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Press Release
5 November 2021, 10:00 EST
Congressman to Introduce Webinar on Protecting GPS
The Honorable John Garamendi (D-CA) will provide opening remarks for a 17 November webinar co-sponsored by Domestic Preparedness Journal and the Resilient Navigation and Timing Foundation. Garamendi is the chair of the House Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee and has long been concerned about the vulnerability of America’s Global Positioning System (GPS).
The webinar will focus on ways to deter attacks on and interference with GPS satellites and signals.
“America’s over-reliance on GPS makes it a high priority target for a wide range of bad actors,” said Dana A. Goward, President of the Resilient Navigation and Timing Foundation, and one of the webinar moderators. “And, since other nations, such as China, Russia, and Iran, have terrestrial systems they can use when space is not available, the U.S. is at a strategic disadvantage.”
This “technology resilience gap” is one of several dangers that could lead to armed conflict that webinar panelist George Beebe discusses in his book “The Russia Trap.” His concern is that having such a pronounced relative weakness can invite meddling and exploitation by adversaries. Even if done on a small scale, this could lead to a series of escalating responses ending in an unintended, much more serious conflict that neither party wants.
Beebe is Vice President and Director of Studies at the Center for the National Interest. He spent more than two decades in government service as an intelligence analyst, diplomat, and policy advisor, including service as director of CIA’s Russia analysis, and as Special Advisor to Vice President Chaney for Russia/Eurasia and Intelligence Programs.
Eliminating the gap between the U.S. and its adversaries is key to protecting GPS and the nation, according to webinar panelist Greg Winfree, Director of the Texas Transportation Institute. Winfree previously served as an Assistant Secretary for the U.S. Department of Transportation. While acknowledging there is no single answer, he has asserted that providing at least one alternative system will go a long way toward “getting the bullseye off GPS.”
The third webinar panelist, Scott Pace, has supported Winfree’s approach. Pace is the Director of George Washington University’s Space Policy Institute and former Executive Director of the National Space Council. He has commented that having an alternative to GPS will contribute to national security and improve global stability. It will “lower the pressure on us to escalate and respond” should GPS satellites be damaged, or services disrupted.
The webinar will be held on Wednesday the 17th of November from 2:30 PM to 3:30 PM EST. More information is available at DomesticPreparedness.com.
Attendance is free but attendees must register in advance HERE.
Press contact: 800-522-6948 or [email protected]
