Draft Legislation for Land Claim Recognition (LCR)
Until Congress passes a bill enabling land claims recognition in space, land claims as a motive for private industry to finance return missions to the Moon and beyond will not be possible.
Fortunately, Mr. Alan Wasser, founder of the Space Settlement Initiative and current Chairman of the Space Settlement Institute, has given Congress a head start by drafting proposed legislation to enable land claim recognition for space. Mr. Wasser's draft, titled "An Act to Promote Privately Funded Space Settlement" shows how straightforward and concise such a bill can be.
The draft legislation begins as follows...
Whereas, Congress finds:
The expansion of the habitat of humanity through the establishment of space settlements will be of inestimable value for America and all mankind. Because the government needs to limit expenditures, it will be even better if financed by private capital rather than taxpayer's money.
Unfortunately, the potential short-term profit sources are much too small to attract the billions of dollars of private capital necessary. So a new, additional incentive is badly needed. The potential value of land on the Moon, Mars, or an asteroid can provide that additional economic incentive for privately funded space settlement. It is the only possible incentive that will not cost the government anything....
The bill is detailed enough to cover the most important considerations for enabling space land claims recognition, yet leaves enough room for legislators to make adjusts to and fine-tune related space policy as necessary. To see the full text of the proposed legislation, access An Act to Promote Privately Funded Space Settlement.