PROHIBITION ON CONTRACTING WITH RUSSIAN SUPPLIERS OF ROCKET ENGINES FOR THE EVOLVED EXPENDABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE PROGRAM.

SEC. 1608. [10 U.S.C. 2271 note] PROHIBITION ON CONTRACTING WITH RUSSIAN SUPPLIERS OF ROCKET ENGINES FOR THE EVOLVED EXPENDABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE PROGRAM. (a) In General.—Except as provided by subsections (b) and (c), beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense may not award or renew a contract for the procurement of property or services for space launch activities under the evolved expendable launch vehicle program if such contract carries out such space launch activities using rocket engines designed or manufactured in the Russian Federation. (b) Waiver.—The Secretary may waive the prohibition under subsection (a) with respect to a contract for the procurement of property or services for space launch activities if the Secretary determines, and certifies to the congressional defense committees not later than 30 days before the waiver takes effect, that— (1) the waiver is necessary for the national security interests of the United States; and (2) the space launch services and capabilities covered by the contract could not be obtained at a fair and reasonable price without the use of rocket engines designed or manufactured in the Russian Federation. (c) Exception.—The prohibition in subsection (a) shall not apply to any of the following: (1) The placement of orders or the exercise of options under the contract numbered FA8811–13–C–0003 and awarded on December 18, 2013. (2) Contracts that are awarded during the period beginning on the date of the enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 and ending December 31, 2022, for the procurement of property or services for space launch activities that include the use of a total of 18 rocket engines designed or manufactured in the Russian Federation, in addition to the Russian-designed or Russian-manufactured engines to which paragraph (1) applies.