[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 126 (Tuesday, October 1, 2002)]
[House]
[Pages H6904-H6907]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
REMOTE SENSING APPLICATIONS ACT OF 2002
Mr. ROHRABACHER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass
the bill (H.R. 2426) to encourage the development and integrated use by
the public and private sectors of remote sensing and other geospatial
information, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 2426
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Remote Sensing Applications
Act of 2002''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that--
(1) although urban land use planning, growth management,
and other functions of State, local, regional, and tribal
agencies are rightfully within their jurisdiction, the
Federal Government can and should play an important role in
the development and demonstration of innovative techniques to
improve comprehensive land use planning and growth
management;
(2) the United States is making a major investment in
acquiring remote sensing and other geospatial information
from both governmental and commercial sources;
(3) while much of the data is being acquired for scientific
and national security purposes, it also can have important
applications to help meet societal goals;
(4) it has already been demonstrated that Landsat data and
other earth observation data can be of enormous assistance to
Federal, State, local, regional, and tribal agencies for
urban land use planning, coastal zone management, natural and
cultural resource management, and disaster monitoring;
(5) remote sensing, coupled with the emergence of
geographic information systems and satellite-based
positioning information, offers the capability of developing
important new applications of integrated sets of geospatial
information to address societal needs;
(6) the full range of applications of remote sensing and
other forms of geospatial information to meeting public
sector requirements has not been adequately explored or
exploited;
(7) the Land Remote Sensing Policy Act of 1992,
Presidential Decision Directive 23 of 1994, and the
Commercial Space Act of 1998 all support and promote the
development of United States commercial remote sensing
capabilities;
(8) many State, local, regional, tribal, and Federal
agencies are unaware of the utility of remote sensing and
other geospatial information for meeting their needs, even
when research has demonstrated the potential applications of
that information;
(9) remote sensing and other geospatial information can be
particularly useful to State, local, regional, and tribal
agencies in the area of urban planning, especially in their
efforts to plan for and manage the impacts of growth,
development, and sprawl, as well as in environmental impact
and disaster relief planning and management;
(10) the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, in
coordination with other agencies, can play a unique role in
demonstrating how data acquired for scientific purposes, when
combined with other data sources and processing capabilities,
can be applied to assist State, local, regional, and tribal
agencies and the private sector in decisionmaking in such
areas as agriculture, weather forecasting, and forest
management; and
(11) in addition, the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration, in conjunction with other agencies, can play
a unique role
[[Page H6905]]
in stimulating the development of the remote sensing and
other geospatial information sector through pilot projects to
demonstrate the value of integrating governmental and
commercial remote sensing data with geographic information
systems and satellite-based positioning data to provide
useful applications products.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act--
(1) the term ``Administrator'' means the Administrator of
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration;
(2) the term ``geospatial information'' means knowledge of
the nature and distribution of physical and cultural features
on the landscape based on analysis of data from airborne or
spaceborne platforms or other types and sources of data; and
(3) the term ``institution of higher education'' has the
meaning given that term in section 101(a) of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)).
SEC. 4. PILOT PROJECTS TO ENCOURAGE PUBLIC SECTOR
APPLICATIONS.
(a) In General.--The Administrator shall establish a
program of grants for competitively awarded pilot projects to
explore the integrated use of sources of remote sensing and
other geospatial information to address State, local,
regional, and tribal agency needs.
(b) Preferred Projects.--In awarding grants under this
section, the Administrator shall give preference to projects
that--
(1) make use of existing public or commercial data sets;
(2) integrate multiple sources of geospatial information,
such as geographic information system data, satellite-
provided positioning data, and remotely sensed data, in
innovative ways;
(3) include funds or in-kind contributions from non-Federal
sources;
(4) involve the participation of commercial entities that
process raw or lightly processed data, often merging that
data with other geospatial information, to create data
products that have significant value added to the original
data; and
(5) taken together demonstrate as diverse a set of public
sector applications as possible.
(c) Opportunities.--In carrying out this section, the
Administrator shall seek opportunities to assist--
(1) in the development of commercial applications
potentially available from the remote sensing industry; and
(2) State, local, regional, and tribal agencies in applying
remote sensing and other geospatial information technologies
for growth management.
