Chairwoman Johnson and Ranking Member Lucas Urge President Biden to Rescind NTSB Proposal that would Exceed Agency Authority

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 6, 2022

(Washington, DC) — Today, Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) and Ranking Member Frank Lucas (R-OK) sent a letter to President Biden expressing their concerns regarding the Administration’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for commercial space accident investigation that was issued by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

“Responsibilities and authorities for space accident investigation are to be determined by congressional action, as reflected in Title 51 of the United States Code, not through proposed regulations that are outside of established authorities,” said Chairwoman Johnson (D-TX) and Ranking Member Lucas (R-OK) in the letter. “The NTSB’s proposed rulemaking is inconsistent with statutory authorities, existing interagency agreements and regulations, and it is plainly unlawful.”

The Committee leaders continued, “While we share the NTSB’s desire to promote safety, we are concerned that the NTSB’s proposed rulemaking on commercial space accident investigation contravenes existing agreements and statutory authorities including those related to commercial space launch and reentry activities represented in Title 51 United States Code Chapter 509 on Commercial Space Launch Activities and on human spaceflight accident investigation under Title 51 United States Code Chapter 707, Human Space Flight Independent Investigation Commission.”

A full copy of the letter can be found here.