108th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2450
To provide for the establishment of an independent, Presidentially-appointed
investigative Commission in the event of incidents in the Nation's human space
flight program that result in loss of crew, passengers, or the spacecraft,
and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 12, 2003
Mr. GORDON (for himself, Mr. SENSENBRENNER, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mr.
UDALL of Colorado, Mr. COOPER, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. LAMPSON, Mr.
HALL, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Mr. WEINER, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr.
HONDA, Mr. FROST, Mr. COSTELLO, Mr. DAVIS of Tennessee, Mr. WYNN, Mr. BAIRD,
and Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas) introduced the following bill; which
was referred to the Committee on Science
A BILL
To provide for the establishment of an independent, Presidentially-appointed
investigative Commission in the event of incidents in the Nation's human space
flight program that result in loss of crew, passengers, or the spacecraft,
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Human Space Flight Independent Investigation
Commission Act of 2003'.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act--
(1) the term `incident' means either an accident or a deliberate act;
(2) the term `NASA' means the National Aeronautics and Space Administration;
(3) the term `NASA Administrator' means the Administrator of NASA; and
(4) the term `NTSB' means the National Transportation Safety Board.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT- The President shall establish an independent, nonpartisan
Commission within the executive branch to investigate any incident that results
in the loss of--
(2) the International Space Station or its operational viability;
(3) any other United States space vehicle carrying humans;
(4) any space vehicle carrying United States citizens; or
(5) a crew member or passenger of any space vehicle described in this subsection.
(b) DEADLINE FOR ESTABLISHMENT- The President shall issue an executive order
establishing a Commission within 7 days after an incident specified in subsection
(a).
SEC. 4. COMPOSITION OF COMMISSION.
(a) NUMBER OF COMMISSIONERS- A Commission established pursuant to this Act
shall consist of 15 members.
(b) SELECTION- The members of a Commission established pursuant to this Act
shall be chosen in the following manner:
(1) The Chairman of the NTSB shall be a member of the Commission.
(2) The President shall appoint the remaining 14 members, and shall designate
the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Commission from among its members.
(3) Four of the 14 members appointed by the President shall be selected
by the President in the following manner:
(A) The Majority Leader of the Senate, the Minority Leader of the Senate,
the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Minority Leader of
the House of Representatives shall each provide to the President a list
of candidates for membership on the Commission.
(B) The President shall select one of the candidates from each of the
4 lists for membership on the Commission.
(4) With the exception of the Chairman of the NTSB, no officer or employee
of the Federal Government shall serve as a member of the Commission.
(5) No member of the Commission shall have, or have pending, a contractual
relationship with NASA. The President shall not appoint any individual as
a member of a Commission under this section who has a current or former
relationship with the NASA Administrator that the President determines would
constitute a conflict of interest.
(6) To the extent practicable, the President shall ensure that the members
of the Commission include some individuals with experience relative to the
human carrying spacecraft being investigated, as well as some individuals
with investigative experience and some individuals with legal experience.
(7) To the extent practicable, the President shall seek diversity in the
membership of the Commission.
(c) DEADLINE FOR APPOINTMENT- All members of the Commission shall be appointed
no later than 30 days after the incident.
(d) INITIAL MEETING- The Commission shall meet and begin operations as soon
as practicable.
(e) QUORUM; VACANCIES- After its initial meeting, the Commission shall meet
upon the call of the Chairman or a majority of its members. Eight members
of the Commission shall constitute a quorum. Any vacancy in the Commission
shall not affect its powers, but shall be filled in the same manner in which
the original appointment was made.
SEC. 5. TASKS OF THE COMMISSION.
A Commission established pursuant to this Act shall, to the extent possible,
undertake the following tasks:
(1) Investigate the incident.
(2) Determine the cause of the incident.
(3) Identify all contributing factors to the cause of the incident.
(4) Make recommendations for corrective actions.
(5) Provide any additional findings or recommendations deemed by the Commission
to be important, whether or not they are related to the specific incident
under investigation.
(6) Prepare a report to Congress, the President, and the public.
SEC. 6. POWERS OF COMMISSION.
