H.R. ---- (111th Congress) Title 51, United States Code National and Commercial Space Programs
	BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION Over the past five decades, a substantial amount of legislation has been enacted relating to national and commercial space programs. In the United States Code, some of these provisions appear in title 15 (Commerce and Trade), some in title 42 (Public Health and Welfare), and some in title 49 (Transportation). No distinct title for national and commercial space programs exists in the United States Code because the organizational scheme for the Code was originally established in 1926, before such programs were contemplated. The bill gathers provisions relating to national and commercial space programs, and restates the provisions as title 51, United States Code, ``National and Commercial Space Programs''. The bill does not provide for any new programs. Nor does it modify or repeal any existing programs. Rather, the bill restates existing law in a manner that adheres to the policy, intent, and purpose of the original enactments, while improving the organizational structure of the law and removing ambiguities, contradictions, and other imperfections. The bill was prepared by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the House of Representatives, as part of its responsibility under 2 U.S.C. 285b to submit to the Committee on the Judiciary proposed bills to enact titles of the United States Code into positive law. For more information about the process of positive law codification and the office of the Law Revision Counsel, see the brochure Positive Law Codification.pdf. Although the bill has not yet been introduced in the 111th Congress, it has undergone extensive review over the past several years. Predecessor bills were introduced in the 109th (H.R. 3039) and the 110th (H.R. 4780) Congresses. TITLE 49 TRANSFERS Whether to transfer chapters 701 and 703 of title 49, United States Code, into title 51, United States Code, has been a source of concern for some time. The Office of the Law Revision Counsel, in consultation with the Committee on the Judiciary, has decided to prepare two versions of the bill that are complete and current. One version does makes the transfers; the other does not. The hope is that having two fully realized drafts will facilitate comparison of the alternatives and ultimately lead to resolution allowing the bill to move forward. For the version that DOES make the title 49 transfers, see this BILL (yes T49 transfers).pdf and accompanying EXPLANATION (yes T49 transfers).pdf. For the version that does NOT make the title 49 transfers, see this BILL (no T49 transfers).pdf and accompanying EXPLANATION (no T49 transfers).pdf. The key difference between versions is found in section 4(d) of the bill, which appears on page 136, at line 23. QUESTIONS & COMMENTS Questions and comments about this proposed codification legislation should be directed to:      Robert M. Sukol, Senior Counsel      Office of the Law Revision Counsel      H2-308 Ford House Office Building      United States House of Representatives      Washington, DC 20515      email: Rob Sukol      telephone: 202-226-9060