Congressional Committee Blocks FCC Approval of LightSquared

Land Surveyors Against LightSquared:

Contact your Senators, Congressmen, Governors, and any person of influence that can understand that interfering with the "L" channels that Land Surveyors use will hurt small and large businesses, will be detrimental to public interest, and not necessary.

-Scott D. Warner, R.L.S.

"The House Appropriations Committee today approved the fiscal year 2012 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill. One amendment to the bill prohibits funding for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to remove conditions on or permit certain commercial broadband operations until the FCC has resolved concerns of harmful interference by these operations on GPS devices. The amendment was adopted on a voice vote.
According to an eWeek news analysis, the prohibition means that the FCC is effectively barred from any further consideration of LightSquared’s plan, since even meeting to discuss the plan spends federal funds through employee salaries. Until LightSquared comes up with a plan that completely protects existing GPS navigation devices from interference, LightSquared cannot operate its satellite-based broadband service.
The legislation provides annual funding for the Treasury Department, the Executive Office of the President, the Judiciary, the District of Columbia, the Small Business Administration, the General Services Administration, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and several other independent agencies. The bill includes a total of $19.9 billion in funding for the agencies, which is nearly $2 billion - or 9% - below last year’s level, nearly $6 billion below the President’s fiscal year 2012 request, and more than $700 million below the pre-stimulus, pre-bailout levels enacted in 2008. 

“This bill makes smart, sensible reductions in nearly all areas. Where necessary, we have cut funding for ineffective and unproven programs, and have made strides to prevent taxpayer dollars from slipping through the cracks, lost to redundant or wasteful programs,” House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers said.

“This legislation also prioritizes agencies and services that provide the greatest benefits to the American people – making the most of taxpayer dollars. The bill includes important funding for essential programs across the government – creating opportunities for entrepreneurship, providing for repair and recovery from unexpected disasters, combating the scourge of narcotics trafficking, and supporting antiterrorism and financial intelligence missions,” Chairman Rogers continued.

“This bill is nine percent less than fiscal year 2011, 18 percent less than fiscal year 2010, and 22.5 percent less than the President’s request. This reduction resulted in some very tough decisions, but they are necessary to reduce the Federal government’s unsustainable level of spending,” Subcommittee Chairwoman Jo Ann Emerson said."

From gpsworld.com