Washington, D.C., November 2, 2011 – The Satellite Industry Association (SIA) strongly endorsed the introduction yesterday of H.R. 3288, the “Safeguarding United States Leadership and Security Act of 2011,” legislation that would reform the U.S. framework for satellite export controls. The bill would authorize the President to remove satellites and related components from the U.S. Munitions List, subject to certain restrictions and Congressional oversight. The bill was co-sponsored by Representatives Howard Berman (D-CA), Donald Manzullo (R-IL), Adam Smith (D-WA), Mike Coffman (R-CO), C.A. “Dutch” Ruppersberger (D-MD), Rob Bishop (R-UT), Gerald Connolly (D-VA), Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), and Martin Heinrich (D-NM).
“With H.R. 3288, Congress has the opportunity to dramatically improve the competitiveness of the U.S. satellite and space industries and ensure an innovative and thriving U.S. space industrial base,” commented Patricia Cooper, the President of SIA. “SIA and the satellite industry commend the bipartisan co-sponsors of this Bill for their leadership in updating an outmoded and overly-restrictive regulation instituted more than a decade ago, which has adversely affected the U.S. space industrial base. We encourage Congress to pass H.R. 3288, both to reinforce our nation’s primacy in space technology and to support American jobs and competitiveness.”
H.R. 3288 would supersede 1999 legislative provisions that required all commercial satellites, satellite components, associated technical data, and related ground equipment to be treated as “munitions” for export licensing purposes, regardless of their technical sensitivity. SIA and its members have consistently encouraged Congress to reverse this unique requirement for satellites and allow the Executive Branch to determine the appropriate export licensing policy for satellites, as it does for all other technologies.
ABOUT THE SATELLITE INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION:
SIA is a U.S.-based trade association providing worldwide representation of the leading satellite operators, service providers, manufacturers, launch services providers, and ground equipment suppliers. Since its creation fifteen years ago, SIA has become the unified voice of the U.S. satellite industry on policy, regulatory, and legislative issues affecting the satellite business.
SIA Executive Members include: Artel, Inc.; The Boeing Company; The DIRECTV Group; DBSD North America, Inc.; EchoStar Satellite Services L.L.C.; Harris CapRock Communications; Hughes Network Systems, LLC; Integral Systems, Inc.; Intelsat, Ltd.; Iridium Communications Inc.; LightSquared; Lockheed Martin Corporation.; Loral Space & Communications, Inc.; Northrop Grumman Corporation; Rockwell Collins Government Systems; SES; and TerreStar Networks, Inc. SIA Associate Members include: Arqiva Satellite and Media; ATK Inc.; Cisco; Cobham SATCOM Land Systems; Comtech EF Data Corp.; DRS Technologies, Inc.; Eutelsat, Inc.; GE Satellite; Globecomm Systems, Inc.; Glowlink Communications Technology, Inc.; iDirect Government Technologies; Inmarsat, Inc.; Marshall Communications Corporation.; Orbital Sciences Corporation; Panasonic Avionics Corporation; Segovia, Inc.; Spacecom, Ltd.; Spacenet Inc.; Stratos Global Corporation; TeleCommunication Systems, Inc.; Telesat Canada; Trace Systems, Inc.; Ultisat, Inc.; and ViaSat, Inc. Additional information about SIA can be found at http://www.sia.org.
