§ 70113. Paying claims exceeding liability insurance and financial responsibility requirements
(a)
General Requirements.—
(1)
To the extent provided in advance in an appropriation law or to the extent additional legislative authority is enacted providing for paying claims in a compensation plan submitted under subsection (d) of this section, the Secretary of Transportation shall provide for the payment by the United States Government of a successful claim (including reasonable litigation or settlement expenses) of a third party against a licensee or transferee under this chapter, a contractor, subcontractor, or customer of the licensee or transferee, or a contractor or subcontractor of a customer, but not against a space flight participant, resulting from an activity carried out under the license issued or transferred under this chapter for death, bodily injury, or property damage or loss resulting from an activity carried out under the license. However, claims may be paid under this section only to the extent the total amount of successful claims related to one launch or reentry—
(2)
The Secretary may not provide for paying a part of a claim for which death, bodily injury, or property damage or loss results from willful misconduct by the licensee or transferee. To the extent insurance required under section
70112
(a)(1)(A) of this title is not available to cover a successful third party liability claim because of an insurance policy exclusion the Secretary decides is usual for the type of insurance involved, the Secretary may provide for paying the excluded claims without regard to the limitation contained in section
70112
(a)(1).
(b)
Notice, Participation, and Approval.—
Before a payment under subsection (a) of this section is made—
(1)
notice must be given to the Government of a claim, or a civil action related to the claim, against a party described in subsection (a)(1) of this section for death, bodily injury, or property damage or loss;
(c)
Withholding Payments.—
The Secretary may withhold a payment under subsection (a) of this section if the Secretary certifies that the amount is not reasonable. However, the Secretary shall deem to be reasonable the amount of a claim finally decided by a court of competent jurisdiction.
(d)
Surveys, Reports, and Compensation Plans.—
(1)
If as a result of an activity carried out under a license issued or transferred under this chapter the total of claims related to one launch or reentry is likely to be more than the amount of required insurance or demonstration of financial responsibility, the Secretary shall—
(2)
Not later than 90 days after a court determination indicates that the liability for the total of claims related to one launch or reentry may be more than the required amount of insurance or demonstration of financial responsibility, the President, on the recommendation of the Secretary, shall submit to Congress a compensation plan that—
(e)
Congressional Resolutions.—
(1)
In this subsection, “resolution”—
(2)
The Senate shall consider under this subsection a compensation plan requiring additional appropriations or legislative authority not later than 60 calendar days of continuous session of Congress after the date on which the plan is submitted to Congress.
(3)
A resolution introduced in the Senate shall be referred immediately to a committee by the President of the Senate. All resolutions related to the same plan shall be referred to the same committee.
(4)
(A)
If the committee of the Senate to which a resolution has been referred does not report the resolution within 20 calendar days after it is referred, a motion is in order to discharge the committee from further consideration of the resolution or to discharge the committee from further consideration of the plan.
(B)
A motion to discharge may be made only by an individual favoring the resolution and is highly privileged (except that the motion may not be made after the committee has reported a resolution on the plan). Debate on the motion is limited to one hour, to be divided equally between those favoring and those opposing the resolution. An amendment to the motion is not in order. A motion to reconsider the vote by which the motion is agreed to or disagreed to is not in order.
(5)
(A)
After a committee of the Senate reports, or is discharged from further consideration of, a resolution, a motion to proceed to the consideration of the resolution is in order at any time, even though a similar previous motion has been disagreed to. The motion is highly privileged and is not debatable. An amendment to the motion is not in order. A motion to reconsider the vote by which the motion is agreed to or disagreed to is not in order.
(B)
Debate on the resolution referred to in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph is limited to not more than 10 hours, to be divided equally between those favoring and those opposing the resolution. A motion further to limit debate is not debatable. An amendment to, or motion to recommit, the resolution is not in order. A motion to reconsider the vote by which the resolution is agreed to or disagreed to is not in order.
(f)
Application.—
This section applies to a license issued or transferred under this chapter for which the Secretary receives a complete and valid application not later than December 31, 2012. This section does not apply to permits.