To authorize appropriations for activities of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration for fiscal years 1990 and 1991.
PL 101-555 (H.R.3310), enacted 11/15/1990

104 STAT. 2758 
PUBLIC LAW 101-555—NOV. 15, 1990 
Public Law 101-555 
101st Congress 
An Act 
Nov. 15, 1990 
To authorize appropriations for activities of the National Telecommunications and 
[H.R. 3310] 
Information Administration for fiscal years 1990 and 1991. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled. That there is 
authorized to be appropriated for activities of the National Tele-
communications and Information Administration $14,554,000 for 
fiscal year 1990 and $18,000,000 for fiscal year 1991, together with 
such sums as may be necessary for increases resulting from adjust-
ments in salary, pay, retirement, other employee benefits required 
by law, and other nondiscretionary costs, for fiscal year 1991. 
SEC. 2. (a) The Congress finds that— 
(1) the Pacific Ocean region is of strategic and economic 
importance to the United States; 
(2) other nations, especially the Soviet Union and Japan, are 
seeking to increase their influence in this region; 
(3) because the Pacific Basin communities are geographically 
isolated and because many are relatively poor, they are in great 
need of quality, low-cost communications services to maintain 
contact among themselves and with other countries; 
(4) from 1971 until 1985, such communications needs were 
satisfied by the Pan-Pacific Elducational and Cultural Experi-
ments by Satellite Program (hereinafter referred to as the 
"PEACESAT Program") operating over the ATS-1 satellite of 
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration; 
(5) the ATS-1 satellite ran out of station-keeping fuel in 1985 
and has provided only intermittent service since then; 
(6) the Act entitled "An Act to provide authorization of 
appropriations for activities of the National Telecommuni-
cations and Information Administration", approved Novem-
ber 3, 1988 (Public Law 100-584; 102 Stat. 2970), authorized 
$3,400,000 in funding during fiscal years 1988 and 1989 for re-
establishing the communications network of the PEACESAT 
Program; 
(7) Congress appropriated $1,700,000 for fiscal year 1988 and 
$200,000 for fiscal year 1989 for the purposes of re-establishing 
the communications network of the PEACESAT Program; 
(8) since 1988, significant progress h£is been made to ensure 
resumption of this vital communications service by repairing 
earth terminals in the Pacific communities, by identifying the 
short-term and long-term needs of the residents of these 
communities, and by negotiating to acquire the use of the 
GOES-3 satellite owned by the National Oceanic and At-
mospheric Administration, which is expected to provide service 
from 1990 to 1994; 
(9) the 
National 
Telecommunications 
and 
Information 
Administration will issue a contract for the design and 
construction of earth terminals to work with the GOES-3 sat-
PUBLIC LAW 101-555—NOV. 15, 1990 
104 STAT. 2759 
ellite by early 1990 that will exhaust the funds previously 
appropriated; 
(10) additional funding will be necessary for fiscal years 1990 
and 1991 to pay for the costs of operating the GOES-3 satellite, 
for installing the earth stations and training engineers to oper-
ate them, and for administering the program; and 
(11) additional but undetermined funding may also be nec-
essary in fiscal year 1991 to begin acquiring replacement 
satellite capacity for the GOES-3 satellite after it goes out of 
service. 
(b) It is the purpose of this section to assist in the acquisition of 
satellite communications services until viable alternatives are avail-
able and to provide interim funding in order that the PEACESAT 
Program may again serve the educational, medical, and cultural 
needs of the Pacific Basin communities. 
(c)(1) The Secretary of Commerce shall expeditiously negotiate for 
and acquire satellite space segment capacity and related ground 
segment equipment to provide communications services for former 
users of the ATS-1 satellite of the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration. 
(2)(A) The Secretary of Commerce shall provide to the manager of 
the 
PEACESAT 
Program 
such 
funds, 
from 
appropriations 
authorized under subsection (d) of this section, as the Secretary 
considers necessary to manage the operation of the satellite commu-
nications services provided with the capacity and equipment ac-
quired under this subsection. 
