The National Space Council
Signed December 1, 2021·Joseph R. Biden Jr.·86 FR 68871
Source
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Plain-language summary
Establishes the membership, duties, and operations of the National Space Council, chaired by the Vice President and including numerous cabinet secretaries, agency heads, and White House officials such as the Secretaries of State, Defense, Commerce, and Homeland Security, the NASA Administrator, and the Director of National Intelligence. The Council is directed to advise the President on national space policy and strategy, coordinate civil, commercial, and national security space activities across agencies, resolve interagency disputes, and meet at least annually. It sets out the Chair's responsibilities, including setting meeting agendas and recommending budget priorities, and requires agencies conducting space-related activities to conform to national space policy where legally permitted. It directs the Council to convene a Users' Advisory Group of non-federal industry representatives to provide recommendations, and assigns administrative and legal support roles to the Office of Administration and White House counsel offices. The order revokes Executive Orders 13803 and 13906, which previously governed the Council.
Not written or reviewed by a person. Read the full order below for anything you intend to rely on.
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Legal standing
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Claimed authority
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered
Quoted from the order as written. Many orders cite nothing more specific than “the Constitution and the laws”; this reproduces what the order claims, not an assessment of whether it holds.
Disposition
Revokes: EO 13803, June 30, 2017; EO 13906, February 13, 2020 Revoked by: EO 14369, December 18, 2025
Compiled after the fact by the National Archives, so recent orders often have none yet. An empty disposition means no record, not no activity.
The order, in full
Executive Order 14056 of December 1, 2021
The National Space Council
By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Purpose. The National Space Council
(Council), as authorized under Title V of Public Law
100-685, advises and assists the President regarding
national space policy and strategy. This order sets
forth the Council's membership, duties, and
responsibilities.
Sec. 2. Membership of the National Space Council. The
Council shall be composed of:
(a) the Vice President, who shall be Chair of the
Council;
(b) the Secretary of State;
(c) the Secretary of Defense;
(d) the Secretary of the Interior;
(e) the Secretary of Agriculture;
(f) the Secretary of Commerce;
(g) the Secretary of Labor;
(h) the Secretary of Transportation;
(i) the Secretary of Energy;
(j) the Secretary of Education;
(k) the Secretary of Homeland Security;
(l) the Director of the Office of Management and
Budget;
(m) the Director of National Intelligence;
(n) the Director of the Office of Science and
Technology Policy;
(o) the Assistant to the President for National
Security Affairs;
(p) the Assistant to the President for Economic
Policy;
(q) the Assistant to the President for Domestic
Policy;
(r) the Assistant to the President and National
Climate Advisor;
(s) the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff;
(t) the Administrator of the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration; and
(u) the heads of other executive departments and
agencies (agencies) and other senior officials within
the Executive Office of the President, as determined by
the Chair.
Sec. 3. Functions and Operations of the Council. (a)
The Council shall advise and assist the President on
space policy and strategy. In particular, it shall:
(i) review, develop, and provide recommendations to the President on space
policy and strategy;
(ii) coordinate implementation of space policy and strategy;
(iii) synchronize the Nation's civil, commercial, and national security
space activities in furtherance of the objectives of the President's
national space policy and strategy;
(iv) facilitate resolution of differences among agencies on space-related
policy and strategy matters;
(v) enable interagency cooperation, coordination, and information exchange
on space activities; and
(vi) perform such other duties as the President may, from time to time,
prescribe.
(b) The operation of the Council shall not
interfere with the existing lines of authority in or
responsibilities of any agency.
(c) The Council shall have a staff, headed by a
civilian Executive Secretary appointed by the
President.
(d) The Council shall meet at least annually.
(e) The Council shall consider and provide
recommendations to the President on any space-related
issue as determined by the Chair.
Sec. 4. Responsibilities of the Chair. (a) The Chair
shall serve as the President's principal advisor on
national space policy and strategy.
(b) The Chair shall establish procedures and set
the agenda for Council sessions to address Presidential
priorities.
(c) The Chair may recommend to the President
candidates for the position of Executive Secretary.
(d) The Chair may invite the heads of other
agencies, other senior officials in the Executive
Office of the President, and other Federal employees to
participate in Council meetings.
(e) The Chair or, upon the Chair's direction, the
Executive Secretary, may develop budget recommendations
for submission to the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget that reflect the President's
space policy and strategy, as well as provide advice
concerning budget submissions by agencies related to
the President's space policies and strategies.
Sec. 5. National Space Policy Planning Process. (a) The
Council shall establish a process for developing and
coordinating the implementation of national space
policy and strategy.
(b) The head of each agency that conducts space-
related activities shall, to the extent permitted by
law, conform such activities to the President's
national space policy and strategy.
(c) On space matters relating primarily to national
security, the Council shall coordinate with the
National Security Council (NSC) to develop space policy
and strategy consistent with NSC priorities and
practices.
Sec. 6. Users' Advisory Group. (a) The Council shall
convene a Users' Advisory Group (Group) pursuant to
section 121 of Public Law 101-611, composed of non-
Federal representatives of industries and other persons
involved in aeronautical and space activities.
(b) Members of the Group shall serve without
compensation for their work for the Group. Members of
the Group, while engaged in the work of the Group, may
be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu
of subsistence, to the extent permitted by law for
persons serving intermittently in Government service (5
U.S.C. 5701-5707), consistent with the availability of
funds.
(c) The Group shall report directly to the Council
and shall provide advice or work product solely to the
Council.
(d) The Group shall provide advice and
recommendations to the Council on matters related to
space policy and strategy, including Government
policies, laws, regulations, treaties, international
instruments, programs, and practices across the civil,
commercial, and national security space sectors.
Sec. 7. Administrative Provisions. (a) To aid in the
performance of the functions of the Council:
(i) the Office of Administration in the Executive Office of the President
shall provide administrative support to the Council, to the extent
permitted by law and within existing appropriations; and
(ii) legal advice to the Council with respect to its work and functions
shall be provided exclusively by the Office of the Counsel to the President
and the Counsel to the Vice President.
(b) To the extent practicable and permitted by law,
including the Economy Act (31 U.S.C. 1535), and within
existing appropriations, agencies serving on the
Council, components of the Executive Office of the
President, and interagency councils and committees that
affect space policy or strategy shall make resources,
including personnel, office support, and printing,
available to the Council as reasonably requested by the
Chair or, upon the Chair's direction, the Executive
Secretary.
(c) Agencies shall cooperate with the Council
through the Chair, or upon the Chair's request, the
Executive Secretary, and provide such information and
advice to the Council as it may reasonably request, to
the extent permitted by law, including information
regarding agencies' current and planned space
activities.
(d) This order supersedes Executive Order 13803 of
June 30, 2017 (Reviving the National Space Council),
and Executive Order 13906 of February 13, 2020
(Amending Executive Order 13803--Reviving the National
Space Council), and those orders are revoked. To the
extent this order is inconsistent with any provision of
any previous Executive Order or Presidential
Memorandum, this order shall control.
(e) If any provision of this order or the
application of such provision is held to be invalid,
the remainder of this order and other dissimilar
applications of such provision shall not be affected.
Sec. 8. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order
shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or
the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with
applicable law and subject to the availability of
appropriations.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not,
create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
enforceable at law or in equity by any party against
the United States, its departments, agencies, or
entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any
other person.
(Presidential Sig.)
THE WHITE HOUSE,
December 1, 2021.Reproduced from the Federal Register plain-text record, signed December 1, 2021. Typesetting artifacts are removed; no wording is changed.