S.Amdt. 4841

SA 4841. Mr. PORTMAN (for himself and Mr. Brown) submitted an
amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 4685 proposed by Mr.
Shelby (for himself and Ms. Mikulski) to the bill H.R. 2578, making
appropriations for the Departments of Commerce and Justice, Science,
and Related Agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2016, and
for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

[[Page S4425]]

On page 80, between lines 17 and 18, insert the following:

General Provisions

Sec. 301. (a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of
Congress that conducting deep space exploration requires
radioisotope power systems, such as thermoelectric and
Stirling generators and converters.
(b) Analysis of Requirements and Risks.--The Director of
the Office of Science and Technology Policy and the
Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration, in consultation with the heads of other
Federal agencies, shall conduct an analysis of--
(1) the requirements of the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration for radioisotope power system material that is
needed to carry out planned, high priority robotic missions
in the solar system and other surface exploration activities
beyond low-Earth orbit; and
(2) the risks to missions of the Administration in meeting
those requirements, or any additional requirements, due to a
lack of adequate radioisotope power system material.
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