Mr. HALL. You mentioned Section 103 and 104 and their importance. Are there any provisions in the draft bill that you'd recommend be eliminated or modified? Where are your problems in the bill?

Mr. DAILEY. Well, as I've submitted in the record there, there is a particular part of the bill where there could be a potential conflict of interest by virtue of a NASA official having had contract control over decisions regarding to the formation of USA that probably would be excluded, or should be excluded.

So in that context, we have submitted one recommended change to the provision.

Mr. HALL. Mr. Chairman, I think because of how we're impacted this week, and hoping it will be the last week, and we've got other members that are with other committees and other duties, if we'd be allowed to submit some letters, questions, and have them put for the record?

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Yes. I have stated a couple of times that the record will be open for seven business days after this hearing, which puts it up to the end of next week, if anybody wants to submit statements for the record. Not merely confined to the two panels of witnesses, but anybody else who wants to submit a statement for the record will be allowed to do so as well.

Mr. HALL. I yield back my time; thank you.

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. I'd like to thank all of the members of this panel for appearing. Again, I'm sorry we have had to speed this up. But I am informed that when the bell rings, there will be four votes lasting about an hour and a half. So I wanted to get this hearing over with without having all of you folks sit here while we were over a-voting.

So again, thank you for your input both verbally as well as in writing. The subcommittee is adjourned.

[Whereupon the subcommittee adjourned at 2:29 p.m., subject to the call of the Chair.]

[The following material was received for the record:]

The US Global Positioning System (GPS) Industry Council is deeply appreciative to you and to the Members of your Committee for your collective vision in ensuring US leadership in an area so vital to the national interest as commercial space. Space-based information is creating significant worldwide market opportunity which provides enormous national advantage in the global information race. Success here will be very important for our economic future.

We are very pleased that the Committee is including language on the GPS in your "Space Commercialization Promotion Act of 1996" (Section 105). This is particularly timely given the opening of negotiations with the international community in Tokyo in August on the use of GPS and its augmentations. It underscores the importance of an integrated interagency approach to these discussions and signals worldwide the support of Congress and the Administration which will help ensure a win for the Nation. Section 105 on GPS promotes, in our view, one of the most rapidly growing areas of space commerce, which has grown from $40 million in 1989 to an estimated $8.5 billion in 2000. GPS is creating a wide array of commercial applications, ranging from safer and more efficient air travel to enhanced public safety and improved voice and data telecommunications. Currently the US leads in all of these markets.

Please feel free to contact me directly (408-481-2922) if I may be of further assistance.

Thank you for the opportunity to review and comment on provisions included in the Space
Commercialization Promotion Act of 1996 as they relate to the activities of the United Space Alliance.

As the single prime contractor for the Space Shuttle, United Space Alliance (USA) recommends the
approval of Section 103, Exception to Employment Restrictions and Section 104, Benefits for Certain
Employees Transferring from NASA. The cognizant section of Title 18, United States Codes and the
Federal Procurement Policy Act currently prevents USA from hiring critically skilled NASA employees.
Approval of the drafted exceptions to the existing language would give USA the ability to attract NASA
personnel who would directly and significantly contribute to the assurance of flight safety and the
success of the Shuttle program. Procurement integrity will be ensured by continuing the exception of
hiring NASA employees directly involved in selection and award of the organization in which the
employee seeks employment.

The ability to attract these employees would also be significantly enhanced by the approval of Section
104, Benefits for Certain Employees Transferring from NASA. In many cases, NASA employees are
deterred from joining USA because of loss of service-related benefits that have been accrued during
their tenure with NASA. Portability of these Retirement, Disability, Thrift Plan and Health benefits
would contribute to the ability of the single prime to attract these critically skilled NASA employees.
The single prime contractor would pay the appropriate benefits plan costs and administrative fee as
determined by the Office of Personnal Management.

Approval of Sections 103 and 104 is extremely important to the overall success of the Shuttle program
and will significantly contribute to safe operation of that program.

Again, thank you for your consideration and action on this important issue. We have taken the liberty
of attaching suggested changes to the bill's language which we feel will clarify its intent.

North American Remote Sensing Industries Association

hercial Re

Murray Felsher, Ph.D.
Director

Executive Committee

David H. Johnson

Milton C. Trichel

Jennifer Visick

9 August 1996

Hon. James Sensenbrenner, Jr.

Chairman

United States House of Representatives
Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics
2320 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington DC 20515

Dear Mr. Sensenbrenner,

The following are comments related to the The Science Committee's Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics hearings held 31 July 1996 entitled "The Space Commercialization Promotion Act of 1996." We appreciate the opportunity to insert these comments into the official record of the hearing.

The North American Remote Sensing Industries Association (NARSIA) represents both space and ground segment commercial entities engaged in all aspects of commercial remote sensing. At our Second Annual Congress, held 25-26 July 1996 here in Washington DC, the delegates present discussed means by which our industry could inform and educate both the public and governmental institutions as to our programs and our con

cerns.

An example of an issue causing us some apprehension is the Senate's Bingaman-Kyl Amendment to the 1997 National Defense Authorization Act, S.1745, since gone to conference. We want to place on record our continuing concern that the conference wording, though considerably less threatening to our industry when compared to the original amendment, still sets a dangerous precedent and continues to place our industry in harm's way. The NARSIA delegates unanimously agreed that adequate provisions already exist in U.S. statutes and regulations to control access to U.S. commercially-derived space imagery in times of crisis. Any congressional wording, however benign, that provides another country with "unique”

1057-B National Press Building, Washington, D.C. 20045 Phone and Fax (202) 393-3640⚫felsher@tmn.com

treatment as to regular commercial access from space over its territory, runs directly counter to our county's well-established, bipartisan "Open Skies Policy" advocated in turn by President Eisenhower and every administration that has followed.

We simply cannot allow an American industry to be held hostage to another country's security uneasiness, however valid that uneasiness might be, and however "special" might be the relationship between that country and the U.S. It is important to note that any imagery acquired over the country in question will be provided, in any case, by companies outside the U.S., thereby placing U.S. commercial interests in jeopardy.

The precedent set by allowing Israel, here, to dictate to the U.S. the conditions by which U.S. commercial space-derived imagery is to be acquired over its territory is dangerous and potentially ruinous. Consider the possibilities. Should we allow this foreign adventure into our legislative process, then what is to prevent another country from petitioning our government to halt a U.S. company from imaging anything, anywhere. Parenthetically, we note that Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) has announced plans to launch remote sensing satellite systems...based...on the IAI Space Technologies Directorate's successful low earth orbiting satellite technology. The first satellite, scheduled for launch in mid 1997, will carry a single panchromatic sensor with better than 1.5 meter resolution. At least seven additional second generation satellites, combining one meter panchromatic and multispectral image acquisition, are scheduled for launch between 1998 and 2002." Would it not be ludicrous for our government to petition the Israeli parliament to prevent the IAI satellites from imaging U.S. territories? Yet this is precisely what the Israeli government has accomplished with its foray into our halls of Congress!

We continue to believe that, other than in times of conflict, space-derived global image information should be commercially acquired, distributed, and available, without restriction anyone, over any point on Earth.

Sincerely,

Mash

Murray Felsher, Ph.D.
Director

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