roundtable: Update on NTIA Funding 9-19

roundtable: Update on NTIA Funding 9/19

Update on NTIA Funding 9/19

DGARDNER@ntia.doc.gov
Tue, 19 Sep 1995 18:47:54 -0400 

Message-Id: <s05f1160.052@ntia.doc.gov>
Date: Tue, 19 Sep 1995 18:47:54 -0400
From: DGARDNER@ntia.doc.gov
To: roundtable@cni.org
Subject:  Update on NTIA Funding 9/19


Today, during consideration of legislation to dismantle the Commerce
Department,  the House Commerce Committee adopted an amendment
offered by Representative Markey to keep NTIA's domestic, international,
spectrum and research functions together in a newly created United
States Trade Administration.    Until the Markey amendment was adopted,
the Committee had proposed elimination of NTIA and the transfer of its
spectrum functions to the U.S. Treasury, and its international functions 
to a new Trade Administration.  

The status of NTIA's Institute for Telecommunication Sciences is unclear. 
While the Committee bill privatizes the lab after 18 months, the Markey
amendment sends standards and research activities to the Trade
Administration.  

The Committee did not restore funding to the grant programs (the
Telecommunications and Information Infrastructure Assistance
Program--TIIAP, the Public Telecommunications Facilities Program--PTFP,
and the National Endowment for Children's Educational
Television--NECET).  Another Markey amendment to restore PTFP and
NECET was defeated by a vote of 20 to 19.

On a related note, the Senate has pushed back floor consideration of the
Commerce, Justice, State Appropriations bill to Friday and Saturday,
September 29-30.  NTIA appropriations will be considered as a part of
this legislation.  At that point, Senator Bob Kerrey may offer an
amendment to restore funding for TIIAP as part of the Commerce
Appropriations bill.  PTFP is already funded for $10 million in that
measure.

If you have any questions about these legislative developments, feel 
free to e-mail me at dgardner@ntia.doc.gov or call at 202/482-5893.

Thank you,

David Gardner
NTIA
<dgardner@ntia.doc.gov>

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