Congressional Reporting Requirements

This page lists congressionally directed reporting requirements related to GPS, with reference links to their original sources at congress.gov and other federal websites.

Reports submitted to Congress are available on our Reports to Congress page. Go there

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Federal Radionavigation Plan

Title 10 of the U.S. Code, Section 2281, directs the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Transportation to jointly prepare the Federal Radionavigation Plan on a biennial basis. View source

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GPS Modernization

Briefings on OCX

Section 1610 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 requires the Secretary of Defense to provide two briefings on the Next Generation Operational Control System (OCX) program to the congressional defense committees, as a condition on the full use of FY 2017 OCX funding. Due dates: January 15, 2017; and March 15, 2017. View at congress.gov

The House report on the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 directs the Air Force "to provide a briefing to the congressional defense committees on the contingency plans and capabilities for the GPS/OCX program to ensure that warfighter requirements will be met and the program risk will be appropriately managed." Due date: December 1, 2016. View PDF (2 MB)

Independent Assessment of OCX

Section 1622 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 directs the Secretary of Defense to arrange an independent assessment of OCX and submit a report on the results to the congressional defense committees. Due date: Not later than one year after the date of enactment. View at congress.gov

Quarterly Reports on GPS Acquisition

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 directs the Air Force to submit regular reports to GAO on GPS space, control, and user segment acquisition programs. Due date: not later than 90 days after the date of enactment, and every 90 days thereafter. View at congress.gov

The act also directs GAO to provide a briefing to the congressional defense committees on the Air Force's first quarterly report, and as GAO considers appropriate thereafter.

GPS III Satellite Launch Plan

The joint explanatory statement on the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016, directs DOD "to determine if the current GPS III satellite launch plan should be adjusted to ensure necessary operational testing on early vehicles has been completed and potential satellite deficiencies have been discovered before more satellites are launched." Due date: 60 days after enactment. View PDF (23 MB)

Constellation Replenishment Plan

The House report on the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015 directs the Air Force to provide a report on the GPS satellite constellation and replenishment plan. View PDF (1.5 MB)

GAO Audit of M-Code Deployment

The House report on the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015 directs GAO to report on DOD's progress in deploying GPS M-Code capability. View PDF (1.5 MB)

GAO Audit of OCX

The Senate report on the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015 directs GAO to review the cost, scope, and schedule of the Next Generation Operational Control System (OCX), including synchronization with the launch of the GPS III constellation. View PDF (1.2 MB)

Assessment of Multi-Year Procurement

The Senate report on the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 directs the Air Force to assess the feasibility of multi-year procurement of GPS III satellites. View PDF (1.2 MB)

The House report on the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 directs the Air Force to submit a report to Congress on "lower-cost solutions for providing GPS capability following the procurement of the GPS III satellites." It also directs GAO to review the Air Force report. View PDF (2 MB)

Analysis of Alternatives for Next Generation GPS

Section 215 of the Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 compels DOD to complete and report to Congress on an analysis of alternatives for the satellite and ground architectures, satellite technologies, and tactics, techniques, and procedures for the next generation GPS. View PDF (2.4 MB)

Development Plan for Enhanced GPS

Section 218(d) of the Strom Thurmond National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1999 requires DOD to submit a plan for the development of an enhanced Global Positioning System (i.e., GPS modernization). View PDF (1.3 MB)

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Interference

Counter Threat Strategy

Section 1239 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 requires a congressional report including, among other things: "(R) A plan to counter the military capabilities of the Russian Federation, which, in addition to elements the Secretary of Defense determines to be appropriate, shall include recommendations for— (i) improving the capability of United States Armed Forces to operate in a Global Positioning System (GPS)-denied or GPS-degraded environment". View at congress.gov

Review of Widespread Harmful Interference

Section 1698 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 requires congressional notification if the Secretary of Defense determines commercial communications services are causing or will cause widespread harmful interference with DOD GPS devices. The legislation requires the Secretary to conduct quarterly reviews for two years to identify such interference. View at congress.gov

Notification of Foreign Disruptions

Section 911 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 requires congressional notification of any suspected foreign disruption of national security space capabilities. View PDF (1.5 MB)

Report on Military Readiness for Denied Environments

Section 342 of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2013 directs the Secretary of Defense to submit a report to Congress on the readiness of the joint force to operate in environments where there is no access to GPS and other Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) systems. View PDF (2 MB)

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Augmentations and Backups

Backup and Complementary PNT

The National Timing Resilience and Security Act of 2018 (Section 514 of the Frank LoBiondo Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2018) requires "that the Secretary of Transportation shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives a report setting forth the following: (A) A plan to develop, construct, and operate the system required by subsection (a). (B) A description and assessment of the advantages of a system to provide a follow-on complementary and backup positioning and navigation capability to the timing component of GPS." Due date: Not later than 180 days after enactment. View PDF (700 KB)

Section 1606 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 requires the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Transportation, and the Secretary of Homeland Security to jointly develop a plan for carrying out a backup GPS capability demonstration for the Global Positioning System. The Secretaries are required to provide a briefing on this plan to the appropriate congressional committees. Due date: Within 120 days of enactment. View PDF (1.6 MB)

