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Committee backs Space Exploration Research Act to let NASA lease unused facilities for research partnerships
Summary
The Senate Commerce Committee ordered S.2351, the Space Exploration Research Act, to be reported favorably. The bill would authorize NASA centers to enter agreements with states, universities or nonprofits to develop unused facilities for space research, workforce training and partnerships.
The Senate Commerce Committee voted June 20 to report S.2351, the Space Exploration Research Act, to the Senate. Chairman Roger Wicker described the bill as authorizing NASA centers to sign agreements with states, universities or nonprofits to develop unused facilities for space research, and cited several NASA facilities by way of example, including Johnson Space Center (Texas), White Sands (New Mexico), Stennis Space Center (Mississippi), Glenn Research Center (Ohio) and the Katherine Johnson facility (West Virginia). Senators including Alex Padilla, Adam Schiff, and others were thanked by the chair for bipartisan support. Ranking Member Maria Cantwell moved to report the bill favorably as part of a consolidated motion with two other bills; the motion carried by voice vote and S.2351 was ordered to be reported to the full Senate. Committee remarks framed the bill as expanding leasing flexibility to allow outside entities to develop research and workforce-training facilities on-site; the markup did not attach a recorded roll call for the individual bill in the consolidated motion and did not adopt amendments changing NASA’s core statutory authorities in committee that day. The bill will move to the Senate calendar for further consideration and potential amendment on the floor or in other committees as needed.
