[Satellite TODAY 11-03-11] The U.S. House of Representatives’ new legislation to reform U.S. satellite export controls received a strong endorsement from the Satellite Industry Association (SIA) in a Nov. 2 statement.
   The “Safeguarding United States Leadership and Security Act of 2011 (H.R. 3288),” introduced Nov. 1, would authorize the President to remove satellites and related components from the U.S. Munitions List that are typically subject to restrictions and Congressional oversight.
   In the SIA statement, Association President Patricia Cooper said the bill dramatically improves the competitiveness of the U.S. satellite and space industries and ensures innovation. “SIA and the satellite industry commend the bipartisan co-sponsors of this bill for their leadership in updating an outmoded and overly-restrictive regulation instituted more than a decade ago, which has adversely affected the U.S. space industrial base. We encourage Congress to pass H.R. 3288, both to reinforce our nation’s primacy in space technology and to support American jobs and competitiveness.”

   If passed, H.R. 3288 would supersede 1999 legislative provisions that required all commercial satellites, satellite components, associated technical data and related ground equipment to be treated as munitions for export licensing purposes, regardless of their technical sensitivity. The bill was co-sponsored by both Republican and Democratic representatives in Congress.