(1) HEARINGS AND EVIDENCE- A Commission established pursuant to this Act
or, on the authority of the Commission, any subcommittee or member thereof,
may, for the purpose of carrying out this Act--
(A) hold such hearings and sit and act at such times and places, take
such testimony, receive such evidence, administer such oaths; and
(B) subject to paragraph (2)(A), require, by subpoena or otherwise, the
attendance and testimony of such witnesses and the production of such
books, records, correspondence, memoranda, papers, and documents,
as the Commission or such designated subcommittee or designated member may
determine advisable.
(i) IN GENERAL- A subpoena may be issued under this subsection only--
(I) by the agreement of the Chairman and the Vice Chairman; or
(II) by the affirmative vote of 8 members of the Commission.
(ii) SIGNATURE- Subject to clause (i), subpoenas issued under this subsection
may be issued under the signature of the Chairman or any member designated
by a majority of the Commission, and may be served by any person designated
by the Chairman or by a member designated by a majority of the Commission.
(i) IN GENERAL- In the case of contumacy or failure to obey a subpoena
issued under subsection (a), the United States district court for the
judicial district in which the subpoenaed person resides, is served,
or may be found, or where the subpoena is returnable, may issue an order
requiring such person to appear at any designated place to testify or
to produce documentary or other evidence. Any failure to obey the order
of the court may be punished by the court as a contempt of that court.
(ii) ADDITIONAL ENFORCEMENT- In the case of any failure of any witness
to comply with any subpoena or to testify when summoned under authority
of this section, the Commission may, by majority vote, certify a statement
of fact constituting such failure to the appropriate United States attorney,
who may bring the matter before the grand jury for its action, under
the same statutory authority and procedures as if the United States
attorney had received a certification under sections 102 through 104
of the Revised Statutes of the United States (2 U.S.C. 192 through 194).
(b) CONTRACTING- A Commission established pursuant to this Act may, to such
extent and in such amounts as are provided in appropriation Acts, enter into
contracts to enable the Commission to discharge its duties under this Act.
(c) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES-
(1) IN GENERAL- A Commission established pursuant to this Act is authorized
to secure directly from any executive department, bureau, agency, board,
commission, office, independent establishment, or instrumentality of the
Government, information, suggestions, estimates, and statistics for the
purposes of this Act. Each department, bureau, agency, board, commission,
office, independent establishment, or instrumentality shall, to the extent
authorized by law, furnish such information, suggestions, estimates, and
statistics directly to the Commission, upon request made by the Chairman,
the chairman of any subcommittee created by a majority of the Commission,
or any member designated by a majority of the Commission.
(2) RECEIPT, HANDLING, STORAGE, AND DISSEMINATION- Information shall only
be received, handled, stored, and disseminated by members of the Commission
and its staff consistent with all applicable statutes, regulations, and
Executive orders.
(d) ASSISTANCE FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES-
(1) GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION- The Administrator of General Services
shall provide to a Commission established pursuant to this Act on a reimbursable
basis administrative support and other services for the performance of the
Commission's tasks.
(2) OTHER DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES- In addition to the assistance prescribed
in paragraph (1), departments and agencies of the United States may provide
to the Commission such services, funds, facilities, staff, and other support
services as they may determine advisable and as may be authorized by law.
(e) POSTAL SERVICES- A Commission established pursuant to this Act may use
the United States mails in the same manner and under the same conditions as
departments and agencies of the United States.
SEC. 7. PUBLIC MEETINGS, INFORMATION, AND HEARINGS.
(a) PUBLIC MEETINGS AND RELEASE OF PUBLIC VERSIONS OF REPORTS- A Commission
established pursuant to this Act shall--
(1) hold public hearings and meetings to the extent appropriate; and
(2) release public versions of the reports required under this Act.
(b) PUBLIC HEARINGS- Any public hearings of a Commission shall be conducted
in a manner consistent with the protection of information provided to or developed
for or by the Commission as required by any applicable statute, regulation,
or Executive order.
SEC. 8. STAFF OF COMMISSION.
