51 U.S.C. § 31505 — Development of enhanced-use lease pol-

Page 81 TITLE 51—NATIONAL AND COMMERCIAL SPACE PROGRAMS § 31505 ministration should establish strategic partnerships with other Federal agencies, State agencies, FAA-li- censed spaceports, institutions of higher education, and industry, as appropriate; and ‘‘(4) decisions on whether to dispose of, maintain, or modernize existing facilities must be made in the context of meeting Administration and other needs, including those required to meet the activities sup- porting the human exploration roadmap under sec- tion 432 of this Act [set out in a note under section 20302 of this title], considering other national labora- tory needs as the Administrator [of the National Aer- onautics and Space Administration] deems appro- priate. ‘‘(b) POLICY.—It is the policy of the United States that the Administration maintain reliable and efficient facilities and infrastructure and that decisions on whether to dispose of, maintain, or modernize existing facilities or infrastructure be made in the context of meeting future Administration needs. ‘‘(c) PLAN.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall develop a facilities and infrastructure plan. ‘‘(2) GOAL.—The goal of the plan is to position the Administration to have the facilities and infrastruc- ture, including laboratories, tools, and approaches, necessary to meet future Administration and other Federal agencies’ laboratory needs. ‘‘(3) CONTENTS.—The plan shall identify— ‘‘(A) current Administration and other Federal agency laboratory needs; ‘‘(B) future Administration research and develop- ment and testing needs; ‘‘(C) a strategy for identifying facilities and infra- structure that are candidates for disposal, that is consistent with the national strategic direction set forth in— ‘‘(i) the National Space Policy; ‘‘(ii) the National Aeronautics Research, Devel- opment, Test, and Evaluation Infrastructure Plan; ‘‘(iii) the National Aeronautics and Space Ad- ministration Authorization Act of 2005 (Public Law 109–155; 119 Stat. 2895) [see Tables for classi- fication], National Aeronautics and Space Admin- istration Authorization Act of 2008 (Public Law 110–422; 122 Stat. 4779) [see Tables for classifica- tion], and National Aeronautics and Space Ad- ministration Authorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18301 et seq.); and ‘‘(iv) the human exploration roadmap under sec- tion 432 of this Act [set out in a note under sec- tion 20302 of this title]; ‘‘(D) a strategy for the maintenance, repair, up- grading, and modernization of Administration fa- cilities and infrastructure, including laboratories and equipment; ‘‘(E) criteria for— ‘‘(i) prioritizing deferred maintenance tasks; ‘‘(ii) maintaining, repairing, upgrading, or mod- ernizing Administration facilities and infrastruc- ture; and ‘‘(iii) implementing processes, plans, and poli- cies for guiding the Administration’s Centers on whether to maintain, repair, upgrade, or mod- ernize a facility or infrastructure and for deter- mining the type of instrument to be used; ‘‘(F) an assessment of modifications needed to maximize usage of facilities that offer unique and highly specialized benefits to the aerospace indus- try and the American public; and ‘‘(G) implementation steps, including a timeline, milestones, and an estimate of resources required for carrying out the plan. ‘‘(d) REQUIREMENT TO ESTABLISH POLICY.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act [Mar. 21, 2017], the Ad- ministrator shall establish and make publicly avail- able a policy that guides the Administration’s use of existing authorities to out-grant, lease, excess to the General Services Administration, sell, decommission, demolish, or otherwise transfer property, facilities, or infrastructure. ‘‘(2) CRITERIA.—The policy shall include criteria for the use of authorities, best practices, standardized procedures, and guidelines for how to appropriately manage property, facilities, and infrastructure. ‘‘(e) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis- trator shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress [Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Rep- resentatives] the plan developed under subsection (c).’’ § 31503. Laboratory productivity The Administration’s laboratories are a crit- ical component of the Administration’s research capabilities, and the Administrator shall ensure that those laboratories remain productive. (Pub. L. 111–314, § 3, Dec. 18, 2010, 124 Stat. 3377.) HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES Revised Section Source (U.S. Code) Source (Statutes at Large) 31503 .......... 42 U.S.C. 17812(a). Pub. L. 110–422, title X, § 1003(a), Oct. 15, 2008, 122 Stat. 4807. § 31504. Cooperative unmanned aerial vehicle ac- tivities The Administrator, in cooperation with the Administrator of the National Oceanic and At- mospheric Administration and in coordination with other agencies that have existing civil ca- pabilities, shall continue to utilize the capabili- ties of unmanned aerial vehicles as appropriate in support of Administration and interagency cooperative missions. The Administrator may enter into cooperative agreements with univer- sities with unmanned aerial vehicle programs and related assets to conduct collaborative re- search and development activities, including de- velopment of appropriate applications of small unmanned aerial vehicle technologies and sys- tems in remote areas. (Pub. L. 111–314, § 3, Dec. 18, 2010, 124 Stat. 3377.) HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES Revised Section Source (U.S. Code) Source (Statutes at Large) 31504 .......... 