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Provide for reconciliation pursuant to title II of H. Con. Res. 14 › Section 40004

Space Launch and Reentry Licensing and Permitting User Fees

Section 40004 · Sec. 40004 ·

What this chapter is about

This part charges a fee for each space launch or reentry. It starts in 2026 and rises each year. The fee is the lower of a rate per pound and a flat cap. The money goes into a new fund for the office that licenses launches.

3 proposals indexed from this chapter.

A fee is charged on each launch or reentry from 2026

The document says “shall”Who acts: Secretary of TransportationHow: statuteSec. 40004 in the PDF
What the document says

“The Secretary of Transportation shall impose a fee, which shall be deposited in the account established under subsection (b), on each launch or reentry carried out under a license or permit issued under section 50904 during 2026 or a subsequent year, in an amount equal to the lesser of--”

To provide for reconciliation pursuant to title II of H. Con. Res. 14, Sec. 40004

The section adds a new section 50924 to chapter 509 of title 51, United States Code, requiring the Secretary of Transportation to charge a fee on each launch or reentry carried out under a license or permit issued under section 50904 during 2026 or later. The fee is the lesser of a per pound rate on the weight of the payload and a flat cap, both set by year in the two schedules.

What the document actually says

“The Secretary of Transportation shall impose a fee, which shall be deposited in the account established under subsection (b), on each launch or reentry carried out under a license or permit issued under section 50904 during 2026 or a subsequent year, in an amount equal to the lesser of--”

To provide for reconciliation pursuant to title II of H. Con. Res. 14, Sec. 40004
That sentence, in plain words

The transport secretary must charge a fee. It applies to each launch and each return to Earth. It starts in 2026. It is the lower of the two figures set out below.

What this is about

The fee goes into a new fund set up by this section. It only reaches launches under a federal license or permit. The lower of the two figures always wins.

No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.

The fee rises each year and then tracks inflation from 2034

The document says “shall apply”Who acts: Secretary of TransportationHow: statuteSec. 40004 in the PDF
What the document says

“for 2034 and each subsequent year, the amount specified in this paragraph for the previous year increased by the percentage increase in the consumer price index for all urban consumers (all items; United States city average) over the previous year.”

To provide for reconciliation pursuant to title II of H. Con. Res. 14, Sec. 40004

The per pound rate runs $0.25 for 2026, $0.35 for 2027, $0.50 for 2028, $0.60 for 2029, $0.75 for 2030, $1 for 2031, $1.25 for 2032 and $1.50 for 2033. The flat cap runs $30,000 for 2026, $40,000 for 2027, $50,000 for 2028, $75,000 for 2029, $100,000 for 2030, $125,000 for 2031, $170,000 for 2032 and $200,000 for 2033. From 2034 each figure rises by the increase in the consumer price index for all urban consumers over the previous year.

What the document actually says

“for 2034 and each subsequent year, the amount specified in this paragraph for the previous year increased by the percentage increase in the consumer price index for all urban consumers (all items; United States city average) over the previous year.”

To provide for reconciliation pursuant to title II of H. Con. Res. 14, Sec. 40004
That sentence, in plain words

From 2034 the figure grows each year. It follows the rise in a price index. That index tracks what city shoppers pay.

What this is about

Before that the figures are set in law year by year. The rate per pound starts at 25 cents. The flat cap starts at $30,000.

No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.

A new fund holds the fees, and 70 percent is spendable at once

The document says “shall”Who acts: Federal Aviation AdministrationHow: statuteSec. 40004 in the PDF
What the document says

“70 percent of the amounts deposited into the fund shall be available for such purposes and shall be available without further appropriation and without fiscal year limitation.”

To provide for reconciliation pursuant to title II of H. Con. Res. 14, Sec. 40004

The section sets up a separate account in the Treasury called the Office of Commercial Space Transportation Launch and Reentry Licensing and Permitting Fund, for the expenses of the Office of Commercial Space Transportation of the Federal Aviation Administration and to carry out section 630(b) of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024. Seventy percent of what is paid into the fund is available for those purposes without further appropriation and without fiscal year limitation.

What the document actually says

“70 percent of the amounts deposited into the fund shall be available for such purposes and shall be available without further appropriation and without fiscal year limitation.”

To provide for reconciliation pursuant to title II of H. Con. Res. 14, Sec. 40004
That sentence, in plain words

Seven tenths of the money in the fund may be spent at once. It does not need a fresh grant from Congress. It is not tied to one budget year.

What this is about

The fund is a new account in the Treasury. It pays for the office that licenses launches. The other three tenths are not made spendable this way.

No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.

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What This Page Covers, and What It Leaves Out

Each distinct thing the new section does: the fee and how it is worked out, the two schedules of amounts and their inflation adjustment, and the new fund with the share of it that is available without further appropriation.

The eighteen individual dollar figures in the two schedules are carried in a summary rather than recorded one by one. The clerical amendment adding the new section to the table of sections is also not recorded.

The section adds a section to chapter 509 of title 51, United States Code, and points to section 50904 of that title and section 630(b) of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024, none of which is indexed here.