1.This Act may be cited as the
AmericaView Authorization
Act
.
2.Congress finds that—
(1)when Federal remote sensing data is
available in a cost-effective and timely manner, State and local governments
and educational institutions are able to develop new scientific, educational,
and practical applications for the data and to adopt new tools for applied
research, education, and training, as evidenced by the success of the United
States Geological Survey pilot projects OhioView and Gateway to the
Earth;
(2)increased access to remote sensing data
through State data archives benefits user communities that have traditionally
struggled to afford the data because—
(A)educators—
(i)train college students for technology
careers in remote sensing; and
(ii)train teachers that remote sensing data can
enhance student learning in elementary and secondary education;
(B)historically black colleges and
universities partner with StateView universities to enhance learning and
training opportunities for students;
(C)Native Americans provide training and
education regarding—
(i)the use and application of remote sensing
data for Native American students; and
(ii)developing satellite-based applications for
managing reservation resources;
(3)universities and State and local government
agencies use remote sensing data to support practical purposes,
including—
(A)monitoring the health of national land and
forests;
(B)monitoring crop progress, assessing damage,
and predicting crop yield;
(C)assisting with transportation and land-use
planning in the urban areas of the United States;
(D)predicting and assisting with the
management of human disease outbreaks; and
(E)assessing and managing natural disasters;
and
(4)the AmericaView program is uniquely
positioned—
(A)to help each State address remote sensing
data infrastructure issues; and
(B)to expand the use and benefits of remote
sensing data to each State.
3.In this Act:
(1)The term AmericaView program
means the national AmericaView program of the United States Geological Survey
established under section 4(a), comprised of—
(A)the AmericaView project; and
(B)AmericaView.
(2)The term AmericaView project
means the United States Geological Survey data archive, development,
maintenance, and product distribution program conducted at the EROS Data
Center.
(3)The term AmericaView means the
national nonprofit collaboration of StateView participants cooperating with the
EROS Data Center to achieve the purposes of the AmericaView program.
(4)The term educational
institution means any public or private elementary or secondary school,
vocational school, correspondence school, business school, college (including a
junior college or teachers’ college), normal school, professional school,
institution of higher education, or scientific or technical institution, or any
other institution that furnishes education.
(5)The term EROS Data Center
means the data management, systems development, and research field center of
the United States Geological Survey.
(6)National Spatial Data
InfrastructureThe term
National Spatial Data Infrastructure means the technology,
policies, standards, and human resources necessary to acquire, process, store,
distribute, and improve use of geospatial data for the United States
established by Executive Order 12906 (59 Fed. Reg. 17671 (April 11,
1994)).
(7)The term remote sensing data
means all information acquired from above the surface of the Earth by satellite
or airplane.
(8)The term Secretary means the
Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the United States
Geological Survey.
(9)The term State means each of
the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the
Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands.
(10)The term StateView means the
AmericaView program of a single State, comprised of—
(A)educational institutions; and
(B)State and local governments.
4.
(a)The Secretary shall establish and maintain
a nationwide program, to be known as the AmericaView
program, to
advance the availability, timely distribution, and widespread use of remote
sensing data and technology in each State.
(b)The purposes of the AmericaView program
are—
(1)to increase accessibility and expand the
use of remote sensing data in a standard, easy-to-use format to—
(A)Federal, State, local, and tribal
governments;
(B)communities;
(C)educational institutions; and
(D)the commercial sector;
(2)to assist each State in establishing the
infrastructure necessary to archive and distribute remote sensing data;
(3)to ensure that the National Satellite Land
Remote Sensing Data Archive of the United States Geological Survey and State
remote sensing data archives support and comply with other Federal programs
relating to national data infrastructure, homeland security, and national
defense; and
(4)to provide remote sensing data to the
National Spatial Data Infrastructure.
(c)
(1)The Secretary, acting through the
AmericaView project, shall support the remote sensing data research and
educational programs of each State by cooperating with the States—
(A)to identify new remote sensing data needs
and infrastructure; and
(B)to define, consolidate, and maintain the
data requirements of that infrastructure.
(2)The Secretary, acting through the
AmericaView program, shall maintain AmericaView in each State—
(A)to share and cooperate in the development
of a freely and publicly accessible remote sensing data archive and
distribution infrastructure;
(B)to cooperate with the AmericaView project
to develop nationally consistent standards for remote sensing data archives in
the State;
(C)to expand the number of remote sensing data
courses taught at educational institutions and provide training, remote sensing
data, and teaching tools to educators;
(D)to expand remote sensing data research at
research educational institutions;
(E)to expand the knowledge and use of remote
sensing data and data products in the workforce through outreach programs,
workshops, and other training opportunities;
(F)to build partnerships with local
governments to identify unique research and development needs and foster remote
sensing pilot projects;
(G)to promote cooperation and sharing of
expertise regarding remote sensing data among the participating States and
within each participating State; and
(H)to enable the States to provide remote
sensing data to the EROS Data Center.
(3)The Secretary shall annually award grants
to sustain and develop StateView programs.
(4)Federal partner advisory committee
(A)The Secretary shall maintain an advisory
committee to advise the Director of the United States Geological Survey
regarding the AmericaView program.
(B)Membership and appointmentThe advisory committee shall consist of 1
representative from each of—
(i)AmericaView;
(ii)the United States Geological Survey;
(iii)the Department of Agriculture; and
(iv)such other Federal agencies as the Director
of the United States Geological Survey may require.
5.Authorization of
appropriationsThere are
authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary such sums as are necessary to
carry out this Act for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2014.