House passes HR 3237 to enact Title 51

The US House of Representatives has passed HR 3237,which gathers provisions relating to national and commercial space programs, and restates the provisions as Title 51, United States Code, ``National and Commercial Space Programs''. The bill does not provide for any new programs. As the Law Revision Counsel website points out, "Over the past five decades, a substantial amount of legislation has been enacted relating to national and commercial space programs. In the United States Code, some of these provisions appear in title 15 (Commerce and Trade), some in title 42 (The 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."