The Senate delivered the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to the President last week, without provisions proposed by the House supporting efforts to provide a complementary and backup service for GPS. Hill insiders tell us that this was due to Congressional leaders’ desires to clearly retain oversight of their portfolios, and to ensure it was clear civil agencies are responsible for ensuring domestic PNT service and resilience.

The bipartisan Cruz-Markey “National Timing Resilience and Security Act” which mandates the Secretary of Transportation establish an alternative wireless, wide area terrestrial timing system had been folded into the NDAA in the House version of the bill. Establishing such a system would partially meet Transportation’s long unfilled national policy mandate to acquire a GPS backup capability for the nation. We are told that this timing resilience and security language will be included in a transportation-related bill to be passed later this year.