H.R. 3039 (109th Congress) Title 51, United States Code National and Commercial Space Programs
	Background Over the past five decades, a substantial amount of legislation has been enacted related to national and commercial space programs (see, e.g., National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958; Commercial Space Act of 1998). 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. H.R. 3039 gathers provisions related to national and commercial space programs and restates these provisions as a new positive law title of the United States Code. The new positive law title replaces the former provisions, which are repealed by the bill. The bill was prepared by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel as part of the Office's ongoing responsibility under section 205(c) of House Resolution No. 988, 93d Congress, as enacted into law by Public Law 93-554 (2 U.S.C. 285b), ``[t]o prepare, and submit to the Committee on the Judiciary one title at a time, a complete compilation, restatement, and revision of the general and permanent laws of the United States''. The bill was introduced on June 22, 2005. The Office of the Law Revision Counsel actively sought comments from Federal agencies, congressional committees, and others with expertise in the area of law being codified. A draft amendment in the nature of a substitute was prepared by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel and delivered to the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives. The amendment incorporates recently enacted provisions from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16601 et seq.) into the new title of the United States Code and improves the title's organizational structure. In addition, two chapters from title 49, United States Code, are renumbered and transferred to title 51, United States Code, in order to further improve the overall organization of the Code. PDF Versions PDF version of H.R. 3039 (draft amendment in the nature of a substitute). PDF version of the draft Report (including a disposition table and section-by-section explanation of the bill). Questions and Comments Questions and comments about this proposed codification bill should be directed to:      Robert M. Sukol, Assistant Counsel      Office of the Law Revision Counsel      United States House of Representatives      Washington, D.C. 20515      Email: Rob Sukol