United States 119th Congress Status: In Committee Bipartisan · 1 D · 1 R cosponsors

HR 8458 — STAR Act

Last action — Referred to the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced April 22, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the House.

Odds of enactment

Low chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a low chance of becoming law.

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A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Advancing 34% · moderate confidence

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 2 sponsors

    1 primary, 1 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 2 parties (1 D · 1 R) — cross-party backing.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

Summary

The STAR Act aims to support and promote research in science and technology. It has recently been sent to a committee in the House of Representatives for further review and discussion.

Bill Text

How this bill changes current law

3 changes Share ↗

Compared against current U.S. Code AI-generated reading aid — verify against the official bill.

The bill adds new authorities to protect NASA facilities and space launch property from unmanned aircraft under Title 51, U.S. Code, while incorporating existing definitions related to unmanned aircraft from Title 49.

  • 51 U.S.C. § 20118

    Sec. 20118. Authority to take actions to protect certain NASA facilities and assets from unmanned aircraft (a) Authority.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Administrator may take, and may authorize officers and employees of the Administration to take, such actions as are described in subsection (b) that are necessary to mitigate the threat an unmanned aircraft system or unmanned aircraft poses to the safety or security of a covered facility.

    This establishes a new section granting the Administrator authority to take actions against unmanned aircraft threats to NASA facilities.

  • 51 U.S.C. § 50925

    Sec. 50925. Authority to take actions to protect space launch property from unmanned aircraft (a) Authority.--Subject to section 20118 and notwithstanding any other provision of law, a covered entity may take, and may authorize officers and employees of such entity to take, such actions as are described in subsection (b) that are necessary to mitigate the threat an unmanned aircraft system or unmanned aircraft poses to the safety or security of the covered property of such entity.

    This creates a new section allowing covered entities involved in space activities to take protective action against unmanned aircraft.

  • 51 U.S.C. § 20118

    The terms 'unmanned aircraft' and 'unmanned aircraft system' have the meanings given such terms in section 44801 of title 49.

    This refers to and incorporates definitions of unmanned aircraft and unmanned aircraft system from Title 49, establishing consistent terminology across the statutes.

Action History

  1. Introduced in House

  2. Introduced in House

  3. Referred to the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 1 co-sponsors · 545 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (1)

Not signed on (545)

545 members have not signed on to this bill.

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"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

healthcare health-insurance technology
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does HR 8458 do?
The STAR Act aims to support and promote research in science and technology. It has recently been sent to a committee in the House of Representatives for further review and discussion.
Who sponsors HR 8458?
HR 8458 is sponsored by Dunn, Neal P. (Republican) and Soto, Darren (Democratic).
What is the current status of HR 8458?
This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced April 22, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track HR 8458?
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Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

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