42 U.S.C. 17828. Pub. L. 110–422, title XI, § 1116, Oct. 15, 2008, 122 Stat. 4813. § 31505. Development of enhanced-use lease pol- icy (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall de- velop an agency-wide enhanced-use lease policy that— (1) is based upon sound business practices and lessons learned from the demonstration centers; and (2) establishes controls and procedures to en- sure accountability and protect the interests of the Government. (b) CONTENTS.—The policy required by sub- section (a) shall include the following: (1) CRITERIA FOR DETERMINING ECONOMIC VALUE.—Criteria for determining whether en- Page 82 TITLE 51—NATIONAL AND COMMERCIAL SPACE PROGRAMS § 40101 hanced-use lease provides better economic value to the Government than other options, such as— (A) Federal financing through appropria- tions; or (B) sale of the property. (2) SECURITY AND ACCESS.—Requirement for the identification of proposed physical and procedural changes needed to ensure security and restrict access to specified areas, coordi- nation of proposed changes with existing site tenants, and development of estimated costs of such changes. (3) MEASURES OF EFFECTIVENESS.—Measures of effectiveness for the enhanced-use lease pro- gram. (4) ACCOUNTING CONTROLS.—Accounting con- trols and procedures to ensure accountability, such as an audit trail and documentation to readily support financial transactions. (Pub. L. 111–314, § 3, Dec. 18, 2010, 124 Stat. 3377.) HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES Revised Section Source (U.S. Code) Source (Statutes at Large) 31505 .......... 42 U.S.C. 17829. Pub. L. 110–422, title XI, § 1117, Oct. 15, 2008, 122 Stat. 4813. Subtitle IV—Aeronautics and Space Research and Education CHAPTER 401—AERONAUTICS SUBCHAPTER I—GENERAL Sec. 40101. Definition of institution of higher education. 40102. Governmental interest in aeronautics re- search and development. 40103. Cooperation with other agencies on aero- nautics activities. 40104. Cooperation among Mission Directorates. SUBCHAPTER II—HIGH PRIORITY AERONAUTICS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS 40111. Fundamental research program. 40112. Research and technology programs. 40113. Airspace systems research. 40114. Aviation safety and security research. 40115. Aviation weather research. 40116. University-based Centers for Research on Aviation Training. SUBCHAPTER III—SCHOLARSHIPS 40131. Aeronautics scholarships. SUBCHAPTER IV—DATA REQUESTS 40141. Aviation data requests. SUBCHAPTER I—GENERAL § 40101. Definition of institution of higher edu- cation In this chapter, the term ‘‘institution of high- er education’’ has the meaning given the term by section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). (Pub. L. 111–314, § 3, Dec. 18, 2010, 124 Stat. 3378.) HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES Revised Section Source (U.S. Code) Source (Statutes at Large) 40101 .......... 42 U.S.C. 16701. Pub. L. 109–155, title IV, § 401, Dec. 30, 2005, 119 Stat. 2923. § 40102. Governmental interest in aeronautics re- search and development Congress reaffirms the national commitment to aeronautics research made in chapter 201 of this title. Aeronautics research and develop- ment remains a core mission of the Administra- tion. The Administration is the lead agency for civil aeronautics research. Further, the govern- ment of the United States shall promote aero- nautics research and development that will ex- pand the capacity, ensure the safety, and in- crease the efficiency of the Nation’s air trans- portation system, promote the security of the Nation, protect the environment, and retain the leadership of the United States in global avia- tion. (Pub. L. 111–314, § 3, Dec. 18, 2010, 124 Stat. 3379.) HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES Revised Section Source (U.S. Code) Source (Statutes at Large) 40102 .......... 42 U.S.C. 16711. Pub. L. 109–155, title IV, § 411, Dec. 30, 2005, 119 Stat. 2923. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT PROJECTS Pub. L. 117–167, div. B, title VII, § 10831, Aug. 9, 2022, 136 Stat. 1746, provided that: ‘‘(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress that— ‘‘(1) developing high-risk, precompetitive aerospace technologies for which there is not yet a profit ra- tionale is a fundamental role of the [National Aero- nautics and Space] Administration; ‘‘(2) large-scale flight test experimentation and val- idation are necessary for— ‘‘(A) transitioning new technologies and mate- rials, including associated manufacturing proc- esses, for aviation and aeronautics use; and ‘‘(B) capturing the full extent of benefits from in- vestments made by the Aeronautics Research Mis- sion Directorate; and ‘‘(3) a level of funding that adequately supports large-scale flight test experimentation and valida- tion, including related infrastructure, should be en- sured over a sustained period of time to restore the capacity of the Administration— ‘‘(A) to see legacy priority programs through to completion; and ‘‘(B) to achieve national economic and security objectives. ‘‘(b) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It is the policy of the United States— ‘‘(1) to maintain world leadership in— ‘‘(A) civilian aeronautical science and tech- nology; and ‘‘(B) aerospace industrialization; and ‘‘(2) to maintain as a fundamental objective of the aeronautics research of the Administration the steady progression and expansion of flight research and capabilities, including the science and tech- nology of critical underlying disciplines and com- petencies, such as— ‘‘(A) computational-based analytical and pre- dictive tools and methodologies; ‘‘(B) aerothermodynamics; ‘‘(C) propulsion; ‘‘(D) advanced materials and manufacturing proc- esses; ‘‘(E) high-temperature structures and materials; and ‘‘(F) guidance, navigation, and flight controls. ‘‘(c) EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT FLIGHT DEMONSTRA- TIONS.—