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A bill to provide authorization of appropriations for activities of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.

Public Law 100-584 · H.R. 2472 · 100th Congress · began in the House

Signed by Ronald Reagan (R) on Nov 3, 1988 · Government Operations and Politics

Sponsor: Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA-7)

Cosponsors (1): Rep. Matthew Rinaldo

Passage votes

  • HouseVoice vote
  • SenateVoice vote
Data notes

The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.

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Summary

The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.

Authorizes appropriations for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) for FY 1988 and 1989.

Requires the NTIA to establish semiannual goals for recruiting and hiring minorities and women for its staff and to make semiannual progress reports to specified House and Senate committees.

Requires the Administrator of the NTIA to: (1) discuss with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) the feasibility of awarding public television facilities program grants for low-power translator stations and television translator stations (conditional on the FCC's approval of a license for the station); (2) work with the FCC to expedite the schedules for considering such grants and licenses; and (3) report to the Congress on the implementation of these requirements.

Directs the Secretary of Commerce to acquire the satellite services necessary to re-establish the Pan-Pacific Educational and Cultural Experiments by Satellite (PEACESAT) program. Permits the PEACESAT program to operate for three years over the UHF frequencies currently assigned to the Department of the Navy.

Directs the Secretary to give the PEACESAT program funding adequate for its operation. Requires PEACESAT managers to maintain the records needed to permit the Secretary to conduct an audit.

Authorizes FY 1988 and 1989 funds for acquiring and developing the necessary satellite services for PEACESAT.

Requires the Secretary to consult with Federal agencies, PEACESAT program representatives, and other affected parties concerning a long-term solution to the communication needs of the Pacific Ocean region and to report to the Congress on results within one year after enactment of this Act.

Committees

The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.

Data notes

A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.

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Timeline

From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 15 actions.

  1. Nov 3, 1988Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 100-584.
  2. Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
  3. Oct 27, 1988PresidentPresident · Presented to President.
  4. Oct 19, 1988Resolving differencesResolving differences · House Agreed to Senate Amendments by Voice Vote.
  5. Aug 4, 1988FloorFloor · Passed Senate with an amendment by Voice Vote.
  6. FloorFloor · Measure laid before Senate by unanimous consent.
  7. Oct 13, 1987FloorFloor · Passed House (Amended) by Voice Vote.
  8. Oct 9, 1987CommitteeCommittee · Reported by House Energy and Commerce Committee
  9. Jul 28, 1987CommitteeCommittee · Markup by House Energy and Commerce Committee
  10. Jul 21, 1987CommitteeCommittee · Reported by Telecommunications and Finance Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee
  11. CommitteeCommittee · Markup by Telecommunications and Finance Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee
  12. May 20, 1987CommitteeCommittee · Hearings by Telecommunications and Finance Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee
  13. May 19, 1987CommitteeCommittee · Referred to House Energy and Commerce Committee
  14. CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Telecommunications and Finance Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee
  15. IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in the House
Data notes

Shows the introduction, each committee and subcommittee step the source dates (referral, hearings, markup, report, discharge), and the floor, conference, presidential and became-law steps. Calendar placements, messages between the chambers, amendments and committee report numbers are not shown for laws before the 108th Congress. Two entries the source lists twice are shown once.

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Official record

The bill’s full text and every action, including introduction and committee steps, are on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.