(B) The recipient of funds under subparagraph (A) of this para-
graph shall keep such records as may reasonably be necessary to 
enable the Secretary of Commerce to conduct an effective audit of 
such funds. 
(C) The Secretary of Commerce and the Comptroller General of 
the United States, or any of their duly authorized representatives, 
shall have access for the purpose of audit and examination to any 
books, documents, papers, and records of such recipient that are 
pertinent to the funds received under subparagraph (A) of this 
pareigraph. 
(d) There are authorized to be appropriated $1,000,000 for fiscal 
year 1990 and such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 1991 for 
use by the Secretary of Commerce in the negotiation for and acquisi-
tion of capacity and equipment under subsection (c)(1) of this section 
and the management of the operation of satellite communications 
services under subsection (c)(2) of this section. Sums appropriated 
pursuant to this subsection may be used by the Secretary of Com-
merce to cover administrative costs associated with the provisions of 
this section. 
(e) The Secretary of Commerce shall consult with appropriate 
departments and agencies of the Federal Government, representa-
tives of the PEACESAT Program, and other affected parties regard-
ing the development of a long-term solution to the communications 
needs of the Pacific Ocean region. Within one year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall report to the 
Congress regarding such consultation. 
Records. 
Records. 
Reports. 
104 STAT. 2760 
PUBLIC LAW 101-555—NOV. 15, 1990 
Health care. 
Rural areeis. 
42 u s e 295j 
note. 
Reports. 
SEC. 3. (a) It is the purpose of this section to improve the ability of 
rural health providers to use communications to obtain health 
information and to consult with others concerning the delivery of 
patient care. Such enhanced communications ability may assist in— 
(1) improving and extending the training of rural health 
professionals; and 
(2) improving the continuity of patient care in rural areas. 
(b) The Secretary of Commerce, in conjunction with the Secretary 
of Health and Human Services, shall establish an advisory panel 
(hereafter in this section referred to as the "Panel") to develop 
recommendations for the improvement of rural health care through 
the collection of information needed by providers and the improve-
ment in the use of communications to disseminate such information, 
(c) The Panel shall be composed of individuals from organizations 
with rural constituencies and practitioners from health care dis-
ciplines, representatives of the National Library of Medicine, and 
representatives of different health professions schools, including 
nurse practitioners. 
(d) The Panel may select consultants to provide advice to the 
Panel regarding the types of information that rural health care 
practitioners need, the procedures to gather and disseminate such 
information, and the types of communications equipment and train-
ing needed by rural health care practitioners to obtain access to 
such information. 
(e) Not later than 1 year after the Panel is established under 
subsection (b), the Secretary of Commerce shall prepare and submit, 
to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and 
the Committee on Labor and Human Resources of the Senate and to 
the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Represent-
atives, a report summarizing the recommendations made by the 
Panel under subsection (b). 
(f) There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 
Commerce to carry out this section $1,000,000 to remain available 
until expended. 
SEC. 4. (a) Section 226 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
U.S.C. 226) is amended by striking "30" each place it appears in 
subsection (b) (1) and (2), subsection (c)(1), and subsection (h)(1)(A) 
and inserting in lieu thereof "90". 
PUBLIC LAW 101-555—NOV. 15, 1990 
104 STAT. 2761 
(b) Section 226(bXl) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 
226(bXl)) is amended— 
(1) in subparagraph (H) by adding "and" at the end; 
(2) in subparagraph (I) by striking "; and" and inserting in 
lieu thereof a period; and 
(3) by striking subpargigraph (J), 
Approved November 15, 1990. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.R. 3310 (S. 1839): 
HOUSE REPORTS: No. 101-317 (Ctomm. on Energy and Commerce). 
SENATE REPORTS: No. 101-302 accompanying S. 1839 (Ctomm. on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation). 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD: 
Vol. 135 (1989): Oct. 30, considered and passed House. 
Vol. 136 (1990): Oct. 24, considered and passed Senate, amended, in lieu of 
S. 1839. 
Oct. 26, House concurred in Senate amendment.