RAVES Reporting Act of 2025

This bill tells the Defense Department to study how to turn abandoned rural factories, space centers, and old military bases into places that build space-related equipment, and to publish guidance on how to do it within one year of the law taking effect. The study must look at costs by state, local job and economic impacts, environmental issues, needed worker skills, training with community colleges, and how artificial intelligence will change the workforce for these projects. It also gathers input from groups that work with NASA, reviews national security concerns, lists funding or incentive options for private companies, and estimates how long conversions would take. In this bill, “abandoned” means a site has been out of use or underused for at least five years with no clear plan to restart or repurpose it, and a “space complex” means a group of buildings for making, testing, or launching space gear.

Key points

• Who is affected: Rural communities with empty factories or bases; workers like builders, engineers, and technicians; local colleges; companies interested in space manufacturing.
• What changes: A federal study and guidance on how to convert these sites, including costs, training needs, environmental checks, funding options, and best practices, with input from NASA partners.
• When: The study and guidance must be completed and published within one year after the bill becomes law, and then sent to Congress.