IIB 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2489 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
OCTOBER 28, 2009 
Received 
DECEMBER 24, 2009 
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation 
AN ACT 
To authorize a national cooperative geospatial imagery pro-
gram through the United States Geological Survey to 
promote use of remote sensing data. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Land Remote 
Sensing Outreach Act’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Program’’ means 
the National Land Remote Sensing Outreach Pro-
gram established in section 3. 
(2) EDUCATIONAL
INSTITUTION.—The term 
‘‘educational institution’’ means any public or pri-
vate elementary or secondary school, or any institu-
tion of vocational, professional, or higher education 
(including a junior college or teachers’ college). 
(3) 
GEOSPATIAL
IMAGERY.—The 
term 
‘‘geospatial imagery’’— 
(A) means satellite land remote sensing 
image data registered to map or other spatial 
coordinates derived from features on the 
ground; and 
(B) includes a wide range of graphical 
products that convey information about natural 
phenomena and human activities occurring on 
Earth’s surface. 
(4) IMAGE
DATA.—The term ‘‘image data’’ 
means the raw, unprocessed form of data captured 
from a sensing instrument. 
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(5) LAND REMOTE SENSING.—The term ‘‘land 
remote sensing’’ means image data of land, coastal 
areas, or islands and reefs acquired from above the 
surface of the Earth by instruments on satellite plat-
forms. 
(6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of the Interior. 
(7) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means— 
(A) each of the several States of the 
United States; 
(B) the District of Columbia; 
(C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 
(D) Guam; 
(E) American Samoa; 
(F) the Commonwealth of the Northern 
Mariana Islands; and 
(G) the United States Virgin Islands. 
(8) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 
has the same meaning given that term in section 
4(e) of the Indian Self-Determination and Education 
Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b(e)). 
SEC. 3. NATIONAL LAND REMOTE SENSING OUTREACH 
PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish and 
maintain a national land remote sensing outreach program 
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within the U.S. Geological Survey to advance the avail-
ability, timely distribution, and widespread use of 
geospatial imagery for education, research, assessment, 
and monitoring purposes in each State and the lands of 
an Indian tribe. 
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the program are— 
(1) to increase accessibility to, and expand the 
use of, remote sensing data in a standard, easy-to- 
use format by Federal, State, local, and tribal gov-
ernments, communities, educational institutions, and 
the commercial sector; and 
(2) to assist each participating State and In-
dian tribe in establishing the cooperative infrastruc-
ture necessary to increase access to geospatial im-
agery for research and educational purposes. 
(c) ACTIVITIES.— 
(1) NATIONAL
LAND
REMOTE
SENSING
OUT-
REACH PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall— 
(A) support geospatial imagery sharing, 
applied research, and educational programs of 
each participating State and Indian tribe; 
(B) identify new geospatial imagery needs 
and infrastructure; 
(C) share and cooperate in the develop-
ment of geospatial imagery applications, edu-
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cation, and training infrastructure in each par-
ticipating State and the lands of an Indian 
tribe; 
(D) cooperate with participating States 
and Indian tribes to encourage the expansion of 
geospatial imagery mapping courses taught at 
appropriate educational institutions; 
(E) encourage expansion of geospatial im-
agery research at appropriate educational insti-
tutions; 
(F) encourage expansion of the knowledge 
and use of geospatial imagery products in the 
workforce through outreach programs, work-
shops, and other training opportunities; 
(G) encourage participating States and In-
dian tribes to build partnerships with local gov-
ernments to identify unique research and devel-
opment needs and geospatial imagery applica-
tion pilot programs; 
(H) promote cooperation and sharing of 
expertise regarding geospatial imagery applica-
tions among participating States and Indian 
tribes; and 
(I) provide a mechanism to enable the 
States and Indian tribes to transfer geospatial 
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imagery and applications to the U.S. Geological 
Survey as appropriate. 
(2) GRANTS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is au-
thorized to provide grants to qualified edu-
cational institutions, or to State, local, and trib-
al governments, or to consortia of these entities, 
on a competitive basis to— 
(i) advance the interest of the Federal 
Government in promoting the use of im-
agery by educational institutions, States, 
localities, and Indian tribes; and 
(ii) achieve the purposes of the Pro-
gram described in section 3(b). 
(B) MATCHING FUNDS.— 
(i) IN GENERAL.—The Federal share 
of the cost of each program for which a 
grant is made under this Act may not ex-
ceed 75 percent of the total cost of the 
program. 
(ii) NON-FEDERAL CONTRIBUTION.— 
In providing the non-Federal contribution 
required under this paragraph, a grantee— 
(I) shall provide for such share 
through a payment in cash or in kind, 
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fairly evaluated, including facilities, 
equipment, technology, or services; 
and 
(II) may provide for such share 
through 
State 
sources 
or 
local 
sources, including private funds or do-
nated services. 
(iii) WAIVER.—The Secretary may 
waive the requirements of subparagraph 
(B), in whole or in part, with respect to 
any program if the Secretary determines 
that the grantee has made a good faith ef-
fort to obtain the non-Federal contribution 
at the local level but is unable to do so. 
(3) 
FEDERAL
PARTNER
ADVISORY
COM-
MITTEE.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall es-
tablish and maintain a committee to advise the 
Director of the U.S. Geological Survey regard-
ing the Program. 
(B) MEMBERSHIP
AND
APPOINTMENT.— 
The advisory committee under subparagraph 
(A) shall be chaired by the U.S. Geological Sur-
vey and composed of such representatives of 
Federal and State agencies, tribal governments, 
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and educational institutions as the Secretary 
may designate. 
SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec-
retary $10,000,000 to carry out this Act for each of fiscal 
years 2010 through 2019. 
SEC. 5. SUNSET DATE. 
This Act is repealed on the date that is 10 years after 
the date of the enactment of this Act. 
Passed the House of Representatives October 27, 
2009. 
Attest: 
LORRAINE C. MILLER, 
Clerk. 
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