SATELLITE RADIO ISSUES MAY BE RAISED IN DoD FUNDING CONFERENCE
Several satellite and defense technology issues that weren’t addressed in Senate-passed version of Dept. of Defense (DoD) fiscal year 2003 appropriations bill (HR-5010) are likely to get renewed push in House-Senate conference. Senate Communications Subcommittee ranking Republican Burns (Mont.) is urging members who were appointed to meet with House conferees to seek DoD earmark to distribute satellite radios in key locations throughout Middle East. He emphasized need for DoD program “to jump-start the dissemination of these satellite radio receivers to the local population surrounding our troops so that our messages of democracy and freedom can be brought to them in a variety of formats,” he said. Burns raised issue on floor late last week before Senate approved $355.5-billion DoD bill by 95-3 margin (CD Aug 2 p4).
Pair of satellites deployed by private sector in last few years, each providing “64 channel digital radio satellite coverage in the Middle East, Asia and Africa,” could be used for such broadcasts, Burns said. He said use of such commercial assets would provide added security to Defense units by increasing local support for missions: “In parts of the Middle East such as Afghanistan there is double satellite coverage and therefore 128 clear highest fidelity radio broadcast channels are available. Unfortunately, until now our government has made little use of this technology, which the private sector has already bought and paid for.”
Burns acknowledged efforts were under way to deploy broadcast equipment and improve delivery of messages to local populations in Afghanistan, but said those initiatives thus far had been ineffective. He said U.S. had dropped leaflets in region in addition to relief packages containing single- channel shortwave radios, but pointed out that most Afghans were illiterate and many radios broke upon hitting ground: “Now we are spending considerable amounts of DoD and other money to build terrestrial transmitters to broadcast to the few radios that do exist in the country. These are laudable efforts but demonstrably inadequate to confront the task.” Burns also was critical of govt. for failing to take advantage of private sector solar technology, which he said “can be used to power these [satellite] receivers in a region where batteries and electricity are both critically scarce.”
Sen. Landrieu (D-La.) supported Burns’ comments on DoD dissemination of satellite radios, saying U.S. “would pay a high price” if creation of such program were delayed: “I urgently hope that the conferees will work on the DoD bill to enhance this superior method of mass communication… Our existing approaches clearly fall critically short of meeting the urgent need to get our message heard.” Separately, Landrieu focused attention on provision in bill that sought $20.5 million for historically black colleges and universities (HBCU). She asked Senate Defense Appropriations Committee Chmn. Inouye (D-Hawaii) to support use of DoD funds to steer African-American students into defense science and engineering field. Inouye said he would encourage DoD to support initiatives that assigned defense research projects to HBCUs.
Inouye also responded positively to entreaties by Fla. Democratic Sens. Graham and Nelson to have funds earmarked in conference to complete construction of Miami U. satellite data collection, processing and analysis facility. Nelson said Center for Southeastern Tropical Advanced Remote Sensing (CSTARS), which is being developed in partnership with U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) and other academic institutions, will offers links to “broad range of low-Earth orbiting systems.” Nelson said CSTARS funding level below $2.5 million “will cause delays in the program and delay the benefits to SOUTHCOM” and National Imagery & Mapping Agency. Inouye said: “We will do what can to find funding of a minimum of at least $2.5 million in the conference negotiations.”
Senate conferees are Inouye, Majority Whip Reid (Nev. Commerce Committee Chmn. Hollings (D-S.C.), Appropriations Committee Chmn. Byrd (D-W.Va.), Appropriations Committee ranking Republican Stevens (Alaska), Judiciary Committee Chmn. Leahy (D-Vt.), Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee Chmn. Kohl (D-Wis.), Select Intelligence Committee Vice-Chmn. Shelby (R-Ala.), Agriculture Committee Chmn. Harkin (D-Ia.), Rules Committee ranking Republican McConnell (Ky.), Sens. Bond (R-Mo.), Cochran (R-Miss.), Domenici (R-N.M.), Dorgan (D-N.D.), Durbin (D-Ill.), Feinstein (D-Cal.), Gregg (R- N.H.), Hutchison (R-Tex.).