As you are aware, Mr. Chairman, the President issued a national policy directive on the future management and use of GPS last March. In brief, the policy reaffirms our commitment to provide basic GPS services, free of direct user fees, for peaceful civil and commercial users throughout the world. The policy establishes a permanent interagency GPS Executive Board to coordinate the management and use of GPS and related U.S. Government augmentations. And, finally, it calls for consultations with foreign governments and other international organizations on the feasibility of developing bilateral or multilateral guidelines on the provision and use of GPS services. On this point, I would note, Mr. Chairman, that the Department of State has already begun the process of initiating consultations with Japan, Europe, and Russia.
Space transportation is another area that is addressed in the discussion draft.
This is an area where the Administration has been active across several fronts. The President's 1994 space transportation policy, which I referenced earlier, paved the way for NASA's RLV program and the DoD's program to evolve and modernize the current ELV fleet. The policy also included guidance on use of the Shuttle, the use of U.S. excess ballistic missiles, and on the procurement of commercial launch services. While I can not take a position in today's hearing, I can say that we share the Subcommittee's desire to reduce the cost of access to space and we are happy to work with the committee to encourage it. We place a high priority on maintaining the continuity of Landsat data and on supporting the commercial remote sensing industry.