42 U.S.C. § 18442 — Reports on program and cost assessment and control assessment

(a) Findings. Congress made four findings. NASA's ability to stick to cost and schedule targets, and keep discipline across its programs, remains a concern. The James Webb Space Telescope has gone over its cost estimate. In 2007, the Government Accountability Office reported on NASA's high-risk acquisition performance. And in response, NASA wrote a corrective action plan two years before this law passed. (b) Reports. NASA must report every year on this plan. Not later than 90 days after October 11, 2010, and by April 30 of every year after that, the Administrator must send Congress's appropriate committees a report on how NASA carried out that corrective action plan over the past year. Each report must cover, for that year: a description of every NASA program that has gone 15 percent or more over its cost baseline, or that is more than two years behind its planned development schedule; and, for each such program, a plan to control cost and schedule — such as cutting scope or requirements, or other steps — including any cost monitoring or fixes made under the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2005.