[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4044 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4044

  To require the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space 
  Administration to designate national high-energy astrophysics hubs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 10, 2026

Mr. Markey (for himself and Ms. Warren) introduced the following bill; 
    which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To require the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space 
  Administration to designate national high-energy astrophysics hubs.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Support for Astrophysical 
Observatories and National High-Energy Astrophysics Hubs Act of 2026''.

SEC. 2. SUPPORT FOR ASTROPHYSICAL OBSERVATORIES AND NATIONAL HIGH-
              ENERGY ASTROPHYSICS HUBS.

    (a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the United States should maintain its global leadership 
        in high-energy astrophysics;
            (2) in order to maintain such leadership, the United States 
        should support X-ray flagship missions based on the 
        recommendations of the most recent and future decadal Surveys 
        in Astronomy and Astrophysics issued by the National Academies 
        of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine;
            (3) the workforce associated with high-energy astrophysics 
        constitutes a national strategic asset that will be critical to 
        the development and eventual operation of any such flagship 
        mission; and
            (4) proactive steps should be taken to ensure that the 
        capabilities of current high-energy astrophysics facilities 
        continue to serve the scientific, educational, and commercial 
        interests of the United States long beyond the duration of the 
        current high-energy astrophysics flagship mission.
    (b) Designation.--
            (1) In general.--The Administrator shall designate as a 
        national high-energy astrophysics hub each eligible facility 
        described in paragraph (2).
            (2) Eligible facility described.--An eligible facility 
        described in this paragraph is an entity that--
                    (A)(i) is party to a contract with NASA; and
                    (ii) plans and operates missions that conduct 
                activities for purposes of--
                            (I) ensuring continued United States 
                        leadership in high-energy astrophysics and 
                        related space sciences;
                            (II) supporting training and workforce 
                        development in data-intensive high-energy 
                        astrophysics, aerospace engineering, and 
                        spacecraft operations;
                            (III) advancing United States capabilities 
                        in high-performance scientific software, 
                        spaceflight operations, and technology 
                        transfer;
                            (IV) enabling future high-energy 
                        astrophysics missions through mission design, 
                        planning, and scientific coordination; or
                            (V) serving as a collaborative national 
                        resource for academic, governmental, and 
                        commercial partners; and
                    (B)(i) is an institution of higher education;
                    (ii) is an appropriate State or Federal entity, 
                including a federally funded research and development 
                center; or
                    (iii) is a nongovernmental organization with 
                expertise in advanced energy technology research, 
                development, demonstration, or commercial application.
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