You are browsing the archive for Congress.

MAPPS Commends Reintroduction of “Map it Once, Use it Many Times” Act in Congress

May 2, 2013 in Business, Geomatics, GNSS, GPS, Land Surveying, News, Professional Land Surveyor Practice

News

NEWS

MAPPS (www.mapps.org), the national association for private sector geospatial firms, today commended Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO) for reintroducing H.R. 1604, the “Map It Once, Use It Many Times” Act on April 17.

H.R. 1604 is intended to reform, consolidate, and reorganize federal geospatial activities. Recently, a number of Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports have identified duplicative and a lack of coordination in federal geospatial activities. This bill provides a priority-setting mechanism to enhance the use of geospatial data, products, technology, and services for federal agencies, Congress and non-federal stakeholders.

“This legislation will save money, make government more efficient, and eliminate not only government agency duplication of one another, but government duplication of and competition with private enterprise. Use of the private sector for geospatial data, technology and services is important to national economic growth and job creation, and is of particular interest to Colorado given the significant concentration of firms doing this work in our state,” said Congressman Doug Lamborn (CO-05).

Read the rest of this entry →

Professional Land Surveyor Weekly Roundup February 12, 2012

February 12, 2012 in Associate Membership, Business, Geomatics, GNSS, GPS, Land Surveying, Land Surveying Equipment, Links, News, Topcon, Trimble

Iron Rod with Cap under a Bucket

Iron Rod with Cap under a Bucket

Professional Land Surveyor Weekly Roundup:

Professional Land Surveyor Archive – Last 3 weeks:

Congress Told LightSquared Network Would Cripple GPS Air Traffic Navigation System

February 11, 2012 in Associate Membership, Business, Geomatics, GNSS, GPS, Land Surveying, Land Surveying Equipment, Links, News, Technology Videos, Videos

Chairman Thomas Petri's Opening Statement at GPS Hearing

Chairman Thomas Petri's Opening Statement at GPS Hearing

THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON AVIATION HEARING EXAMINES GPS USE IN AVIATION INDUSTRY

On Wednesday, February 8, The Subcommittee on Aviation held a hearing to review of issues associated with protecting and improving our nation’s aviation satellite-based global positioning system infrastructure.

Here’s are interesting statements by the Honorable John Porcari, Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation:

GPS is at the center of FAA’s Next Gen air traffic control modernization program, which will optimize air traffic controller performance, consolidate obsolete facilities, enhance safety improvements, and improve operational efficiency of the national airspace system. The Honorable John Porcari, Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation, testified to the benefits of NextGen this morning: “The FAA and industry have invested as much as $8 billion into NextGen. The FAA conservatively estimates that the benefits of NextGen will total $23 billion by 2018 and over $120 billion by 2030.”

Porcari added, “In addition to the transportation applications I mentioned, GPS is essential for the operations of first responders, search and rescue, resource management, weather tracking and prediction, earthquake monitoring, national security, and critical infrastructure such as dams and power plants, financial transactions, surveying and mapping, and industries such as precision agriculture, where the ability to fertilize plants with centimeter-level accuracy increases conservation, reduces waste run-off, and saves American farmers up to $14-30 billion, annually.”

Watch the GPS Hearing Opening Statement Video Read the rest of this entry →

ACSM Congress Votes to Disband at ACSM and Survey Summit 2011

July 22, 2011 in Associate Membership, Business, Land Surveying, News

Split up

Point of Unity or Divergence? Source: Ian Sane, Flickr.

At this past ACSM and Survey Summit 2011, the American Congress on Surveying & Mapping (ACSM) Congress voted to disband. There has been much speculation about whether, or how, ACSM would continue to exist.

The ACSM Congress approved the following motion: Read the rest of this entry →

ACSM Lobby Day Webinar Rebroadcast

July 29, 2010 in Associate Membership, Business, Land Surveying, Professional Land Surveyor Practice

ACSM - American Congress on Surveying & Mapping Logo

ACSM

ACSM Lobby Day Webinar Rebroadcast

Join the American Congress on Surveying & Mapping (ACSM) for a Webinar on August 3, 2010. This Lobby Day Webinar, originally broadcast on June 22, discusses useful tips for ACSM members in securing and attending meetings with your Members of Congress.

You may or may not be aware that ACSM is not having a Lobby Day on Capitol Hill this year, and instead is asking ACSM members to visit their Representatives and Senators during summer recess, from August 9 to September 9. In addition to the tips found in this Webinar, you will also find the following three issues that ACSM would like you to specifically discuss with your Representatives and Senators during the recess:

  1. Preservation of Railroad Monumentation.
  2. Repeal of the 3% Withholding Tax on Government Contracts.
  3. Federal Funding for Trig-Star.

Read the rest of this entry →

Professional Land Surveyor News: MAPPS Seeks Legislation in Congress to Authorize “Imagery For The Nation”

March 9, 2010 in Associate Membership, Business, Land Surveying, Laser Scanning, News

Professional Land Surveyor News

Professional Land Surveyor News

MAPPS Seeks Legislation in Congress to Authorize “Imagery for the Nation” “Making America Prosperous (MAP) Act” Would Create National Geospatial Image Maps

A bill to authorize the program known within the geospatial community as “Imagery for the Nation” is being presented for introduction in Congress, MAPPS announced today.

