S.Amdt. 561

1. Adds SEC. ___. SPENDING-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO UNDERUTILIZED FACILITIES OF THE NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION AND THEIR POTENTIAL USE wherever appropriate

   Adds a section

   Inserted: SEC. ___. SPENDING-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO UNDERUTILIZED FACILITIES OF THE NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION AND THEIR POTENTIAL USE.

   Inserted: (a) Findings.--The Senate makes the following findings:

   Inserted: (1) The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is the ninth largest real property holder of the Federal Government, with more than 123,000 acres and 4,819 buildings and other structures with a replacement value of more than $32,700,000,000.

   Inserted: (2) The annual operation and maintenance costs of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration have increased steadily, and, as of November 2014, the Administration had more than $3,350,000,000 in deferred annual maintenance costs.

   Inserted: (3) According to Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Administration continues to retain real property that is underutilized, does not have identified future mission uses, or is duplicative of other assets in its real property inventory.

   Inserted: (4) The Office of Inspector General, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), and Congress have identified the aging and duplicative infrastructure of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration as a high priority and longstanding management challenge.

   Inserted: (5) In the NASA Authorization Act of 2010, Congress directed the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to examine its real property assets and downsize to fit current and future missions and expected funding levels, paying particular attention to identifying and removing unneeded or duplicative infrastructure.

   Inserted: (6) The Office of Inspector General found at least 33 facilities, including wind tunnels, test stands, airfields, and launch infrastructure, that were underutilized or for which National Aeronautics and Space Administration managers could not identify a future mission use and that the need for these facilities have declined in recent years as a result of changes in the mission focus of the Administration, the condition and obsolescence of some facilities, and the advent of alternative testing methods.

   Inserted: (7) The Office of Inspector General found that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has taken steps to minimize the costs of continuing to maintain some of these facilities by placing them in an inactive state or leasing them to other parties.

   Inserted: (8) The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has a series of initiatives underway that, in the judgment of the Office of Inspector General, are "positive steps towards 'rightsizing' its real property footprint", and the Office of Inspector General has concluded that "it is imperative that NASA move forward aggressively with its infrastructure reduction efforts".

   Inserted: (9) Existing and emerging United States commercial launch and exploration capabilities are providing cargo transportation to the International Space Station and offer the potential for providing crew support, access to the International Space Station, and missions to low Earth orbit while the National Aeronautics and Space Administration focuses its efforts on heavy-lift capabilities and deep space missions.

   Inserted: (10) National Aeronautics and Space Administration facilities and property that are underutilized, duplicative, or no longer needed for Administration requirements could be utilized by commercial users and State and local entities, resulting in savings for the Administration and a reduction in the burden of the Federal Government to fund space operations.

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   Inserted: (b) Spending-neutral Reserve Fund.--The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports relating to underutilized facilities of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and their potential use, which may include actions described in subsection (c), by the amounts provided in such legislation for those purposes, provided that such legislation would not raise new revenue and would not increase the deficit over either the period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.

   Inserted: (c) Actions.--The actions referred to in this subsection are--

   Inserted: (1) reduction of National Aeronautics and Space Administration infrastructure and, to the greatest extent practicable, making Administration property available for lease to a government or private tenant;

   Inserted: (2) pursuit of opportunities for streamlined sale or lease of National Aeronautics and Space Administration property and facilities, including for exclusive use, to a private entity, or expedited conveyance or transfer to a State or political subdivision, municipality, instrumentality of a State, or Department of Transportation-licensed launch site operators for the promotion of commercial or scientific space activity and for developing and operating space launch facilities; and

   Inserted: (3) lease or transfer of underutilized National Aeronautics and Space Administration facilities and properties to commercial space entities or State or local governments to reduce operation and maintenance costs for the Administration, save money for the Federal Government, and promote commercial space and the exploration goals of the Administration and the United States.

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   Original wording

   At the appropriate place, insert the following:

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As printed