Sec. 710. Facilities and infrastructure

655 words·~3 min read·/bill/114/hr/810/ih/section-710

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It is the sense of Congress that— the Administration must reverse the deteriorating condition of its facilities and infrastructure, as this condition is hampering the effectiveness and efficiency of research performed by both the Administration and industry participants making use of Administration facilities, thus reducing the competitiveness of the United States aerospace industry; the Administration has a role in providing laboratory capabilities to industry participants that are economically viable as commercial entities and thus are not available elsewhere; to ensure continued access to reliable and efficient world-class facilities by researchers, the Administration should seek to establish strategic partnerships with other Federal agencies, academic institutions, and industry, as appropriate; and decisions on whether to dispose of, maintain, or modernize existing facilities must be made in the context of meeting future Administration and other Federal agencies’ laboratory needs, including those required to meet the activities supporting the Human Exploration Roadmap required by section 70504 of title 51, United States Code.

It is the policy of the United States that the Administration maintain reliable and efficient facilities and that decisions on whether to dispose of, maintain, or modernize existing facilities be made in the context of meeting future Administration needs. The Administrator shall develop a plan that has the goal of positioning the Administration to have the facilities, laboratories, tools, and approaches necessary to address future Administration requirements. Such plan shall identify— future Administration research and development and testing needs; a strategy for identifying facilities that are candidates for disposal, that is consistent with the national strategic direction set forth in— the National Space Policy; the National Aeronautics Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation Infrastructure Plan;

National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Acts; and the Human Exploration Roadmap specified in section 70504 of title 51, United States Code; a strategy for the maintenance, repair, upgrading, and modernization of the Administration’s laboratories, facilities, and equipment; criteria for prioritizing deferred maintenance tasks and also for upgrading or modernizing laboratories, facilities, and equipment and implementing processes, plans, and policies for guiding the Administration’s Centers on whether to maintain, repair, upgrade, or modernize a facility and for determining the type of instrument to be used; an assessment of modifications needed to maximize usage of facilities that offer unique and highly specialized benefits to the aerospace industry and the American public; and implementation steps, including a timeline, milestones, and an estimate of resources required for carrying out the plan.

Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall establish and make publically available a policy that guides the Administration’s use of existing authorities to out-grant, lease, excess to the General Services Administration, sell, decommission, demolish, or otherwise transfer property, facilities, or infrastructure. This policy shall establish criteria for the use of authorities, best practices, standardized procedures, and guidelines for how to appropriately manage property, infrastructure, and facilities.

Not later than one year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit the plan developed under subsection

(c)to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate. The Administrator shall establish a capital fund for the modernization of facilities and laboratories. The Administrator shall ensure to the maximum extent practicable that all financial savings achieved by closing outdated or surplus facilities at an Administration Center shall be made available to that Center for the purpose of modernizing the Center’s facilities and laboratories and for upgrading the infrastructure at the Center. Expenditures and other activities of the fund established under subsection

(f)shall require review and approval by the Administrator and the status, including the amounts held in the capital fund, shall be reported to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate in conjunction with the Administration’s annual budget request justification for each fiscal year.