“‘Map it once, use it many times’ is not only a mantra in the geospatial community, but it is technologically feasible through the use of satellite and aerial imagery and geographic information systems. To save tax dollars, create private sector jobs, and provide baseline geographic data for economic development and a variety of other applications beneficial to government programs and private business and investment, MAPPS is urging Congress to authorize and fund a program of geospatial image maps of the United States through a bill known as the Making America Prosperous Act, or MAP Act,” said Jeff Lovin, PS,CP, (Woolpert, Inc, Dayton, OH) MAPPS President.

Read the rest of this entry →

Professional Land Surveyor News: FEMA Announces That eLOMA Is Available Again

March 4, 2010 in Associate Membership, Business, FEMA, Land Surveying, News, Surveying Software

Professional Land Surveyor News

Professional Land Surveyor News

FEMA Announces That eLOMA Is Available Again

The other day I told you FEMA announced that the eLOMA process was temporarily unavailable. Also, FEMA would not be issuing Letters of Map Amendment (LOMA).

This was because Congress did not reauthorize funding for FEMA, along with other programs such as extension of the current highway bill and funding for extending federal unemployment benefits, the National Flood Insurance Program’s authorities expired on February 28, 2010.

Read the rest of this entry →

Professional Land Surveyor News: FEMA Announces That eLOMA Is Temporarily Unavailable

March 2, 2010 in Associate Membership, Business, FEMA, Land Surveying, News, Surveying Software

Professional Land Surveyor News

Professional Land Surveyor News

FEMA Announces That eLOMA Is Temporarily Unavailable

Yesterday, as a registered user of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Mapping Information Platform (MIP), I received an email notice that the eLOMA process is temporarily unavailable. Also, FEMA will not be issuing Letters of Map Amendment (LOMA).

Because Congress did not reauthorize funding for FEMA, along with other programs such as extension of the current highway bill and funding for extending federal unemployment benefits, the National Flood Insurance Program’s authorities expired on February 28, 2010.

Read the rest of this entry →

April Interest Rate on SBA 504 Loans Declines to Record Low – 5.25%

April 15, 2009 in Associate Membership, Business, Land Surveying, News

The Small Business Administration’s (SBA) 504 loan program is currently providing long-term, fixed rate financing for commercial real estate at the lowest interest rate since the program’s inception. The SBA’s lending partners, Certified Development Companies (CDCs) are busy working with small business borrowers who are taking advantage of this record low interest rate to finally purchase or build their new facilities.

(Vocus/PRWEB ) April 14, 2009 — NADCO, the trade association for the nation’s Certified Development Companies (CDCs), reports that the interest rate for a 20-year SBA 504 loan has hit a record low for the projects funded in April 2009. This rate is the lowest it has been since the program’s inception in 1986. The April debentures that funded this month’s SBA 504 loans were sold to investors at an interest rate of 4.31%. This low rate, coupled with the new fee reductions provided by the Congressional stimulus bill, led to an effective interest rate – including servicing fees – of only 5.25% for this month.

Read the rest of this entry →

Survey-Should AIG Employees get Bonuses?

March 19, 2009 in Associate Membership, Business, General, Land Surveying, News, Surveys

PROFESSIONAL LAND SURVEYOR SURVEY

PROFESSIONAL LAND SURVEYOR SURVEY

Should AIG employees get bonuses?

I’m not sure why AIG employees working (?) for a company that would be bankrupt without our hard earned paid taxes would deserve a bonus! If you’ve got the nerve to ask for and receive a bonus when you screwed-up the company in the first place, then you are a despicable excuse for a human being and deserve to go to jail. It’s fraud plain and simple, says me. And while I understand that crooks, like the people who ran AIG, have no shame in stealing another person’s money, it’s ultimately our politicians’ fault for this mess!

How is it possible to get a base bonus of millions when the company is failing. Think about this. These AIG employees, from what I understand, took a salary of $1 in exchange for performance bonuses at the end of the year. As their performance was dismal and their only success was to exist for a one year period of service (or lack thereof), then these bonuses must be based upon complete and utter failure as an outcome. Imagine how much these AIG employees would have earned (I use this term loosely) if they performed successfully!

Regardless of the hubris displayed by AIG, I, for once, would like to see our politicians’ stand up and admit that a lot of the financial crises and mismanaged recovery efforts, is their fault. In my opinion, it’s time for every single one of our politicians’ to step down, join the unemployment lines, and let’s start over with all new politicians. They’re all the same, but with a whole new set of politicians it will take them a while to screw things up and figure out how to screw us, the taxpayers.

Take the following survey and visit the Professional Land Surveyor Forum: Should AIG Employees get Bonuses?

Should AIG Employees get Bonuses?

  • No, they've leached enough off of us! (46%, 11 Votes)
  • No, and it's our politicians' fault for this mess! (46%, 11 Votes)
  • Yes, their work speaks for itself! (8%, 2 Votes)

Total Voters: 24

Loading ... Loading ...
s2Member®