Section 1618 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 directs the Secretaries of Defense, Transportation, and Homeland Security to "jointly conduct a study to assess and identify the technology-neutral requirements to backup and complement the positioning, navigation, and timing capabilities of the Global Positioning System for national security and critical infrastructure." Due date: Not later than one year after the date of enactment. View at congress.gov

Section 219 of the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2010 directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to conclude a study of whether a single, domestic system is needed as a backup navigation system to GPS. View PDF (450 KB)

Homeland Defense

The House report on the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 directs a briefing "by December 15, 2017, on the risks associated with disruptions to the Global Positioning System (GPS) that could affect defense of the homeland and other defense activities in the United States. The briefing shall include the requirements for PNT reliability and redundancy for Department of Defense operations in the United States, an analysis of the extent to which defense of the homeland operations rely on accurate PNT signals from GPS, and an assessment of alternative sources of PNT that could be used as a backup to ensure continuity of operations in the event of a major disruption to GPS." (p. 237). View PDF (1.6 MB)

Report on WAAS Upgrades

The Senate report on the FY 2016 transportation appropriations bill directs the FAA to provide a progress update on its plans to upgrade the GPS Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS). Due date: within 180 days of enactment. View PDF (600 KB)

WAAS Status Report

The joint committee print to accompany the Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009, calls for a letter report on the status of precision approach capability, including updates on WAAS satellite integration, WAAS equipage, and WAAS-enabled airports. View PDF (2.2 MB)

NDGPS Recapitalization Plan

The joint committee print to accompany the Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009, directs the Department of Transportation to submit a recapitalization plan for the Nationwide Differential GPS. View PDF (2.2 MB)

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Foreign GNSS Issues

Enhancement of PNT Capacity

Section 1607 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 requires the Secretary of Defense to develop and implement a plan to increase resilience for the positioning, navigation, and timing capacity for the Department of Defense. This section requires the plan to ensure that military GPS user equipment (MGUE) terminals have the capability to receive the signals from the Galileo satellites of the European Union and the QZSS satellites of Japan, beginning with increment 2 of the acquisition of such terminals. This plan would also include an assessment of the feasibility, benefits, and risks of military GPS MGUE terminals having the capability to receive foreign PNT signals, beginning with increment 2 of the acquisition of such terminals. Such plan would also include an assessment of options to use hosted payloads to provide redundancy for the GPS signal; ensure that the Secretary of Defense, with the concurrence of the Secretary of State, engages with relevant U.S. allies to enable MGUE terminals to receive allied signals and negotiates other potential agreements relating to PNT enhancement; and include any other options the Secretary of Defense determines appropriate. Finally, this section requires the Secretary of Defense to submit the plan along with certain evaluations to specified congressional committees not later than 180 days after the enactment of the Act. View at congress.gov

National Security Risks from Using Non-Allied PNT Systems

Section 1608 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 directs that, "the Secretary of Defense, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Director of National Intelligence shall jointly submit to the appropriate congressional committees an assessment of the risks to national security and to the operations and plans of the Department of Defense from using a non-allied positioning, navigation, and timing system or service provided by such a system." Due date: Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment. View at congress.gov

The accompanying House report "directs the Chief Information Officer of the Department of Defense to provide a briefing... on the extent to which the Department uses either the Russian Federation's Glonass or the People's Republic of China's Beidou Global Navigation Satellite System or telecommunications systems that rely on them, and potential impacts of prohibiting use of such systems. Due date: July 1, 2016. View PDF (1.7 MB)

National Security Benefits of Galileo Approval

The House report on the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 "directs the Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to submit a report... outlining the national security benefits that the Department of Defense would expect to derive from a decision by the FCC to approve the European Commission request for the Galileo GNSS system and any other matters they deem relevant." Due date: July 1, 2016. View PDF (1.7 MB)

Russian Monitoring Stations

The House report on the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015 directs DOD to provide a report on GNSS ground monitoring stations operated by Russia near any U.S./allied military installation overseas or any other sensitive installation. View PDF (1.5 MB)

Galileo Market Access Report

The joint committee print to accompany the Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009, directs the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to prepare a report on U.S. industry access to Galileo markets, to assess compliance with the 2004 GPS-Galileo Agreement. View PDF (2.4 MB)

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Spectrum Management

Spectrum Harmonization Study

The conference report to accompany the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2000, directs DOD to initiate a GPS spectrum harmonization study to be conducted by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. View PDF (2 MB)

National GPS Spectrum Strategy

Section 8137 of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 1999, requires the DOD to submit a national strategy to protect GPS spectrum against interference and disruption, achieve its full and effective use of ITU-allocated satellite navigation spectrum, and provide any additional spectrum necessary for GPS evolution. View PDF (400 KB)

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Repealed Requirements

Review of Interference to Military GPS

Section 911(b) of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2012 directed the Secretary of Defense to conduct a review every 90 days during 2012-2013 on the ability of military GPS devices to operate without widespread harmful interference, particularly from commercial communications services. The law required congressional notification if such interference occurred. This provision was repealed by Section 1698 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017. View PDF (1.6 MB)

Biennial GPS Report

10 U.S.C. § 2281 previously directed the co-chairs of the National Executive Committee for Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing to submit a biennial report to Congress on GPS. Congress repealed this requirement in 2013. Learn more

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