Text of Senate Amendment 6527

On 2026-06-24, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) delivered a floor speech titled "Text Of Senate Amendment 6527" in the Senate.

Text of Senate Amendment 6527

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 106 (Wednesday, June 24, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 106 (Wednesday, June 24, 2026)] [Senate] [Pages S3636-S3660] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] SA 6527. Mr. CRUZ (for himself, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Moran, Mr. Peters, Mr. Schmitt, Mr. Lujan, and Ms. Duckworth) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 4784, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2027 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows: At the end, add the following: DIVISION F--NASA AUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2026 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. (a) Short Title.--This division may be cited as the ``NASA Authorization Act of 2026''. (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this division is as follows: DIVISION F--NASA AUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2026 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Definitions. TITLE I--AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS Sec. 101. Authorization of NASA. TITLE II--EXPLORATION Sec. 201. Continuity of purpose for space exploration. Sec. 202. Artemis program. Sec. 203. Space launch system. Sec. 204. Human-rated lunar landing capabilities. Sec. 205. Advanced spacesuit capabilities. Sec. 206. Briefing on lunar outpost. Sec. 207. Lunar Terrain Vehicle element. Sec. 208. Exploration ground systems. Sec. 209. Commercial Lunar Payload Services program. Sec. 210. Moon Base. Sec. 211. Engine testing for exploration. TITLE III--SPACE OPERATIONS Sec. 301. Maximizing United States presence in low-Earth orbit. Sec. 302. Commercial Low-Earth-Orbit Development Program. Sec. 303. Managed transition from International Space Station to commercial low-Earth-orbit destinations. Sec. 304. Extension of International Space Station. Sec. 305. Reporting and oversight. Sec. 306. Transition to a commercially led low-Earth-orbit economy. Sec. 307. Nongovernmental missions on the International Space Station. Sec. 308. Briefing on use of commercial suborbital vehicles for crewed missions. Sec. 309. Lunar communications. Sec. 310. Report on space communications upgrades. Sec. 311. Lunar time standardization. Sec. 312. Lunar surface power. Sec. 313. Commercial lunar data acquisition. Sec. 314. Crew rescue capabilities. Sec. 315. Commercial launch services. Sec. 316. Executing International Space Station science manifest. Sec. 317. Safety standards for cislunar human spaceflight. TITLE IV--SPACE TECHNOLOGY AND STEM EDUCATION Sec. 401. Space Technology Mission Directorate. Sec. 402. Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer. Sec. 403. Sense of Congress on cryogenic fluid valve technology. Sec. 404. Space nuclear power and propulsion systems. Sec. 405. National space grant college and fellowship program. Sec. 406. Skilled technical workforce education outreach. Sec. 407. Active orbital debris remediation demonstration. Sec. 408. Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research. Sec. 409. Use of Science, Space, and Technology Education Trust Fund. TITLE V--AERONAUTICS Sec. 501. Hypersonic research. Sec. 502. Advanced materials and manufacturing technology. Sec. 503. Unmanned aircraft systems and advanced air mobility. Sec. 504. Hydrogen aviation. Sec. 505. High-performance chase aircraft. Sec. 506. Electrified powertrain flight demonstration. Sec. 507. Study on modernization of T-38 flight trainer aircraft fleet. Sec. 508. Subsonic thin-wing flight technologies. Sec. 509. Advanced capabilities for airspace management. Sec. 510. Open-fan flight demonstration. Sec. 511. Authority with respect to unmanned aircraft system identification and detection. TITLE VI--SCIENCE Sec. 601. Maintenance of balanced science portfolio. Sec. 602. Implementation of science mission cost caps. Sec. 603. Modification of National Academies decadal surveys. Sec. 604. Report on Landsat mission. Sec. 605. Commercial satellite data. Sec. 606. Planetary science portfolio. Sec. 607. Planetary defense. Sec. 608. Lunar Discovery and Exploration Program. Sec. 609. Plan for planetary and lunar operations. Sec. 610. Restructuring of Mars Sample Return program. Sec. 611. Heliophysics research. Sec. 612. Report on Geospace Dynamics Constellation mission. Sec. 613. Sense of Congress on Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Sec. 614. Plan for Apophis science mission. Sec. 615. Plan to launch Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover. Sec. 616. Dedicated science rideshare pilot program. Sec. 617. Continuation of Chandra X-ray Observatory. Sec. 618. Great Observatories Mission and Technology Maturation project. Sec. 619. Flight opportunities. Sec. 