117 SRES 450 IS: Designating November 17, 2021, as “National GIS Day”. U.S. Senate 2021-11-16 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

III117th CONGRESS1st SessionS. RES. 450IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATESNovember 16, 2021Mr. Risch submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the JudiciaryRESOLUTIONDesignating November 17, 2021, as National GIS Day.

Whereas the management, use, and exchange of geographic information and geospatial data and analysis are essential for operations and decision making in Federal agencies;Whereas Geographic Information System technology (referred to in this preamble as GIS) embraces new and innovative ways to use, discover, and share geospatial data through online portals and web services;Whereas GIS facilitates the sharing of geographic data, services, and maps within a digital domain;Whereas GIS helps provide shared and trusted geospatial data, services, and applications for use—(1)by the public; and(2)by government agencies and partners of government agencies to carry out the missions of such agencies and partners;Whereas GIS helps foster collaboration and partnerships to advance the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (referred to in this preamble as the NSDI);Whereas GIS provides a common framework for the Federal Government and State, Tribal, and local governments, non-Federal partners, communities, constituents, and professional bodies for standards, data catalogs, partnerships, and tools that make up the NSDI;Whereas GIS is used to investigate and address societal and cultural issues, including—(1)local issues; (2)global issues;(3)issues from the past;(4)issues in the present; and(5)future issues identified through modeling;Whereas GIS and related geospatial technologies are used in classrooms to engage students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning;Whereas GIS is an interdisciplinary tool used by students, teachers, researchers, universities, local institutions, and practitioners in numerous fields and disciplines;Whereas GIS fosters competition within the sector of geospatial technologies, which the Department of Labor considers to be a high-growth industry; andWhereas many Federal agencies, State and local government agencies, nonprofit organizations, schools, libraries, and universities will join other persons around the world to showcase their GIS mapping and geospatial applications on November 17, 2021: Now, therefore, be it

That the Senate—(1)designates November 17, 2021, as National GIS Day; and(2)encourages users of Geographic Information System technology (referred to in this resolution as GIS), educators, students, and innovators to continue to employ GIS—(A)to learn and explore;(B)to analyze and address societal challenges; and(C)to drive economic growth for the betterment of the people of the United States and individuals around the world.