(d) Duration.--Assistance for a pilot project under
subsection (a) shall be provided for a period not to exceed 3
years.
(e) Report.--Each recipient of a grant under subsection (a)
shall transmit a report to the Administrator on the results
of the pilot project within 180 days of the completion of
that project.
(f) Workshop.--Each recipient of a grant under subsection
(a) shall, not later than 180 days after the completion of
the pilot project, conduct at least one workshop for
potential users to disseminate the lessons learned from the
pilot project as widely as feasible.
(g) Regulations.--The Administrator shall issue regulations
establishing application, selection, and implementation
procedures for pilot projects, and guidelines for reports and
workshops required by this section.
SEC. 5. PROGRAM EVALUATION.
(a) Advisory Committee.--The Administrator shall establish
an advisory committee, consisting of individuals with
appropriate expertise in State, local, regional, and tribal
agencies, the university research community, and the remote
sensing and other geospatial information industry, to monitor
the program established under section 4. The advisory
committee shall consult with the Federal Geographic Data
Committee and other appropriate industry representatives and
organizations. Notwithstanding section 14 of the Federal
Advisory Committee Act, the advisory committee established
under this subsection shall remain in effect until the
termination of the program under section 4.
(b) Effectiveness Evaluation.--Not later than December 31,
2006, the Administrator shall transmit to the Congress an
evaluation of the effectiveness of the program established
under section 4 in exploring and promoting the integrated use
of sources of remote sensing and other geospatial information
to address State, local, regional, and tribal agency needs.
Such evaluation shall have been conducted by an independent
entity.
SEC. 6. DATA AVAILABILITY.
The Administrator shall ensure that the results of each of
the pilot projects completed under section 4 shall be
retrievable through an electronic, Internet-accessible
database.
SEC. 7. EDUCATION.
The Administrator shall establish an educational outreach
program to increase awareness at institutions of higher
education and State, local, regional, and tribal agencies of
the potential applications of remote sensing and other
geospatial information.
SEC. 8. COST SENSITIVITY STUDY.
The Administrator shall conduct a study of the effect of
remote sensing imagery costs on potential State, local,
regional, and tribal agency applications. The study shall
identify applications that are likely to be most affected by
reductions in the cost of remote sensing imagery. Not later
than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
Administrator shall transmit to the Congress the results of
the study conducted under this section.
SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated to the
Administrator $15,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2003
through 2007 to carry out this Act.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
California (Mr. Rohrabacher) and the gentleman from Colorado (Mr.
Udall) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California (Mr. Rohrabacher).
General Leave
Mr. ROHRABACHER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their
remarks and insert extraneous material on H.R. 2426.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from California?
There was no objection.
Mr. ROHRABACHER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
First of all, I congratulate the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Udall)
for having this bill come to the floor and the hard work that he has
put into this bill. He has been a tremendous inspiration to us in
working for high technology and a great environment at the same time.
This bill, I think, exemplifies that type of attitude and commitment.
So I congratulate him first and foremost for the great work he has done
that has manifested itself in this bill.
I support H.R. 2426, the Remote Sensing Applications Act of 2002.
This bill provides incentives to make federally funded remote sensing
data accessible and useful to address current needs in local
communities. This has been a great concern of mine for several years.
Since getting to Congress, I have always talked about getting down-to-
earth benefits for the taxpayer from satellite data. So I am very
pleased to support this legislation that will result in benefits for a
broad range of users.
This bill establishes a pilot program to enable the development of
creative ideas for applying remote sensing toward societal needs. These
applications will benefit all who depend on or work in the areas of
agriculture, urban planning, environmental management, weather
forecasting, resource management and disaster relief, just to name a
few. I would suggest that perhaps we could add to that list, and I hope
with his leadership to work with him on this, see a way that we can use
satellite sensing to help discover sources of pollution in the ocean
which plague the coastal areas of California where I happen to
represent.
