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Headlines: Revised NDAA Signed into Law with $2M Reduction for GPS; New Space Law Mentions PNT Coordination Office; Senator Franken Reintroduces GPS Data Privacy Bill
GPS Bulletin

Information for Policymakers from the National Coordination Office for Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT)

December 16, 2015

Revised NDAA Signed into Law with $2M Reduction for GPS

On November 25, 2015, President Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2016, after vetoing a previous version. The enacted NDAA complies with the two year budget agreement, which called for a reduction in defense spending. The act reduces the GPS IIF line item by $2 million, citing "unjustified support growth," but otherwise recommends full funding for the Air Force GPS program ($936.775 million). The NDAA also includes three GPS-related policy provisions: Reporting Requirement (Section 1621), Oversight Council (Section 1603), and M-Code Equipage (Section 1605). View full details at GPS.gov

New Space Law Mentions PNT Coordination Office

PNT logoOn November 25, the President also signed the U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act. Title III of the act codifies the support that the Department of Commerce (DOC) provides to the National Coordination Office for Space-Based PNT. Specifically, it tasks DOC's Office of Space Commerce "to provide support to Federal Government organizations working on Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing policy, including the National Coordination Office for Space-Based Position, Navigation, and Timing." Learn more at GPS.gov.

Senator Franken Reintroduces GPS Data Privacy Bill

On November 10, 2015, Senator Al Franken (D-MN) reintroduced the Location Privacy Protection Act, which he also introduced during the 112th and 113th Congresses. According to the Senator, "The Location Privacy Protection Act of 2015 closes legal loopholes that allow stalking applications to exist on smartphones. Sen. Franken's bill fixes this problem by requiring companies to get customers' permission before collecting their location data or sharing it with third parties." The bill joins several others in the 114th Congress that address geolocation privacy issues, including the Geolocation Privacy and Surveillance Act ("GPS Act") and the Online Communications and Geolocation Protection Act. Learn more about these bills at GPS.gov.

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This newsletter is produced and distributed by the National Coordination Office for Space-Based PNT, a central resource within the government for GPS policy information. For more information, visit www.gps.gov/congress.
You are receiving this newsletter because of your interest / involvement in legislative affairs that are pertinent to the Global Positioning System (GPS), which affects national defense, transportation, science & technology, energy & environment, commerce, communications, privacy, and many other aspects of society.

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