IB 
Union Calendar No. 243
108TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 1292
[Report No. 108–423] 
To encourage the development and integrated use by the public and private 
sectors of remote sensing and other geospatial information, and for 
other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 13, 2003
Mr. UDALL of Colorado (for himself and Mr. PICKERING) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science 
FEBRUARY 18, 2004
Additional sponsors: Mr. ROHRABACHER, Mr. BOEHLERT, Ms. JACKSON-LEE 
of Texas, and Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania 
FEBRUARY 18, 2004
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on March 13, 2003] 
A BILL 
To encourage the development and integrated use by the 
public and private sectors of remote sensing and other 
geospatial information, and for other purposes.
HR 1292 RH 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Remote Sensing Appli-
cations Act of 2004’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds that—
(1) although urban land use planning, growth 
management, and other functions of State, local, re-
gional, and tribal agencies are rightfully within their 
jurisdiction, the Federal Government can and should 
play an important role in the development and dem-
onstration of innovative techniques to improve com-
prehensive land use planning and growth manage-
ment; 
(2) the United States is making a major invest-
ment 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
HR 1292 RH 
of enormous assistance to Federal, State, local, re-
gional, and tribal agencies for urban land use plan-
ning, 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 devel-
oping important new applications of integrated sets 
of geospatial information to address societal needs; 
(6) the full range of applications of remote sens-
ing and other forms of geospatial information to 
meeting public sector requirements has not been ade-
quately 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 pro-
mote the development of United States commercial re-
mote sensing capabilities; 
(8) many State, local, regional, tribal, and Fed-
eral 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) even when aware of the utility of remote 
sensing and geospatial technologies in the area of
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wildland fire management to detect and monitor a 
wildland fire in real-time from the early stages of fire
growth, many State, local, regional, and tribal agen-
cies are hampered by a lack of overall strategy guid-
ing interagency management of resources and tech-
nology, according to a September 2003 Government 
Accounting Office report; 
(10) remote sensing and other geospatial infor-
mation, especially when used in a coordinated ap-
proach, can be particularly useful to State, local, re-
gional, and tribal agencies in the area of urban plan-
ning, especially in their efforts to plan for and man-
age the impacts of growth, development, and sprawl, 
as well as in wildland fire management and environ-
mental impact and disaster relief planning and man-
agement; 
(11) the National Aeronautics and Space Ad-
ministration, in coordination with other agencies, can 
play a unique role in demonstrating how data ac-
quired 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
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(12) in addition, the National Aeronautics and 
Space Administration, in conjunction with other 
agencies, can play a unique role 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 Admin-
istrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Ad-
ministration; 
(2) the term ‘‘geospatial information’’ means 
knowledge of the nature and distribution of physical 
and cultural features on the landscape based on anal-
ysis 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)).
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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 infor-
mation, 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 enti-
ties 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.
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(c) OPPORTUNITIES.—In carrying out this section, the 
Administrator shall seek opportunities to assist—
(1) in the development of commercial applica-
tions potentially available from the remote sensing in-
dustry; 
(2) State, local, regional, and tribal agencies in 
applying remote sensing and other geospatial infor-
mation technologies for growth management; and 
(3) State, local, regional, and tribal agencies in 
obtaining and utilizing satellite, aviation, and sensor 
capabilities for wildland fire detection, analysis, and 
observation. 
(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 sub-
section (a) shall transmit a report to the Administrator on 
the results of the pilot project within 180 days of the com-
pletion of that project. 
(f) WORKSHOP.—Each recipient of a grant under sub-
section (a) shall, not later than 180 days after the comple-
tion 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.
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(g) REGULATIONS.—The Administrator shall issue reg-
ulations establishing application, selection, and implemen-
tation procedures for pilot projects, and guidelines for re-
ports 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 ad-
visory committee shall consult with the Federal Geographic 
Data Committee and other appropriate industry represent-
atives 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 De-
cember 31, 2008, 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 con-
ducted by an independent entity.
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SEC. 6. DATA AVAILABILITY. 
The Administrator shall ensure that the results of each 
of the pilot projects completed under section 4 shall be re-
trievable through an electronic, Internet-accessible database. 
SEC. 7. EDUCATION. 
The Administrator shall establish an educational out-
reach program to increase awareness at institutions of high-
er 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. REPORT. 
Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the National Aeronautics and Space Adminis-
tration shall submit to Congress a report on how agencies 
are implementing the recommendations contained in the 
September 2003 General Accounting Office report entitled
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‘‘Geospatial Information: Technologies Hold Promise for 
Wildland Fire Management, but Challenges Remain’’. 
SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Admin-
istrator $15,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2005 
through 2009 to carry out this Act.
Union Calendar No. 243
108TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 1292
[Report No. 108–423] 
A BILL 
To encourage the development and integrated use 
by the public and private sectors of remote sens-
ing and other geospatial information, and for 
other purposes. 
FEBRUARY 18, 2004
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Com-
mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 
and ordered to be printed