[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 85 (Tuesday, May 21, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S3011]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





 SENATE RESOLUTION 216--RECOGNIZING THE CONTRIBUTIONS MADE BY THE MEN 
   AND WOMEN OF THE AIR FORCE WHO ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR OPERATING AND 
 MAINTAINING THE GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM CONSTELLATION AND AFFIRMING 
   THE IMPORTANCE OF CONTINUOUS AVAILABILITY, ACCURACY, EFFICIENCY, 
   ROBUSTNESS, RELIABILITY, AND RESILIENCY OF THE GLOBAL POSITIONING 
                          SYSTEM CONSTELLATION

  Ms. DUCKWORTH (for herself, Ms. Ernst, Mr. Merkley, and Ms. Hassan) 
submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 216

       Whereas the Global Positioning System (referred to in this 
     preamble as ``GPS'') offers both military and civilian 
     benefits of positioning, navigation, and timing services;
       Whereas the GPS constellation is managed and operated by 
     the Air Force and consists of more than 30 satellites 
     operating at an altitude of approximately 12,550 miles above 
     the Earth;
       Whereas GPS precision timing allows for accurate record 
     management by major financial institutions, including 
     detailed transaction management for large and small 
     businesses;
       Whereas GPS has proven to be an essential tool in 
     facilitating social and economic activity around the world;
       Whereas consumers overwhelmingly access GPS using a variety 
     of platforms, such as smartphones and a wireless broadband 
     connection;
       Whereas cities leverage GPS applications to support Smart 
     Cities initiatives that will increase service efficiency, 
     resulting in savings in time and money for taxpayers;
       Whereas first responders use GPS to enable more timely and 
     accurate disaster response and improve situational awareness 
     and to identify the location of 9-1-1 calls made from 
     wireless phones;
       Whereas the safety of the rail systems in the United States 
     is improved by implementing GPS-based positive train control 
     systems;
       Whereas GPS-enabled applications and services enhance the 
     independence of individuals with visual impairments;
       Whereas marine operations depend on GPS for precise 
     navigation as well as for determining location and measuring 
     speed;
       Whereas the land surveying and mapping sector uses GPS to 
     produce data that is more accurate and reliable;
       Whereas GPS-based time synchronization assists power and 
     utility companies in providing efficient power transmission 
     and distribution;
       Whereas smart grid infrastructure is increasingly reliant 
     on GPS for synchronization and system resilience;
       Whereas GPS supports autonomous vehicle development by 
     complementing embedded vehicle sensors to determine precise 
     vehicle location and improving safety;
       Whereas the Federal Aviation Administration relies on GPS 
     to improve all aspects of aviation safety and efficiency, 
     including by providing greater precision and accuracy in all 
     phases of flight;
       Whereas GPS is also essential for enabling the Next 
     Generation Air Transportation system;
       Whereas the Federal Aviation Administration relies on GPS 
     to improve aviation safety by synchronizing reporting of 
     hazardous weather with 45 Terminal Doppler Weather Radars; 
     and
       Whereas economic contributions by GPS include the 
     following:
       (1) In 2013, GPS provided economic benefits with a mid-
     range estimated value of approximately $68,700,000,000 or 0.4 
     percent of the gross domestic product of the United States.
       (2) The Department of Homeland Security identifies GPS as 
     essential to 14 of the 16 industries that are classified as 
     part of the nation's critical infrastructure.
       (3) In 2013, GPS-enabled precision agriculture was 
     estimated to save grain farmers 10 to 15 percent in operating 
     costs and purchased inputs and the broad economic benefit of 
     precision agriculture in grain farming was estimated to 
     provide a mid-range benefit of $13,700,000,000.
       (4) In 2013, GPS-enabled surveying was estimated to produce 
     a mid-range economic benefit of $11,600,000,000.
       (5) Globally, 3,600,000,000 Global Navigation Satellite 
     System devices were in use in 2014, 450,000,000 of which were 
     in North America.
       (6) In 2012, the Boston Consulting Group estimated that the 
     geospatial services ecosystem, which is supported by GPS, 
     drove $1,600,000,000,000 in revenues and $1,400,000,000,000 
     in cost savings throughout the United States economy.
       (7) GPS-enabled internet publishing, broadcasting, and 
     search portals accounted for $170,781,000,000 in revenue in 
     2017 and supported over 275,000 jobs in 2017.
       (8) GPS enables location-based services that will enhance 
     the over $568,470,000,000 app economy, supporting an 
     estimated 5,744,481 jobs across the United States in 2018.
       (9) GPS has proven to be essential to the foundation of the 
     ridesharing industry accessed on smartphones, valued by one 
     estimate to be over $61,000,000,000: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate recognizes--
       (1) the contributions made by the men and women of the Air 
     Force who are responsible for operating and maintaining the 
     Global Positioning System constellation;
       (2) the valuable contributions made by the Department of 
     Transportation in coordinating interactions with the civil 
     users of the Global Positioning System; and
       (3) the importance of continuous availability, accuracy, 
     efficiency, robustness, reliability, and resiliency of the 
     Global Positioning System constellation.

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