“Some of the problems the legislation we are discussing today seeks to address are in fact a result of the early mapping techniques employed by the General Land Office and other federal agencies that may have been state of the art 200 or even 50 years ago but have been overtaken by modern technology and practices,” said Subcommittee Chairman Doug Lamborn (CO-05).  “Using the private sector for this purpose leaves more resources for infrastructure projects such as highways, airports and addressing the maintenance backlog in our National Parks and other federal facilities.”

Witnesses spoke about the importance of updating federal land mapping practices for job creation, additional use of public lands and scientific advancements.

Brian Raber, Vice President for Geospatial Solutions at Merrick and Company, testified about the ready and willing employment opportunities for geospatial jobs, “We estimate that more than 100,000 geospatial-related jobs currently exist in Colorado.  Geospatial jobs are in demand as they are high paying, high tech, and high quality.”  Raber also talked about the importance of H.R. 4233. “Geospatial data should become as common places in the process of government as word processing software.  Your bill takes a giant step towards that goal...the result would be more private sector jobs, a smaller and more efficient government, a more robust private sector economy, and lower cost of carrying out government programs.”

John M. Palatiello, Management Association for Private Photogrammetric Surveyors (MAPPS) Executive Director, spoke to the Subcommittee about a lack of knowledge and coordination by the federal government on geospatial activities, “There is a critical need to reorganize Federal geospatial activities...The fact is the Federal government does not know what it owns, where it owns it, what condition it is in, what its appraised or market value is.”  Palatiello mentioned the importance of the federal government having accurate knowledge of the land the government owns, “An accurate inventory is an important feature of good land management.  Proper conservation, recreation and multiple use activities are dependent on accurate information about the government’s land ownership.”  

Leonard Gilroy , Director of Government Reform for the Reason Foundation, spoke about the economic benefits to proper geospatial organization, “Considering the nation’s ongoing economic challenges, the government should take proactive steps to maximize the value of its resources, ensure efficient management and enable private sector economic growth through asset divestiture.”  Gilroy noted that this should be an issue that everyone can support, “Real property management is not a partisan issue, nor is it an issue of spending priorities. It is an issue of good governance and fiscal responsibility.”

Legislation considered in the hearing:

H.R. 4233 (Lamborn), To improve efficiency in the area of federal map making and enhance the use of geospatial data, products, technology, and services, to increase the economy and efficiency of Federal geospatial activities, "Map It Once, Use It Many Times Act"

H.R. 1620  (Kind), To improve Federal land management, resource conservation, environmental protection, and use of Federal real property, by requiring the Secretary of the Interior to develop a multipurpose cadastre of Federal real property and identifying inaccurate, duplicate, and out-of-date Federal land inventories, and for other purposes. "Federal Land Asset Inventory Reform Act of 2011"

Excerpts from Congressman Lamborn’s opening statement:

Sometimes the agencies are mapping the same area not once but maybe two or three times over rather than sharing information or coordinating to make sure all the geospatial requirements to meet a group of agencies needs be collected in one survey contract.

In other instances agencies are acquiring equipment – such as planes, ships or computer equipment – instead of contracting with private sector companies that are set up to conduct state of the art geospatial surveys. 

In fact my state of Colorado is proud to be home to many outstanding geospatial and mapping companies and surveyors ready and willing to work with the federal government to meet their geospatial surveying requirements.

Using the private sector for this purpose leaves more resources for infrastructure projects such as highways, airports and addressing the maintenance backlog in our National Parks and other federal facilities.
 

To view entire opening statement, as prepared, click here.

BACKGROUND:

The hearing will focus on the federal government’s mapping and geospatial management programs. The Oversight portion of the hearing will focus on federal data reliability and management. Advances in mapping technology and demands for mapping products have created greater demand in the federal government for geospatial services. However, the coordination between agencies often fails to produce the best information for the best price. Frequently, multiple federal agencies will request mapping of the same area at the same time, wasting federal resources, and taxpayer dollars.

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