article: SECTION 1. CENTENNIAL CHALLENGE PROGRAM. Title III of the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 (42 U.S.C. 2451 et seq.), is amended by adding at the end the following: ``SEC. 316. AUTHORITY FOR COMPETITIVE PRIZE AWARD PROGRAM TO ENCOURAGE DEVELOPMENT OF ADVANCED SPACE AND AERONAUTICAL TECHNOLOGIES. ``(a) Program Authorized.--The Administrator may carry out a program, known as the Centennial Challenge Program, to award prizes to stimulate innovation in basic and applied research, technology development, and prototype demonstration that have the potential for application to the performance of the space and aeronautical activities of the Administration. ``(b) Program Requirements.-- ``(1) Competitive process.--Recipients of prizes under the program under this section shall be selected through one or more competitions conducted by the Administrator. ``(2) Advertisement of competitions.--The Administrator shall widely advertise any competitions conducted under the program. ``(c) Registration; Assumption of Risk.-- ``(1) Registration.--Each potential recipient of a prize in a competition under the program under this section shall register for the competition. ``(2) Assumption of risk.--In registering for a competition under paragraph (1), a potential recipient of a prize shall assume any and all risks, and waive claims against the United States Government and its related entities (including contractors and subcontractors at any tier, suppliers, users, customers, cooperating parties, grantees, investigators, and detailees), for any injury, death, damage, or loss of property, revenue, or profits, whether direct, indirect, or consequential, arising from participation in the competition, whether such injury, death, damage, or loss arises through negligence or otherwise, except in the case of willful misconduct. ``(d) Budgeting and Awarding of Funds.-- ``(1) Availability of funds.--Any funds appropriated to carry out this section shall remain available until expended, but for not more than 4 fiscal years. ``(2) Deposit and withdrawal of funds.--When a prize is offered, the total amount of funding made available for that prize shall be deposited in the Centennial Challenge Trust Fund. If funding expires before a prize is awarded, the Administrator shall deposit additional funds in the account to ensure the availability of funding for all prizes. If a prize competition expires before its goals are met, the Administrator may redesignate those funds for a new challenge, but any redesignated funds will be considered as newly deposited for the purposes of paragraph (3). All cash awards made under this section shall be paid from that account. ``(3) Overall limit.--The Administrator may not deposit more than $25,000,000 annually in the Centennial Challenge Trust Fund. ``(4) Maximum prize.--No competition under the program may result in the award of more than $1,000,000 in cash prizes without the approval of the Administrator. ``(e) Relationship to Other Authority.--The Administrator may exercise the authority in this section in conjunction with or in addition to any other authority of the Administrator to acquire, support, or stimulate basic and applied research, technology development, or prototype demonstration projects.''. SEC. 2. NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE FOUNDATION. Title III of the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 (42 U.S.C. 2451 et seq.), as amended by section 1, is amended by adding at the end the following: ``SEC. 317. NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE FOUNDATION. ``(a) In General.--There is established a charitable and nonprofit corporation to be known as the National Aeronautics and Space Foundation. ``(b) Purposes.--The purposes of the foundation are-- ``(1) to encourage private gifts of real and personal property or any income therefrom or other interest therein for the benefit of, or in connection with, NASA, its activities, or its services; and ``(2) to further the public's knowledge of and inspiration by the Earth, the Earth's atmosphere, space, and celestial bodies in space, for current and future generations of Americans. ``(c) Board of Directors.-- ``(1) In general.--The Foundation shall be governed by a board of directors of 6 individuals appointed by the Administrator, in consultation with the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and of the House of Representatives Committee on Science. The Administrator shall designate 1 member to serve as chair. ``(2) Term of office.--Each member shall serve for a term of 6 years, except that of the members first appointed to the board-- ``(A) 1 member shall be appointed for a term of 1 year; ``(B) 1 member shall be appointed for a term of 2 years; ``(C) 1 member shall be appointed for a term of 3 years; ``(D) 1 member shall be appointed for a term of 4 years; ``(E) 1 member shall be appointed for a term of 5 years; and ``(F) 1 member shall be appointed for a term of 6 years. ``(3) Vacancies.--An individual appointed to fill a vacancy occurring other than by the expiration of a term shall be appointed for the remainder of the term of the former member the individual succeeds. ``(4) Status.--Membership on the Board shall not be deemed to be an office within the meaning of the statutes of the United States. ``(5) Administrator to serve ex officio.--The Administrator shall be a member of the board ex officio but without the right to vote. ``(6) By-laws.