Other Relevant Bills & Laws
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Termination of LORAN-C
In 2009, Congress passed an appropriations bill allowing the Coast Guard to cease operation of LORAN-C, a ground-based navigation system. This upheld the President's announced plan to terminate LORAN-C in FY 2010. An early version of the bill called for continuation of LORAN-C and its upgrade to eLORAN, a national backup to GPS. However, that version did not prevail, and the Coast Guard has now shut down LORAN-C.
Simultaneous efforts to pass an authorization bill for the Coast Guard also included debate on the fate of LORAN-C, with some versions of the bill calling for its upgrade to eLORAN, and others calling for its termination. Now that LORAN-C is gone, the issue is being removed from the Coast Guard authorization bill. Details on both bills follow.
Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2010 (P.L. 111-83)
| House Committee | Full House | Senate Committee | Full Senate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passed Jun 12, 2009 |
Passed Jun 24, 2000 |
Passed Jun 18, 2009 |
Passed Jul 9, 2009 |
| House-Senate Conference | President | ||
| Passed House: Oct 15, 2009 Senate: Oct 20, 2009 |
Signed into law Oct 28, 2009 |
||
The original House version (H.R. 2892) would have funded LORAN-C at $36 million and required a plan for upgrading the system to eLORAN, a long-term backup for GPS. View House report language.
The original Senate version (S. 1298) provided $18 million to extend LORAN-C operations through January 4, 2010. Section 555 allowed LORAN-C termination on that date if the Coast Guard Commandant certified it was not needed and its shutdown would not impact maritime safety. View Senate report language. The White House issued a Statement of Administration Policy expressing support for the Senate's LORAN-C termination process. During Senate floor deliberations, there was a proposed amendment to cut LORAN-C funding entirely, but the amendment failed.
On October 7, 2009, the House-Senate conference committee completed a compromise version of the bill that supported termination of LORAN-C. Section 559 of the conferenced bill matched Section 555 of the Senate version, but elevated part of the certification requirement from the Coast Guard to the Secretary of DHS. View conference report language.
The President signed the bill into law on October 28, 2009. LORAN-C began shutting down in February 2010, following the necessary certifications.
Coast Guard Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 2010 and 2011 (H.R. 3619/S. 1194)
| House Committee | Full House | Senate Committee | Full Senate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passed Oct 16, 2009 |
Passed Oct 23, 2009 |
Passed Oct 30, 2009 |
Passed May 7, 2010 |
| House-Senate Conference | President | ||
Section 603 of the original Senate bill would have authorized the Secretary of Transportation to maintain LORAN-C and transition it to eLORAN, providing $37 million per year in FY 2010 and FY 2011. The bill would have allowed DOT to transfer funds to the Coast Guard for these purposes. The bill also requested a detailed 5-year plan for the eLoran transition. View Senate committee report language.
Section 312 of the House committee bill would have required the Secretary of DHS to establish eLORAN as the supplemental navigation system for the United States. It would have imposed congressional reporting requirements and prohibited LORAN-C termination until 30 days after eLORAN is certified to be operational. View House committee report language.
However, the version that passed the full House revised Section 312 to terminate LORAN-C in line with the DHS appropriations bill (which had already passed Congress). It also included a new Section 222 (H.AMDT.468), requiring a federal study and public comments on the need for a supplemental backup to GPS such as modernized LORAN.
UPDATE On May 7, 2010, the full Senate passed a version of H.R. 3619 that strikes out the entire House text (including Sections 222 and 312) and includes no language whatsoever on LORAN.
Space Title of U.S. Code
| House Committee | Full House | Senate Committee | Full Senate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passed | Passed | Passed | Received |
| House-Senate Conference | President | ||
H.R. 3237 seeks to create a new Title 51 of the U.S. Code (51 USC), consolidating multiple pieces of space-related legislation that currently exist within multiple other Titles and Public Laws. It would incorporate 42 USC 14712 on promotion of GPS standards to become 51 USC 50112. It would not, however, incorporate 10 USC 2281.
Space Commerce Act of 2008
This proposed legislation (H.R. 6935/S. 3504), introduced during the 110th Congress, would codify responsibilities of the Commerce Department's Office of Space Commercialization under the U.S. Space-Based PNT Policy, including stewardship of the National Executive Committee and National Coordination Office. The bill also recognizes the Office of Space Commercialization's expanding role in promoting geospatial technologies including GPS. Additional information is available at the Office of Space Commercialization website.
This bill did not move during the 110th Congress. The National Coordination Office hopes to see the legislation reintroduced during the 111th Congress.
Congressional Reporting Requirements
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 (P.L. 111-84)
Section 1032 shifts responsibility for the preparation of the biennial GPS report to the co-chairs of the National Executive Committee.
Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009 (P.L. 111-008)
The explanatory statement for the transportation section of this funding measure calls for a report on the status of precision approach capability, including updates on WAAS satellite integration, WAAS equipage, and WAAS-enabled airports.
The explanatory statement for the commerce section directs the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to prepare a report on U.S. industry access to Galileo markets, to assess compliance with the GPS-Galileo Agreement. This language was carried over from the Senate report that accompanied the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2009 (S. 3182), which stalled during the 110th Congress. The USTR report is available here.
Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act, FY 2005 (P.L. 108-375)
Section 215 requires an analysis of alternatives to GPS III.
Department of Defense Appropriations Act, FY 2000 (P.L. 106-79)
Conference report calls for a report to Congress on GPS spectrum harmonization.
Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 1999 (P.L. 105-262)
Section 8137 requires a report to Congress on GPS spectrum protection.
GWEN Conversion to NDGPS
Section 346 of the Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 (P.L. 105-66) authorizes the conversion of decommissioned Air Force Ground Wave Emergency Network (GWEN) stations to support NDGPS.
Please contact Steve Sidorek at the National Coordination Office to suggest other legislation that may belong on this page.