IV 118th CONGRESS 1st Session H. RES. 868 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES November 14, 2023 Mr. Curtis (for himself and Mr. Aguilar ) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology RESOLUTION Expressing support for the designation of November 15, 2023, as National GIS Day .

Whereas the management, use, and exchange of geographic information and geospatial data and analysis are essential for operations and decision making in Federal agencies and private enterprise; Whereas Geographic Information System technology (referred to in this preamble as GIS ) embraces new and innovative ways to use, discover, and share geospatial data through online portals and web services; Whereas GIS facilitates the sharing of geographic data, services, and maps within a digital domain; Whereas GIS helps provide shared and trusted geospatial data, services, and applications for use by— (1) the public; (2) private enterprise; and (3) government agencies and partners of government agencies to meet their mission needs; Whereas GIS helps foster collaboration and partnerships in the advancement of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (referred to in this preamble as the NSDI ); Whereas GIS provides a common framework for the Federal Government, State, Tribal, and local governments, non-Federal partners, communities, constituents, professional bodies for standards, data catalogs, partnerships, and tools that make up the NSDI; Whereas GIS is used to investigate and address societal and cultural issues, including— (1) local issues; (2) global issues; (3) issues from the past; (4) issues in the present; and (5) potential future issues identified through modeling; Whereas GIS professionals store and manage their data in new ways given that high accuracy global positioning (GPS) technology has evolved greatly over decades, with 2023 also marking the 50th anniversary of GPS providing America and the world innumerable and incalculable benefits; Whereas GIS and related geospatial technologies are used in classrooms to engage students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning; Whereas GIS is an interdisciplinary tool used by students, teachers, researchers, universities, local institutions, and practitioners in numerous fields and disciplines; Whereas GIS fosters competition within the sector of geospatial technologies, which is considered a high-growth industry by the Department of Labor; and Whereas many Federal agencies, State and local government agencies, nonprofit organizations, schools, libraries, companies in private enterprise, and universities will join with others around the world to showcase their GIS mapping and geospatial applications on November 15, 2023: Now, therefore, be it

That the House of Representatives— (1) supports the designation of National GIS Day ; and (2) encourages users of Geographic Information System technology (referred to in this resolving clause as GIS ), educators, students, and innovators to continue to employ GIS to— (A) learn and explore; (B) analyze and address societal challenges; and (C) drive economic growth for the betterment of the people of the United States and individuals around the world.