104 STAT. 2758 PUBLIC LAW 101-555—NOV. 15, 1990 Public Law 101-555 101st Congress An Act Nov. 15, 1990 To authorize appropriations for activities of the National Telecommunications and [H.R. 3310] Information Administration for fiscal years 1990 and 1991. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled. That there is authorized to be appropriated for activities of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration $14,554,000 for fiscal year 1990 and $18,000,000 for fiscal year 1991, together with such sums as may be necessary for increases resulting from adjustments in salary, pay, retirement, other employee benefits required by law, and other nondiscretionary costs, for fiscal year 1991. SEC. 2. (a) The Congress finds that— (1) the Pacific Ocean region is of strategic and economic importance to the United States; (2) other nations, especially the Soviet Union and Japan, are seeking to increase their influence in this region; (3) because the Pacific Basin communities are geographically isolated and because many are relatively poor, they are in great need of quality, low-cost communications services to maintain contact among themselves and with other countries; (4) from 1971 until 1985, such communications needs were satisfied by the Pan-Pacific Elducational and Cultural Experiments by Satellite Program (hereinafter referred to as the "PEACESAT Program") operating over the ATS-1 satellite of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration; (5) the ATS-1 satellite ran out of station-keeping fuel in 1985 and has provided only intermittent service since then; (6) the Act entitled "An Act to provide authorization of appropriations for activities of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration", approved November 3, 1988 (Public Law 100-584; 102 Stat. 2970), authorized $3,400,000 in funding during fiscal years 1988 and 1989 for reestablishing the communications network of the PEACESAT Program; (7) Congress appropriated $1,700,000 for fiscal year 1988 and $200,000 for fiscal year 1989 for the purposes of re-establishing the communications network of the PEACESAT Program; (8) since 1988, significant progress has been made to ensure resumption of this vital communications service by repairing earth terminals in the Pacific communities, by identifying the short-term and long-term needs of the residents of these communities, and by negotiating to acquire the use of the GOES-3 satellite owned by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is expected to provide service from 1990 to 1994; (9) the National Telecommunications and Information Administration will issue a contract for the design and construction of earth terminals to work with the GOES-3 sat-
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