Burchett / 5 Senator Shah

S.R._____

A BILL
To secure funding for NASA to reclaim the United States of Americas former glory as a pioneer in space and extend
our dominance by building a base on our closest otherworldly body, the Moon.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47

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 Lunar Exploration Act of 2015.
SECTION 2. FINDINGS
Congress hereby finds and declares that,
1) The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) only receives 0.7 percent of the federal budget.
2) At the height of the Space Race, NASA received 4.5 percent of the federal budget.
3) According to experts, extending Americas presence on the moon could lead to eventual settlement and a lunar
base.
4) A lunar base would help to expand Americas economic sphere and benefit all of Earth with lunar activities and
research.
5) The moon has valuable amounts of the isotope helium-3, which could put an end to the current helium shortage.
6) 3D printers and robots could be used to build a base on the moon to ready it for human habitation.
7) NASA currently does not launch astronauts on their own; they use the launchpads of former Communist nations to
send Americans into space.
8) The United Statess previous plans to return to the moon and settle it have been hampered by budgetary
constraints.
9) The largest Communist nation in the world, China, is planning a manned mission to the moon.
10) The United States has been stuck with the outdated Space Shuttle for over two decades.
11)The Bush administration introduced a space exploration initiative before being defunded by the Obama
administration in the FY US 2011 federal budget.
SECTION 3. STATUTORY LANGUAGE
A) Congress shall increase NASAs percentage of the federal budget to 4 percent gradually from the current 0.7
percent over the next 30 years, keeping with inflation, for the purposes of space exploration and the lunar program.
This act may not be amended to reduce the percentage of the federal budget given to NASA. If the United States
enters a period of war or hardship, the gradual increasing of NASAs budget may be slowed down to allow for the
economy to return to normal. Of the eventual 4 percent allocated to NASA, 2.75 percent shall be earmarked
specifically for sole purpose of establishing a lunar base. NASA shall be given the freedom to distribute its funding
for this lunar base as the organization sees fit. Of this 2.75 percent, 0.80 percent shall be apportioned for the use of
building a launchpad in Brownsville, Texas so the United States will not be forced to rely on former Communist
nations to launch American astronauts to our moon base.
B) A Congressional committee shall be formed, hereby named the Committee for American Extraplanetary
Dominance (CAMED), to oversee the initial distribution of funds and allocate the new percentage per year. To fund
the Lunar Exploration Act, the Social Security program shall be cut, starting at $10 billion, and increasing at a
progressive rate until NASAs budget percentage requirement is fulfilled, or as CAMED sees necessary for the good
of the nation. Other than the formation of CAMED, which shall only have oversight of how the funds are initially
distributed, Congress shall pass no law dictating how NASAs budget shall be specifically allotted after the 4% of the
federal budget goal is reached in 30 years.
C) This act shall go into effect on July 20th, 2016, on the 47th anniversary of Apollo 11s spaceflight and our first
manned mission to another celestial body. Congress shall allow CAMED to make discretionary cuts to government
programs deemed excessive. By July 20th, 2046, NASA should be receiving 4% of the federal budget; any monies
received from the mining of the Moons resources shall be appropriately distributed into NASAs budget to allow for
CAMED to make as little cuts as necessary to current excessive government programs.