Political Quotes

“I ask unanimous consent that the FCC article in the Wall Street Journal be printed in the Record. There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows: [From the Wall Street Journal, May 5, 2020] The FCC's Decision Puts GPS at Risk (By Mark Esper) Every day, tens of millions of Americans rely on the Global Positioning System. We use it for location features in cellphones, navigation for vehicles and aircraft, and financial and commercial transactions, including ATM withdrawals. And every day, the Defense Department and our colleagues across government use GPS to protect and serve the public by coordinating global trade, banking and transportation, as well as tracking terrorists and other threats to U.S. national security. A recent decision by the Federal Communications Commission, however, will degrade the effectiveness and reliability of this critical technology. On April 20, the FCC announced its approval of Ligado Networks' application to create a cellular network by repurposing a portion of radio spectrum adjacent to that used by GPS. The power and proximity of Ligado's ground emissions on this spectrum will drown out GPS's space- based signals. If you've ever tried to talk to a friend while standing next to the speakers at a rock concert, you get the point.…”