I have always strongly supported the use of satellite remote sensing
data to address current problems in our society, with tangible
benefits, of course, to the taxpayers who are paying for these
satellites in the first place.
This bill is not another big government program with no end, however.
Yes, we are providing a service, but instead we are doing so in a very
responsible way. Instead, it is a limited 3-year pilot program to jump-
start projects that will benefit thousands, maybe millions of citizens.
These projects will be competitively selected with preference given to
those that partner with non-Federal sources of support. These projects
will be evaluated for their effectiveness with the results made
available to everyone through the Internet. Successful ideas will spur
private industry to develop more and more useful applications for
remote sensing with direct benefits, of course, to the citizens of the
United States and to the world.
I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2426 as a remarkably forward-
thinking piece of legislation. Again, I would like to mention to the
gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Udall), I know that there was an older
Udall that was here when I first came here. This is a bill in keeping
with that fine tradition that he left in this body.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, as the author of this legislation, I obviously support
passage
[[Page H6906]]
of the bill. I want to thank the gentleman from California (Mr.
Rohrabacher) for his kind words and also his support. I also wanted to
thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Boehlert), the chairman of the
Committee on Science, and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hall), the
ranking member, for making it possible for the House to consider the
bill today.
I introduced the Remote Sensing Applications Act in June 2001 to
address a real problem we have in Colorado, the problem of excess
growth and sprawl. My goal was to point to a way to utilize the
resources of the Federal Government to help foster wise community
planning and management at the local level. As a member of the House
Committee on Science and the Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics, it
made sense to me to look for ways to help communities grow in a smarter
way through the use of technology.
One new space-age tool, and the gentleman from California was talking
about it, is the use of satellites to provide images of the Earth's
surface. We now have the technology, using geospatial data from
satellites, that can produce very accurate maps that show information
about vegetation, wildlife habitat, flood plains, transportation
corridors, soil types and many other things. By giving State and local
governments and communities greater access to geospatial data from
commercial sources and Federal agencies such as NASA, I believe that
the Federal Government can help bring valuable and powerful
informational planning resources to the table.
H.R. 2426 would facilitate this transfer of information. The bill
would establish in NASA a program of grants for competitively awarded
pilot projects. The purpose of the grants would be to explore the
integrated use of sources of remote sensing and other geospatial
information to address State, local, regional and tribal agency needs.
This legislation would build on and complement an applications program
that NASA's Office of Earth Science announced last year.
State and local governments and communities can use this geospatial
data in a wide variety of applications, in such areas as urban land use
planning, coastal zone management and erosion control, transportation
corridors, environmental planning, and agricultural and forest
management.
One potential application that has garnered much attention since the
tragic events of last September 11 is the use of geospatial technology
to bolster our homeland security.
{time} 2145
Emergency management has always been an important responsibility of
State and local governments; but in the aftermath of the terrorist
attacks, the scope of this responsibility has broadened. Geospatial
technology can help States and localities identify the location,
nature, and scope of potential vulnerabilities and the impact of
potential hazards, as well as how to respond to events and recover from
them.
Certainly, it is important that we continue to add to our database of
available geospatial information. More information is always better
than less, but we have to also make sure that we have maximum use of
the information that we already have at hand, and that is the need that
this bill would address.
State and local officials are becoming more familiar with the uses of
geospatial technology for various planning purposes. However, there is
a need for Federal agencies such as NASA, which has been pioneering the
use of satellite remote sensing technologies, to work with State and
local organizations to demonstrate how remote sensing and other
geospatial data can offer a cost-effective planning and assessment
tool.
I am pleased that there is broad bipartisan cosponsorship of the bill
and that it has earned the endorsement of a number of important
national organizations. The supporters of H.R. 2426 understand the
importance of targeting geospatial information at the places where it
will have the greatest impact, that being local and regional levels.
This act can help begin to bridge the gap between established and
emerging technology solutions and the problems and challenges that
State and local communities face regarding growth management, homeland
security, forest fire management, and other issues.
Mr. Speaker, I believe this bill will be welcomed by States and
localities nationwide, and I urge its adoption.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. ROHRABACHER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Michigan (Mr. Smith).
