ``(e) Office of Commercial Space Transportation Launch and 
     Reentry Licensing and Permitting Fund.--There is established 
     in the Treasury of the United States a separate account, 
     which shall be known as the `Office of Commercial Space 
     Transportation Launch and Reentry Licensing and Permitting 
     Fund', for the purposes of expenses of the Office of 
     Commercial Space Transportation of the Federal Aviation 
     Administration and to carry out section 630(b) of the FAA 
     Reauthorization Act of 2024 (Public Law 118-63; 138 Stat. 
     1047). The amounts deposited into the fund shall be available 
     for such purposes without further appropriation and without 
     fiscal year limitation.
       ``(f) Appropriate Committees of Congress Defined.--In this 
     section, the term `appropriate committees of Congress' 
     means--
       ``(1) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
     Transportation of the Senate;
       ``(2) the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of 
     the House of Representatives; and
       ``(3) the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of 
     the House of Representatives.''.
       (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 
     509 of title 51, United States Code, is amended by inserting 
     after the item relating to section 50923 the following:

``50924. Space launch and reentry user fees.''.
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