Sec. 601. NASA-funded institutes

307 words·~1 min read·/bill/115/hr/5503/ih/section-601

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Congress finds that on June 9, 2016, the Office of Inspector General of NASA reported that— NASA does not aggregate information on the universe, status, or funding levels for the many institutes it supports; the absence of this information makes it difficult for NASA leaders to strategically evaluate the scope or purpose of its institute investments and for Congress and other stakeholders to understand how NASA is spending more than three-quarters of a billion dollars of its budget annually; absent comprehensive, centralized information about these investments, it may be difficult for NASA to avoid duplication among its efforts;

NASA has not defined what constitutes an institute or established guidance and metrics on the management, use, or expectations for return on investment; such guidance may enable NASA to gain a better understanding of how funds directed to NASA-funded institutes are utilized to accomplish the mission and goals of NASA, increase its return on investment, and evaluate the performance of such institutes; and NASA lacks a standard process to assess a potential grantee’s financial condition prior to grant award or to impose additional reporting or oversight requirements that such a condition may warrant, and without such a mechanism, NASA risks making uninformed investment decisions.

Section 30103(a) of title 51, United States Code, is amended— in paragraph (5), by striking and at the end; by redesignating paragraph

(6)as paragraph (7); and by inserting after paragraph

(5)the following: the budget for each NASA-funded institute; and . Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report that recommends guidance and metrics for the management, utilization, expectations for return on investment, and financial condition of NASA-funded institutes.