# § 71101. Reaffirmation of policy
section 20102(g) of this title
Congress reaffirms the policy set forth in (relating to surveying near-Earth asteroids and comets).
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**Source Credit**: (Pub. L. 111–314, § 3, Dec. 18, 2010, 124 Stat. 3439.)
| RevisedSection | Source (U.S. Code) | Source (Statutes at Large) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 71101 | 42 U.S.C. 17791(a). | Pub. L. 110–422, title VIII, § 801(a), Oct. 15, 2008, 122 Stat. 4803. |
## Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
### Findings
> **“(1)** Near-Earth objects pose a serious and credible threat to humankind, as many scientists believe that a major asteroid or comet was responsible for the mass extinction of the majority of the Earth’s species, including the dinosaurs, nearly 65,000,000 years ago.
>
> **“(2)** Several such near-Earth objects have only been discovered within days of the objects’ closest approach to Earth and recent discoveries of such large objects indicate that many large near-Earth objects remain undiscovered.
>
> **“(3)** Asteroid and comet collisions rank as one of the most costly natural disasters that can occur.
>
> **“(4)** The time needed to eliminate or mitigate the threat of a collision of a potentially hazardous near-Earth object with Earth is measured in decades.
>
> **“(5)** Unlike earthquakes and hurricanes, asteroids and comets can provide adequate collision information, enabling the United States to include both asteroid-collision and comet-collision disaster recovery and disaster avoidance in its public-safety structure.
>
> **“(6)** Basic information is needed for technical and policy decisionmaking for the United States to create a comprehensive program in order to be ready to eliminate and mitigate the serious and credible threats to humankind posed by potentially hazardous near-Earth asteroids and comets.
>
> **“(7)** As a first step to eliminate and to mitigate the risk of such collisions, situation and decision analysis processes, as well as procedures and system resources, must be in place well before a collision threat becomes known.”
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