(1) APPOINTMENT AND COMPENSATION- The Chairman, in consultation with Vice
Chairman, in accordance with rules agreed upon by a Commission established
pursuant to this Act, may appoint and
fix the compensation of a staff director and such other personnel as may
be necessary to enable the Commission to carry out its functions, without
regard to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing appointments
in the competitive service, and without regard to the provisions of chapter
51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title relating to classification
and General Schedule pay rates, except that no rate of pay fixed under this
subsection may exceed the equivalent of that payable for a position at level
V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, United States Code.
Employees of NASA shall not be appointed to the staff of a Commission.
(2) PERSONNEL AS FEDERAL EMPLOYEES-
(A) IN GENERAL- The executive director and any personnel of a Commission
established pursuant to this Act who are employees shall be employees
under section 2105 of title 5, United States Code, for purposes of chapters
63, 81, 83, 84, 85, 87, 89, and 90 of that title.
(B) MEMBERS OF COMMISSION- Subparagraph (A) shall not be construed to
apply to members of a Commission established pursuant to this Act.
(b) DETAILEES- Any Federal Government employee, except for an employee of
NASA, may be detailed to a Commission established pursuant to this Act without
reimbursement from the Commission, and such detailee shall retain the rights,
status, and privileges of his or her regular employment without interruption.
(c) CONSULTANT SERVICES- A Commission established pursuant to this Act is
authorized to procure the services of experts and consultants in accordance
with section 3109 of title 5, United States Code, but at rates not to exceed
the daily rate paid a person occupying a position at level IV of the Executive
Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United States Code. Any consultant
or expert whose services are procured under this subsection shall disclose
any contract or association it has with NASA or any NASA contractor.
SEC. 9. COMPENSATION AND TRAVEL EXPENSES.
(a) COMPENSATION- Each member of a Commission established pursuant to this
Act may be compensated at not to exceed the daily equivalent of the annual
rate of basic pay in effect for a position at level IV of the Executive Schedule
under section 5315 of title 5, United States Code, for each day during which
that member is engaged in the actual performance of the duties of the Commission.
(b) TRAVEL EXPENSES- While away from their homes or regular places of business
in the performance of services for the Commission, members of the Commission
shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence,
in the same manner as persons employed intermittently in the Government service
are allowed expenses under section 5703(b) of title 5, United States Code.
SEC. 10. SECURITY CLEARANCES FOR COMMISSION MEMBERS AND STAFF.
The appropriate Federal agencies or departments shall cooperate with a Commission
established pursuant to this Act in expeditiously providing to the Commission
members and staff appropriate security clearances to the extent possible pursuant
to existing procedures and requirements. No person shall be provided with
access to classified information under this Act without the appropriate security
clearances.
SEC. 11. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS AND TERMINATION.
(a) INTERIM REPORTS- A Commission established pursuant to this Act may submit
to the President and Congress interim reports containing such findings, conclusions,
and recommendations for corrective actions as have been agreed to by a majority
of Commission members.
(b) FINAL REPORT- A Commission established pursuant to this Act shall submit
to the President and Congress, and make concurrently available to the public,
a final report containing such findings, conclusions, and recommendations
for corrective actions as have been agreed to by a majority of Commission
members. Such report shall include any minority views or opinions not reflected
in the majority report.
(1) IN GENERAL- A Commission established pursuant to this Act, and all the
authorities of this Act with respect to that Commission, shall terminate
60 days after the date on which the final report is submitted under subsection
(b).
(2) ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITIES BEFORE TERMINATION- A Commission may use the
60-day period referred to in paragraph (1) for the purpose of concluding
its activities, including providing testimony to committees of Congress
concerning its reports and disseminating the final report.
SEC. 12. ROLE OF NTSB.
The NTSB shall assume responsibility for the investigation of any incident
described in section 3(a) immediately upon the occurrence of that incident.
The NTSB shall transfer responsibility for the investigation to a Commission
established pursuant to this Act as soon as the Commission holds its initial
meeting under section 4(d).
SEC. 13. FUNDING.
Such sums as are necessary to carry out this Act are authorized to be appropriated.
Sums authorized by this Act shall remain available until the termination of
the Commission for which they are appropriated.
END
