COAST GUARD AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 1996

104TH CONGRESS, 1ST Session HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES REPORT 104-106

REPORT [ To accompany H.R. 1361]

The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, to whom was referred the bill (H.R. 1361) to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 1996 for the Coast Guard, and for other purposes, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend that the bill as amended do pass.

SECTION 415. REPORT ON LORAN-C REQUIREMENTS

This section requires the Secretary of Transportation, in consultation with users of the LORAN-C radionavigation system, to submit a report on the future use of and funding for operations, maintenance, and upgrades of the LORAN-C radionavigation system as satellite based technology becomes the sole means of safe and efficient navigation.

The Coast Guard has considered phasing out the 30-year-old LORAN-C system by the year 2000. This land-based system of navigation used by all modes of transportation, as well as the telecommunications industry, would be replaced by the satellite-based Global Positioning System (GPS) controlled by the U.S. Department of Defense.

This section specifically requires the Secretary to address several issues in the report. These include determining an appropriate timetable for transitioning from ground-based radionavigation technology, and the possible need for all agencies in the Department of Transportation, as well as other government beneficiaries, to share in the Federal government’s costs related to LORAN-C technology.

There is concern among LORAN-C users, both in the aviation and boating sectors, that the Coast Guard is considering phasing out the LORAN system, which it operates, well in advance of the date contemplated in the Federal Radionavigation Plan and rely solely on satellite systems at the turn of the century. While the Committee certainly supports a transition to satellite based navigation, a premature phase out could render many users’ navigation equipment unusable. The Committee believes that a Secretarial report that examines user-related transition issues is in the best interests of the Coast Guard and other agencies that currently rely upon LORAN technology, as well as the flying and boating publics.