About the bill
The United States Government updated US commercial space legislation in 2015 with the passage of the Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act, sometimes referred to at the Spurring Private Aerospace Competitiveness and Entrepreneurship (SPACE) Act of 2015.
The update to US law explicitly allows US citizens to "engage in the commercial exploration and exploitation of 'space resources' [including ... water and minerals]." The right does not extend to biological life, so anything that is alive may not be exploited commercially. The Act further asserts that "the United States does not [(by this Act)] assert sovereignty, or sovereign or exclusive rights or jurisdiction over, or the ownership of, any celestial body." Some scholars argue that the United States recognizing ownership of space resources is an act of sovereignty, and that …
Sponsor and status
114th Congress (2015–2017)
Enacted — Signed by the President on Nov 25, 2015
This bill was enacted after being signed by the President on November 25, 2015.
12 Cosponsors (12 Republicans)
Position statements
What legislators are saying
“JEAN FULLER: McCarthys Space Act continues final frontier”
—
Rep. Kevin McCarthy [R-CA20, 2023-2023]
(Sponsor)
on Dec 14, 2015
“Poseys Bipartisan Bill to Promote U.S. Commercial Space Ventures Heads to the Presidents Desk”
—
Rep. Bill Posey [R-FL8]
(Co-sponsor)
on Nov 16, 2015
“The News with Sen. Cruz - November 20, 2015”
—
Sen. Ted Cruz [R-TX]
on Nov 20, 2015
Incorporated legislation
This bill incorporates provisions from:
S. 1297: U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act
Passed Senate (House next) on Aug 4, 2015. 87% incorporated. (compare text)
History
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May 12, 2015
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Introduced
Bills and resolutions are referred to committees which debate the bill before possibly sending it on to the whole chamber. |
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May 13, 2015
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Ordered Reported
A committee has voted to issue a report to the full chamber recommending that the bill be considered further. Only about 1 in 4 bills are reported out of committee. |
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May 18, 2015
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Reported by House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
A committee issued a report on the bill, which often provides helpful explanatory background on the issue addressed by the bill and the bill's intentions. |
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May 21, 2015
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Passed House (Senate next)
The bill was passed in a vote in the House. It goes to the Senate next. |
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Aug 4, 2015
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Source Bill —
Passed Senate (House next)
This activity took place on a related bill, S. 1297 (114th), possibly in lieu of similar activity on H.R. 2262 (114th). |
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Nov 10, 2015
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Passed Senate with Changes (back to House)
The Senate passed the bill with changes not in the House version and sent it back to the House to approve the changes. The vote was by Unanimous Consent so no record of individual votes was made. |
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Nov 16, 2015
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House Agreed to Changes
The bill was passed by both chambers in identical form. It goes to the President next who may sign or veto the bill. The vote was by voice vote so no record of individual votes was made. |
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Nov 25, 2015
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Enacted — Signed by the President
The President signed the bill and it became law.
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H.R. 2262 (114th) was a bill in the United States Congress.
A bill must be passed by both the House and Senate in identical form and then be signed by the President to become law.
Bills numbers restart every two years. That means there are other bills with the number H.R. 2262. This is the one from the 114th Congress.
This bill was introduced in the 114th Congress, which met from Jan 6, 2015 to Jan 3, 2017. Legislation not passed by the end of a Congress is cleared from the books.
How to cite this information.
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“H.R. 2262 — 114th Congress: U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act.” www.GovTrack.us. 2015. April 28, 2024 <https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/114/hr2262>
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Where is this information from?
GovTrack automatically collects legislative information from a variety of governmental and non-governmental sources. This page is sourced primarily from Congress.gov, the official portal of the United States Congress. Congress.gov is generally updated one day after events occur, and so legislative activity shown here may be one day behind. Data via the congress project.
