ORBIT Technical Corrections Act of 2003
Public Law 108-39 · H.R. 2312 · 108th Congress · began in the House
Signed by George W. Bush (R) on Jun 30, 2003 · Science, Technology, Communications
Sponsor: Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL-19)
Cosponsors (4): Rep. Ed Markey, Rep. Billy Tauzin,
Passage votes
- HouseUnanimous consent
- SenateUnanimous consent
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.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
ORBIT Technical Corrections Act of 2003 - Amends the Communications Satellite Act of 1962 to: (1) extend until June 30, 2004, the deadline for conducting an initial public offering of securities for the successor entities of Inmarsat; and (2) allow the Federal Communications Commission to extend such deadline to not later than December 31, 2004.
Committees
The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.
Energy and Commerce Committee · House · discharged from, referred toSubcommittee: Communications and Technology Subcommittee
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.
Related bills
The record lists no related bills.
Data notes
Related bills are identified by the Congressional Research Service, the House and the Senate: companion and identical bills, bills with similar text, bills that were folded into this law, and rules that brought it to the floor. A bill that is itself a public law in this site’s data links here; the others link to Congress.gov.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 14 actions.
- Jun 30, 2003Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 108-39.
- Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- Jun 24, 2003FloorFloor · Presented to President.
- Jun 23, 2003FloorFloor · Message on Senate action sent to the House.
- Jun 20, 2003FloorFloor · Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent.
- Jun 17, 2003CommitteeCommittee · Received in the Senate.
- Jun 12, 2003FloorFloor · Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- FloorFloor · On passage Passed without objection.
- FloorFloor · Mr. Tauzin asked unanimous consent to discharge from committee and consider.
- FloorFloor · Considered by unanimous consent.
- CommitteeCommittee · Committee on Energy and Commerce discharged.
- Jun 11, 2003CommitteeCommittee · Referred to the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet.
- Jun 3, 2003CommitteeCommittee · Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in House
Data notes
Every action the Library of Congress lists for the bill, from introduction to signing, plus the dated committee hearings. The source lists many steps twice (the chamber’s own entry and the Library of Congress copy, or a presidential and a became-law entry with the same words); those are shown once. Amendments are listed in their own section.
Amendments
No amendments to this bill are on record.
Data notes
Amendments offered to this bill in either chamber, as the Library of Congress records them: each with a status read from its last recorded step: agreed to, rejected, withdrawn, ruled out of order, fell with another amendment, or offered with no vote recorded (most Senate amendments are only ever offered). The wording of each amendment is the source’s. Amendments to amendments and amendments to other bills are not listed.
Official record
The bill’s full text is on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.