Mr. SMITH of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, my compliments to my colleagues,
the gentleman from California (Mr. Rohrabacher) and the gentleman from
Colorado (Mr. Udall), on moving this ahead. My colleagues talk very
calmly about what can be a useful tool in so many areas. From my
experiences in agriculture, I have learned that we now have the remote
sensing capability that we are really not using to predict insect
infestation, to predict how the yields are going to accommodate the
demand for food in this world. So with useful information of satellites
and assisted land set help from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and
our university of systems, so many things that we can do to make sure
that we can plan ahead for such things as drought or insects or low
production in certain parts of the world so we can accommodate
increased production in other areas.
So I commend my colleagues for moving this bill ahead; I hope we will
pass and, more than that, I hope we will eventually have the kind of
funding so that we can maximize the use of these tools and techniques.
Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. ROHRABACHER. Mr. Speaker, I have no other speakers. I would just
close by again congratulating my colleague, the gentleman from Colorado
(Mr. Udall); and I would like to thank him for the many hours of hard
work he has put in to getting the bill to the floor like this. In this
Congress, during this wartime has not been an easy thing. He has put in
a lot of time and effort, and he is to be commended for it.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R.
2426, the Remote Sensing Applications Act. This good common sense
legislation will not cost much, but will enable us to extract huge
benefits from programs that already exist.
Geospatial satellite data is expensive. Usually when groups present
in the Science Committee with communications or surveillance needs, we
immediately start talking about hundreds of millions, or even billions
of dollars in potential funding. However, once those satellites are
successfully deployed, the data they collect and transmit back is
invaluable. It just makes sense that we milk every bit of useful
information out of that data, and get it to the American people who pay
for it. H.R. 2426 will do just that.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the world leader
in space and satellite technology, and commercial space entities in the
U.S. are driving an exciting and growing international sector of space-
based industry. From the networks of satellites produced by these
groups stream a wealth of data, that needs to be put to work. Countless
groups are already lining up to start taking advantage of it. For
example, the American Planning Association endorses the Remote Sensing
Applications Act, because it will enable them to visualize changes in
patters of urban development, and to plan emergency procedures
accordingly. Environmental groups and ecologists are excited because
they may be able to access the best images available to follow changes
in our coastlines and our forests. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce
supports this bill, because possibilities for the commercial use of
geospatial data are nearly limitless. Legislation like this will most-
likely lead to a new generation of consumer products--maps, weather
information, land-management systems, etcetera--that will improve the
lives of Americans.
H.R. 2426 will bring about these great changes by establishing a
program of grants to fund pilot projects meant to bridge the gap
between remote sensing technology, and the needs of the public.
Project-proposals would be reviewed and funded on a competitive basis.
To ensure that the pilot projects would be fruitful, the Administrator
would give preference to projects that make use of existing data sets,
integrate data in innovative ways, involve collaborations with and
contributions from non-federal sources, and demonstrate good potential
for future public sector applications. I have long felt that
collaborations with NASA could be of great use in increasing homeland
security by improving our nation's cyber- and satellite-security. In
that same spirit, H.R. 2426 takes advantage of the great technology and
expertise at NASA, and uses it to the betterment of the nation.
[[Page H6907]]
The bill would authorize $15 million for each of fiscal years 2002
through 2006. This is a bargain considering the potential benefits of
the program. I strongly support H.R. 2426, The Remote Sensing
Application Act.
Mr. BOEHLERT. Mr. Speaker, I submit the following correspondence:
House of Representatives,
Committee on Science,
Washington, DC September 30, 2002.
The Hon. J. Dennis Hastert,
Office of the Speaker, House of Representatives, Washington,
DC.
Dear Speaker Hastert: I am writing to inform you that the
Committee on Science has discharged from further
consideration H.R. 2426, the ``Remote Sensing Applications
Act of 2002.'' H.R. 2426 was referred to this Committee on
June 28, 2001.
Sincerely,
Sherwood L. Boehlert,
Chairman.
Mr. ROHRABACHER. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Grucci). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from California (Mr. Rohrabacher) that the
House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2426, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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