[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1229 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1229

    Expressing support for the designation of November 18, 2020, as 
                         ``National GIS Day''.


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                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 19, 2020

 Mr. Curtis submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
            the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology

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                               RESOLUTION


 
    Expressing support for the designation of November 18, 2020, as 
                         ``National GIS Day''.

Whereas Geographic Information System technology (referred to in this resolution 
        as ``GIS'') embraces new and innovative ways to use, discover, and share 
        geospatial data through online portals and web services;
Whereas the management, use, and exchange of geographic information and 
        geospatial data and analysis are essential for operations and 
        decisionmaking in Federal agencies;
Whereas GIS facilitates the sharing of geographic data, services, and maps 
        through online portals such as GeoPlatform.gov and other relevant 
        Federal data portals;
Whereas GIS helps provide shared and trusted geospatial data, services, and 
        applications for use by--

    (1) the public;

    (2) government agencies and partners of government agencies to meet 
their mission goals; and

    (3) State, Tribal, county, and municipal governments;

Whereas GIS fosters collaboration and partnerships in the advancement of the 
        National Spatial Data Infrastructure (referred to in this resolution as 
        ``NSDI'');
Whereas GIS provides a common framework for the Federal Government, State, 
        Tribal, and local governments, non-Federal partners, communities, 
        constituents, professional bodies for standards, data catalogs, 
        partnerships, and tools that make up the NSDI;
Whereas GIS is a critical tool used by public health officials at the local, 
        national, and global levels in the surveillance and modeling of, and 
        response to, public health emergencies, including the COVID-19 pandemic;
Whereas GIS is used to investigate and address environmental issues, including--

    (1) wildland fire mitigation and suppression;

    (2) volcanic activity;

    (3) coastline degradation; and

    (4) earthquake impacts and hazards;

Whereas GIS is used to locate and prioritize broadband deployment to rural and 
        other underserved Americans;
Whereas GIS is an interdisciplinary tool used by students, teachers, 
        researchers, universities, and practitioners in numerous fields and 
        disciplines;
Whereas GIS and related geospatial technologies are used in classrooms to engage 
        students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) 
        learning;
Whereas GIS fosters competition within the sector of geospatial technologies, 
        which is considered a high-growth industry by the Department of Labor;
Whereas Federal agencies rely upon and use the private sector in the United 
        States for the provision of geospatial data and GIS services; and
Whereas many Federal agencies, State and local government agencies, nonprofit 
        organizations, schools, libraries, and universities join with others 
        around the world to showcase their GIS mapping and geospatial 
        applications on November 18, 2020: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) supports the designation of ``National GIS Day''; and
            (2) encourages users of GIS technology, educators, 
        students, and innovators to continue to employ GIS to--
                    (A) learn and explore;
                    (B) analyze and address societal, environmental, 
                and other challenges; and
                    (C) drive economic growth for the betterment of the 
                people of the United States and individuals around the 
                world.
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