Dear Chairman Rep. Guthrie, Chairman Rep. Hudson, Ranking Member Rep. Pallone, and Ranking Member Rep. Matsui:
On behalf of the Frontiers of Freedom Institute, I write to urge Congress to support efforts to strengthen America’s Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) resilience and to oppose attempts to impede the Federal Communications Commission’s ongoing review of technologies that can provide backup and complementary capabilities to GPS.
The issue before Congress is straightforward: GPS has become a critical component of America’s economic, transportation, communications, financial, and national security infrastructure. Yet it is increasingly vulnerable to disruption, interference, jamming, and spoofing by foreign adversaries.
The threat is neither theoretical nor distant.
More than 430,000 GPS jamming and spoofing incidents were reported worldwide in 2024, affecting as many as 1,350 flights per day and representing a dramatic increase over the previous year. Interference has already been detected near major American airports, including Dallas and Denver. Analysts estimate that a significant GPS outage could cost the U.S. economy approximately $1.6 billion per day while disrupting transportation, communications, finance, and public safety systems.
At the same time, America’s principal adversaries continue to expand their capabilities in electronic warfare and space operations. China and Russia have demonstrated increasingly sophisticated abilities to interfere with satellite-based systems and have openly pursued capabilities designed to challenge U.S. technological superiority.
This should concern every American.
GPS has become so deeply integrated into modern life that many people no longer recognize how dependent we have become upon it. Aviation, maritime commerce, trucking, rail transportation, telecommunications networks, financial transactions, electrical grids, precision agriculture, and countless commercial applications rely upon accurate positioning and timing signals.
Public safety systems are especially vulnerable. First responders rely on GPS-enabled technologies to locate emergency callers, route ambulances, coordinate disaster response, and conduct search-and-rescue operations. Emergency communications systems depend upon precise timing signals to function effectively. A prolonged disruption would have consequences that extend far beyond inconvenience; it could directly affect the ability of emergency personnel to protect lives and property.
Fortunately, both the Trump Administration and the FCC have recognized the urgency of this challenge.
President Trump has emphasized the importance of strengthening America’s resilience and reducing vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has likewise identified GPS dependence as a potential single point of failure and has initiated a proceeding to examine complementary and backup technologies capable of enhancing national resilience.
This is precisely the type of process that should be encouraged.
The FCC’s proceeding does not predetermine a winner. It does not dictate a particular technology. Rather, it seeks to evaluate available options and determine how America can develop a robust “system of systems” approach that reduces dependence on any single technology or platform.
That is a prudent and responsible course of action.
Unfortunately, recent efforts to prohibit the FCC from using appropriated funds to continue this proceeding would move the country in the wrong direction.
Regardless of one’s views regarding any particular technology or commercial provider, Congress should not substitute political judgments for technical analysis before the facts have been fully developed. Using an appropriations rider to terminate a technical proceeding risks delaying solutions to a vulnerability that national security experts, industry leaders, and policymakers increasingly recognize as urgent.
America’s adversaries are not waiting for us to resolve procedural disputes. They are actively developing capabilities designed to exploit vulnerabilities in our systems.
Congress should therefore allow the FCC process to continue and permit experts to evaluate the full range of available technologies and solutions.
Importantly, the encouraging news is that potential solutions already exist. American innovators have developed technologies capable of providing complementary positioning, navigation, and timing services through terrestrial infrastructure using existing assets and licensed spectrum. Some estimates place the economic value of a resilient GPS backup capability at more than $14 billion, while much of the necessary investment can be provided through private-sector capital rather than taxpayer funding.
This is exactly the kind of challenge America should be eager to solve.
The United States has long led the world by combining innovation, private enterprise, technological excellence, and strong public policy. Building greater resilience into our positioning, navigation, and timing infrastructure should be viewed through that same lens.
This is not a partisan issue.
Republicans and Democrats alike depend upon reliable transportation systems, resilient communications networks, secure financial markets, and effective emergency response capabilities. Every American benefits when critical infrastructure is more secure and less vulnerable to disruption by foreign adversaries.
Congress should support the Administration’s efforts to strengthen national resilience, allow the FCC’s technical review to proceed without interference, and encourage the development of market-based solutions that enhance America’s security and competitiveness.
The risks are real. The vulnerabilities are known. The technologies are emerging.
Now is the time to strengthen America’s resilience before a major disruption forces us to learn these lessons the hard way.
Sincerely,
George Landrith