620. Annual report on Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope. Sec. 621. Sense of Congress on Earth science data. Sec. 622. Support for astrophysical observatories and national high- energy astrophysics hubs. Sec. 623. Studies on Mars-focused missions using commercial heavy-lift systems. TITLE VII--POLICY Sec. 701. NASA Advisory Council. Sec. 702. Assessment of early cost estimates. Sec. 703. Role of NASA in commercial space activities. Sec. 704. Relationships with the People's Republic of China. Sec. 705. Findings relating to contract flexibility. Sec. 706. GAO report. Sec. 707. Public-private talent program. Sec. 708. Mentoring. Sec. 709. Passenger carrier use for astronaut transportation. Sec. 710. Physical security modernization. Sec. 711. NASA agreements with private and commercial entities and State governments to provide certain supplies, support, and services. Sec. 712. Aerospace infrastructure modernization. Sec. 713. Enhanced use leases. Sec. 714. Identification of and justification for redactions. Sec. 715. Commercial activity at Wallops Flight Facility. Sec. 716. Continuity of purpose for NASA activities. Sec. 717. Transmission of data to Congress. Sec. 718. Timely responses to Congress. Sec. 719. Contracting flexibility and transparency. Sec. 720. Chief Scientist. Sec. 721. Chief Economist. Sec. 722. Chief Technologist. [[Page S3637]] Sec. 723. Report on indemnification framework for civil and commercial space nuclear technologies. Sec. 724. Confidentiality of medical quality assurance records. Sec. 725. Reports to Congress. Sec. 726. Collaboration between NASA and the Department of Defense. Sec. 727. Space cooperation with Taiwan. Sec. 728. Rule of construction. SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. In this division: (1) Administration.--The term ``Administration'' means the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. (2) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. (3) Appropriate committees of congress.--The term ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means-- (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate; and (B) the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives. (4) Cislunar space.--The term ``cislunar space'' means the region of space beyond low-Earth orbit out to and including the region around the surface of the Moon. (5) Commercial lunar payload services program.--The term ``Commercial Lunar Payload Services program'' means the multiple-award, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity NASA contracting vehicle that enables end-to-end commercial lunar payload delivery services to the lunar surface. (6) Commercial provider.--The term ``commercial provider'' means any person providing space services or space-related capabilities, primary control of which is held by persons other than the Federal Government, a State or local government, or a foreign government. (7) Continuous human presence.--The term ``continuous human presence'' means the maintenance by the United States of the presence, in low-Earth orbit on 1 or more space stations on a permanent, ongoing basis, of not fewer than-- (A) 1 government astronaut; or (B) 1 astronaut sponsored by the United States Government. (8) Deep space.--The term ``deep space'' means the region of space beyond low-Earth orbit that includes cislunar space. (9) Government astronaut.--The term ``government astronaut'' has the meaning given such term in section 50902 of title 51, United States Code. (10) Institution of higher education.--The term ``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). (11) ISS.--The term ``ISS'' means the International Space Station. (12) Low-earth orbit.--The term ``low-Earth orbit'' means the area encompassing Earth-centered orbits at an altitude of not more than 1,200 miles (2,000 kilometers). (13) NASA.--The term ``NASA'' means the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. (14) Orion.--The term ``Orion'' means the multipurpose crew vehicle described in section 303 of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18323). (15) Space launch system.--The term ``Space Launch System'' means the Space Launch System authorized under section 302 of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18322). (16) Commercial market estimates.--The term ``commercial market estimates'' means rigorous quantitative estimates of the current and most-likely future revenues that commercial providers may capture from sources other than the Administration, with appropriate sensitivity analyses, and assessments of the ability of such providers to sustainably provide services to the Administration. TITLE I--AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS SEC. 101. AUTHORIZATION OF NASA. (a) Fiscal Year 2026.--For fiscal year 2026, there is authorized to be appropriated to NASA $24,670,515,000 as follows: (1) For the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, $7,783,000,000. (2) For the Spac