[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 170 (Wednesday, September 29, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6787-S6788]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 397--RECOGNIZING THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE NATIONAL 
                     GEOSPATIAL-INTELLIGENCE AGENCY

  Mr. WARNER (for himself, Mr. Rubio, and Mr. Blunt) submitted the 
following resolution; which was considered and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 397

       Whereas, in an effort to improve the imagery intelligence, 
     mapping, and geodesy capabilities of the United States, the 
     National Imagery and Mapping Agency, the predecessor of the 
     National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (in this preamble 
     referred to as the ``NGA''), was founded on October 1, 1996, 
     with the enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act 
     for Fiscal Year 1997;
       Whereas the NGA derives from legacy agencies, including the 
     Defense Mapping Agency, the Central Imagery Office, the 
     Defense Dissemination Program Office, the National 
     Photographic Interpretation Center, and parts of the Defense 
     Intelligence Agency, the National Reconnaissance Office, and 
     the Defense Airborne Reconnaissance Office, which played 
     vital roles in the defense of the United States in conflicts 
     dating back to World War II and modernized the discipline of 
     geospatial intelligence (in this preamble referred to as 
     ``GEOINT'') through imagery analysis and mapping production;
       Whereas, with military and civilian employees serving at 
     NGA headquarters in Springfield, Virginia, the NGA West 
     Campus in St. Louis, Missouri, and additional locations 
     throughout the United States, and personnel deployed 
     worldwide, totaling more than 200 locations in more than 25 
     countries, NGA produces timely and relevant mapping, 
     charting, geomatics, and intelligence products to 
     warfighters, first responders, civil authorities, 
     policymakers, and the maritime and aviation communities;
       Whereas, throughout its 25-year history, the NGA has 
     provided world-class GEOINT support to policymakers and 
     military commanders of the United States, in times of peace 
     and conflict, during significant national security, 
     humanitarian assistance, and disaster relief efforts, 
     including--
       (1) the operation that resulted in the killing of former al 
     Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden;
       (2) operational GEOINT support in the space warfighting 
     domain;
       (3) safety of navigation support for mariners and pilots;
       (4) support to search and rescue, response, and recovery 
     efforts for hurricanes, cyclones, wildfires, and other 
     humanitarian disasters domestically and internationally;
       (5) countering drug trafficking and other illicit 
     activities by transnational criminal organizations; and
       (6) continued mission support to forward-deployed members 
     of the Armed Forces across the globe;
       Whereas, since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, 
     the men and women of the NGA have worked diligently to deter, 
     detect, and prevent acts of terror by providing GEOINT 
     support to United States and coalition forces in support of 
     global counterterrorism and counterinsurgency operations;
       Whereas the NGA continues to support national security 
     requirements against the strategic competitors and potential 
     adversaries of the United States, using new intelligence, 
     surveillance, and reconnaissance sensors;
       Whereas the topographic mission of the NGA traces its 
     lineage to the year 1777 with the Office of the Geography in 
     the Continental Army;
       Whereas NGA continues to provide integrated geographic 
     data, products, and services in support of the national 
     security objectives of the United States Government by--
       (1) maintaining more than 51,000 topographic maps in 
     support of global combat operations, humanitarian assistance, 
     disaster relief, and military training;
       (2) serving as the official geographic names steward for 
     the United States Government, providing customers with more 
     than 13,000,000 names;
       (3) assisting in the understanding and resolution of 
     sovereignty issues by providing international land and 
     maritime boundaries in coordination with the Department of 
     State;
       (4) generating human geography data that informs a global 
     understanding of the human environment; and
       (5) producing unclassified geospatial information in 
     support of national and partner efforts in the Arctic and to 
     enable scientific research in the Arctic region;
       Whereas the NGA is the primary organization responsible for 
     developing, maintaining, and enhancing the World Geodetic 
     System 84 (including the Terrestrial Reference Frame, Earth 
     Gravity Model, and World Magnetic Model), the foundation of 
     all positioning, navigation, and timing systems supporting 
     the Department of Defense, including the Global Positioning 
     System;
       Whereas the NGA spearheaded an international project with 
     the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to acquire 
     radar data to create the first near-global, homogeneous set 
     of land elevation data;
       Whereas, during an 11-day mission in February 2000, the 
     Shuttle Radar Topography Mission flew aboard the space 
     shuttle Endeavour and collected radar data on more

