PolicyBrief
H.R. 2422
119th CongressMar 27th 2025
CAPE Canaveral Act
IN COMMITTEE

The "CAPE Canaveral Act" mandates the relocation of NASA headquarters to Brevard County, Florida, within one year.

Byron Donalds
R

Byron Donalds

Representative

FL-19

LEGISLATION

NASA Headquarters on the Move? Bill Orders Relocation to Florida's Space Coast Within One Year

A concise piece of legislation titled the "Consolidating Aerospace Programs Efficiently at Canaveral Act" – or CAPE Canaveral Act – lays out a single, significant directive: move the headquarters of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to Brevard County, Florida. According to Section 2, this relocation must happen within one year of the bill's enactment.

Packing Up the Final Frontier

Mandating the move of a major federal agency headquarters is no small feat. This bill sets a tight, one-year deadline for shifting NASA's central administrative functions to Florida's Space Coast. While the legislation itself is brief, the implications are substantial. It triggers questions about the logistics of transferring potentially thousands of personnel, critical infrastructure, and established operational workflows. The bill doesn't detail how this massive transition should occur, leaving the practical challenges of minimizing disruption to NASA's ongoing missions and retaining institutional knowledge unaddressed within the text.

Sunshine State Splashdown vs. Taxpayer Tab

Relocating NASA HQ could inject significant economic activity into Brevard County, bringing federal jobs and potentially attracting related businesses. It aligns with the area's existing identity as a hub for aerospace activity. However, such a move inevitably comes with a hefty price tag for taxpayers, covering everything from new facilities or leases to moving expenses and potential costs associated with workforce disruption. The efficiency implied by the bill's title faces the reality of a complex, costly, and potentially disruptive relocation process that could impact NASA's operational stability during the transition period.