exploration capabilities

exploration capabilities For necessary expenses in the conduct and support of exploration capabilities research and development activities, including research, development, operations, support and services; space flight, spacecraft control and communications activities including operations, production, and services; maintenance; construction of facilities including repair, rehabilitation, revitalization and modification of facilities, construction of new facilities and additions to existing facilities, facility planning and design, and restoration, and acquisition or condemnation of real property, as authorized by law; environmental compliance and restoration; program 121 STAT. 1918 management; personnel and related costs, including uniforms or allowances therefor, as authorized by 5 U.S.C. 5901–5902; travel expenses; purchase and hire of passenger motor vehicles; not to exceed $35,000 for official reception and representation expenses; and purchase, lease, charter, maintenance and operation of mission and administrative aircraft, $6,733,700,000, to remain available until September 30, 2009: Provided, That of the amounts provided under this heading, $4,000,000,000 shall be for Space Shuttle operations, production, research, development, and support and $2,220,000,000 shall be for International Space Station operations, production, research, development, and support: Provided further, That amounts funded under this heading shall be reduced by $32,000,000 in corporate and general administrative expenses and the reduction shall be applied proportionally to each amount therein. office of inspector general For necessary expenses of the Office of Inspector General in carrying out the Inspector General Act of 1978, $32,600,000, to remain available until September 30, 2009. Administrative Provisions (including transfer of funds) Notwithstanding the limitation on the duration of availability of funds appropriated for “Science, Aeronautics and Exploration” or “Exploration Capabilities” under this title, when any activity has been initiated by the incurrence of obligations for construction of facilities or environmental compliance and restoration activities as authorized by law, such amount available for such activity shall remain available until expended. This provision does not apply to the amounts appropriated for institutional minor revitalization and minor construction of facilities, and institutional facility planning and design. Notwithstanding the limitation on the availability of funds appropriated for “Science, Aeronautics and Exploration” or “Exploration Capabilities” by this appropriations Act, the amounts appropriated for construction of facilities shall remain available until September 30, 2010. Funds for announced prizes otherwise authorized shall remain available, without fiscal year limitation, until the prize is claimed or the offer is withdrawn. Funding shall not be made available for Centennial Challenges unless authorized. Not to exceed 5 percent of any appropriation made available for the current fiscal year for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in this Act may be transferred between such appropriations, but no such appropriation, except as otherwise specifically provided, shall be increased by more than 10 percent by any such transfers. Any transfer pursuant to this provision shall be treated as a reprogramming of funds under section 505 of this Act and shall not be available for obligation except in compliance with the procedures set forth in that section. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no funds shall be used to implement any Reduction in Force or other involuntary separations (except for cause) by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration prior to September 30, 2008.121 STAT. 1919 The Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration shall prepare a strategy for minimizing job losses when the National Aeronautics and Space Administration transitions from the Space Shuttle to a successor human-rated space transport vehicle. This strategy shall include: (1) specific initiatives that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has undertaken, or plans to undertake, to maximize the utilization of existing civil service and contractor workforces at each of the affected Centers; (2) efforts to equitably distribute tasks and workload between the Centers to mitigate the brunt of job losses being borne by only certain Centers; (3) new workload, tasks, initiatives, and missions being secured for the affected Centers; and (4) overall projections of future civil service and contractor workforce levels at the affected Centers. The Administrator shall transmit this strategy to Congress not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act. The Administrator shall update and transmit to Congress this strategy not less than every six months thereafter until the successor human-rated space transport vehicle is fully operational. For fiscal year 2009 and hereafter, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration shall provide, at a minimum, the following information in its annual budget justification:(1) The actual, current, proposed funding level, and estimated budgets for the next five fiscal years by directorate, theme, program, project and activity within each appropriations account.(2) The proposed programmatic and non-programmatic construction of facilities.(3) The budget for headquarters including—(A) the budget by office, and any division thereof, for the actual, current, proposed funding level, and estimated budgets for the next five fiscal years;(B) the travel budget for each office, and any division thereof, for the actual, current, and proposed funding level; and(C) the civil service full time equivalent assignments per headquarters office, and any division thereof, including the number of Senior Executive Service, noncareer, detailee, and contract personnel per office.(4) Within 14 days of the submission of the budget to the Congress an accompanying volume shall be provided to the Committees on Appropriations containing the following information for each center, facility managed by any center, and federally funded research and development center operated on behalf of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration:(A) The actual, current, proposed funding level, and estimated budgets for the next five fiscal years by directorate, theme, program, project, and activity.(B) The proposed programmatic and non-programmatic construction of facilities.(C) The number of civil service full time equivalent positions per center for each identified fiscal year.(D) The number of civil service full time equivalent positions considered to be uncovered capacity at each location for each identified fiscal year.121 STAT. 1920(5) The proposed budget as designated by object class for each directorate, theme, and program.(6) Sufficient narrative shall be provided to explain the request for each program, project, and activity, and an explanation for any deviation to previously adopted baselines for all justification materials provided to the Committees. The Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration shall submit quarterly reports to the Inspector General of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration regarding the costs and contracting procedures relating to each conference or meeting, held by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration during fiscal year 2008 for which the cost to the Government was more than $20,000. Each report submitted shall include, for each conference described in that subsection held during the applicable quarter—(1) a description of the number of and purpose of participants attending that conference or meeting;(2) a detailed statement of the costs to the Government relating to that conference or meeting, including—(A) the cost of any food or beverages;(B) the cost of any audio-visual services;(C) the cost of all related travel; and(D) a discussion of the methodology used to determine which costs relate to that conference or meeting; and(3) a description of the contracting procedures relating to that conference or meeting, including—(A) whether contracts were awarded on a competitive basis; and(B) a discussion of any cost comparison conducted by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in evaluating potential contractors for any conference or meeting. The Administrator of NASA shall, not later than September 30, 2008, submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report on each conference for which the agency paid travel expenses during fiscal year 2008 that includes—(1) the itemized expenses paid by the agency, including travel expenses and any agency expenditure to otherwise support the conference;(2) the primary sponsor of the conference;(3) the location of the conference;(4) in the case of a conference for which the agency was the primary sponsor, a statement that—(A) justifies the location selected;(B) demonstrates the cost efficiency of the location;(C) the date of the conference;(D) a brief explanation how the conference advanced the mission of the agency; and(E) the total number of individuals who travel or attendance at the conference was paid for in part or full by the agency. In this provision, the term conference means a meeting that—(1) is held for consultation, education, awareness, or discussion;(2) includes participants who are not all employees of the same agency;(3) is not held entirely at an agency facility;121 STAT. 1921(4) involves costs associated with travel and lodging for some participants; and(5) is sponsored by 1 or more agencies, 1 or more organizations that are not agencies, or a combination of such agencies or organizations.