[[Page S6788]]

     than 80 percent of the land surface of the Earth at 30-meter 
     resolution;
       Whereas the NGA carries on the proud legacy of this project 
     with the evolution to full 3-dimensional-elevation modeling;
       Whereas the Maritime Safety Office of the NGA, which traces 
     its lineage to the year 1830, collects and analyzes data for 
     and publishes the Notices to Mariners to provide government, 
     civilian, and international mariners with vital, up-to-date 
     maritime safety information that helps ensure safe navigation 
     all over the world;
       Whereas the NGA also supports military and commercial 
     vessels worldwide with navigational products and warning 
     messages;
       Whereas, in addition to legacy paper charts, NGA provides 
     worldwide digital nautical charts that ensure safety of 
     navigation to a broad base of users;
       Whereas the Aeronautical Navigation Office of the NGA, 
     which traces its lineage to the year 1943, produces timely, 
     relevant, and accurate aeronautical GEOINT to support more 
     than 13,000 Department of Defense airplanes and their crew 
     members, allowing them to safely navigate around the world 
     every day;
       Whereas the NGA has converted from paper maps to 
     downloadable digital maps and content, reducing the gear that 
     pilots need to carry while also ensuring that the Department 
     of Defense meets global airspace mandates for performance-
     based navigation;
       Whereas the NGA continues to innovate, pursuing new methods 
     of intelligence collection and analysis to inform, 
     complement, and add to the support of warfighter and 
     policymaker requirements by--
       (1) embracing innovative cost-sharing and risk-sharing 
     constructs with the commercial electro-optical satellite 
     industry;
       (2) engaging commercial technology providers, including 
     small satellite companies and geospatial data analytics 
     companies, that hold the promise of rapid technological 
     innovation and potential significant future cost savings to 
     the taxpayers of the United States;
       (3) leveraging emerging technologies, such as artificial 
     intelligence, automation, and augmentation to enable advanced 
     computational and intelligence capabilities;
       (4) discovering, assessing, and integrating new commercial 
     geospatial data types and services that bring value to 
     solving the complex intelligence problems of the United 
     States and supporting disadvantaged and underserved users 
     operating in austere environments; and
       (5) investing in breakthrough technologies and capabilities 
     that will strengthen strategic warning, mission forecasting, 
     and military intelligence and improve the means of navigation 
     for NGA customers;
       Whereas the NGA maintains United States GEOINT supremacy 
     and hold the adversaries of the United States at bay by 
     giving primacy to the core missions of the United States, 
     serves as the world's premier GEOINT force, and pursues a 
     whole-of-enterprise approach focused on--
       (1) recruiting and training the world-class workforce of 
     the NGA to lead the GEOINT community;
       (2) collaborating with both foreign and domestic partners 
     on co-production of GEOINT;
       (3) leading the GEOINT community through the implementation 
     of governance, standards, and enterprise services; and
       (4) supporting the national security interests of the 
     United States by delivering to NGA customers persistent, 
     accurate, secure, and timely GEOINT data, products, and 
     services; and
       Whereas, throughout the years, the mission and commitment 
     of the NGA has remained the same: to show the way by--
       (1) delivering trusted GEOINT for decision advantage;
       (2) protecting the United States by reducing strategic 
     surprises; and
       (3) elevating the understanding of the United States of the 
     world and space to anticipate potential threats: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) congratulates the women and men of the National 
     Geospatial-Intelligence Agency on the occasion of the 25th 
     anniversary of the Agency;
       (2) honors the professional women and men, past and 
     present, of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency for 
     their selfless service and dedication to the United States; 
     and
       (3) expresses gratitude to all the women and men of the 
     National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency for their past and 
     continued efforts to provide timely and accurate geospatial-
     intelligence support to deliver overwhelming advantage to 
     warfighters, defense planners, and defense and national 
     security policymakers in the defense and security of the 
     United States.

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