--Upon the appointment and qualification of all members of the board, the board may by majority vote adopt by-laws, adopt an official seal (which shall be judicially recognized), and establish a schedule for meetings and a mechanism for calling non-scheduled meetings. Except as provided in the preceding sentence and unless modified by the Board-- ``(A) a majority of the members serving shall consitute a quorum; and ``(B) the board shall meet at least once each year and at the call of the chair. ``(7) Compensation and expenses.--No compensation shall be paid to the members of the Board for their services as members, but they shall be reimbursed for actual and necessary traveling and subsistence expenses incurred by them in the performance of their duties as such members out of Foundation funds available to the Board for such purposes. ``(d) Powers and Duties.-- ``(1) In general.--Except as otherwise provided in this section, the Foundation shall have the powers of, and be subject to the limitations of, a charitable and nonprofit corporation provided under the laws of the State (or the District of Columbia) in which it is incorporated. ``(2) Perpetual succession; member liability.--The Foundation shall have perpetual succession, with all the usual powers and obligations of a corporation acting as a trustee, including the power to sue and to be sued in its own name, but the members of the Board shall not be personally liable, except for malfeasance. ``(3) Contracts; grants; other instruments.--The Foundation shall have the power to enter into contracts or grants, to execute instruments, and generally to do any and all lawful acts necessary or appropriate to its purposes as approved by the board. ``(4) Gifts; devises; bequests.-- ``(A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the Foundation may accept, receive, solicit, hold, administer, and use any gifts, devises, or bequests, either absolutely or in trust, of real or personal property or any income therefrom or other interest therein for the benefit of or in connection with, NASA, its activities, or its services, including a gift, devise, or bequest that is encumbered, restricted, or subject to beneficial interests of private persons if any current or future interest therein is for the benefit of NASA, its activities, or its services. For purposes of this paragraph, an interest in real property includes easements or other rights for preservation, conservation, protection, or enhancement by and for the public of natural, scenic, historic, scientific, educational, inspirational, or recreational resources. ``(B) Limitation.--The Foundation may not accept a gift, devise, or bequest which entails any expenditure other than from the resources of the Foundation. ``(e) Tax Status and Functions.-- ``(1) Tax-exempt status of foundation.--The Foundation and any income or property received or owned by it, and all transactions relating to such income or property, shall be exempt from all Federal, State, and local taxation with respect thereto. ``(2) In-lieu-of payments.--The Foundation may, in the discretion of the board-- ``(A) contribute toward the costs of local goverment in amounts not in excess of those which it would be obligated to pay such government if it were not exempt from taxation under paragraph (A) or by virtue of its being a charitable and nonprofit corporation; and ``(B) may contribute with respect to property transferred to it and the income derived therefrom if such agreement is a condition of the transfer. ``(3) Deductibility of contributions to foundation.--Gifts and other transfers made to or for the use of the Foundation shall be regarded as contributions, gifts, or transfers to or for the use of the United States. ``(f) Cooperative Work With NASA.-- ``(1) NASA support contracts.--The Administrator may contract with the Foundation for the performance of its duties and activities in support of the Administration. ``(2) NASA may not accept funds from foundation.--Neither NASA nor any employee thereof may be authorized to accept funds from the Foundation. ``(3) Foundation funding may not supplement appropriated funds activities.--Except as otherwise specifically provided by statute, the Foundation may not obligate or expend funds to directly supplement any program or activity of NASA, or any other Federal agency, for which appropriated funds may be obligated or expended. ``(g) Definitions.--In this section: ``(1) Administrator.--The term `Administrator' means the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. ``(2) Board.--The term `board' means the board of directors of the Foundation. ``(3) Foundation.--The term `Foundation' means the National Aeronautics and Space Foundation established by subsection (a). ``(4) NASA.--The term `NASA' means the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.''.
summary: Amends the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 to: (1) authorize the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to carry out a Centennial Challenge Program to award prizes to stimulate innovation in basic and applied research, technology development, and prototype demonstration that have the potential for application to the performance of NASA's space and aeronautical activities; and (2) establish a charitable and nonprofit corporation to be known as the National Aeronautics and Space Foundation to encourage private gifts of real and personal property for the benefit of, or in connection with, NASA and to further the public's knowledge of, and inspiration by, the Earth and space.