A resolution recognizing the contributions made by the men and women of the Air Force who are responsible for operating and maintaining the Global Positioning System constellation and affirming the importance of continuous availability, accuracy, efficiency, robustness, reliability, and resiliency of the Global Positioning System constellation.

III 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. RES. 216 Recognizing the contributions made by the men and women of the Air Force who are responsible for operating and maintaining the Global Positioning System constellation and affirming the importance of continuous avail- ability, accuracy, efficiency, robustness, reliability, and resiliency of the Global Positioning System constellation. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 21, 2019 Ms. DUCKWORTH (for herself, Ms. ERNST, Mr. MERKLEY, and Ms. HASSAN) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to RESOLUTION Recognizing the contributions made by the men and women of the Air Force who are responsible for operating and maintaining the Global Positioning System constellation and affirming the importance of continuous availability, accuracy, efficiency, robustness, reliability, and resiliency of the Global Positioning System constellation. Whereas the Global Positioning System (referred to in this preamble as ‘‘GPS’’) offers both military and civilian benefits of positioning, navigation, and timing services; Whereas the GPS constellation is managed and operated by the Air Force and consists of more than 30 satellites op- erating at an altitude of approximately 12,550 miles above the Earth; VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:06 May 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR216.ATS SR216 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •SRES 216 ATS Whereas GPS precision timing allows for accurate record management by major financial institutions, including de- tailed transaction management for large and small busi- nesses; Whereas GPS has proven to be an essential tool in facili- tating social and economic activity around the world; Whereas consumers overwhelmingly access GPS using a vari- ety of platforms, such as smartphones and a wireless broadband connection; Whereas cities leverage GPS applications to support Smart Cities initiatives that will increase service efficiency, re- sulting in savings in time and money for taxpayers; Whereas first responders use GPS to enable more timely and accurate disaster response and improve situational aware- ness and to identify the location of 9–1–1 calls made from wireless phones; Whereas the safety of the rail systems in the United States is improved by implementing GPS-based positive train control systems; Whereas GPS-enabled applications and services enhance the independence of individuals with visual impairments; Whereas marine operations depend on GPS for precise navi- gation as well as for determining location and measuring speed; Whereas the land surveying and mapping sector uses GPS to produce data that is more accurate and reliable; Whereas GPS-based time synchronization assists power and utility companies in providing efficient power trans- mission and distribution; VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:06 May 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR216.ATS SR216 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •SRES 216 ATS Whereas smart grid infrastructure is increasingly reliant on GPS for synchronization and system resilience; Whereas GPS supports autonomous vehicle development by complementing embedded vehicle sensors to determine precise vehicle location and improving safety; Whereas the Federal Aviation Administration relies on GPS to improve all aspects of aviation safety and efficiency, including by providing greater precision and accuracy in all phases of flight; Whereas GPS is also essential for enabling the Next Genera- tion Air Transportation system; Whereas the Federal Aviation Administration relies on GPS to improve aviation safety by synchronizing reporting of hazardous weather with 45 Terminal Doppler Weather Radars; and Whereas economic contributions by GPS include the fol- lowing: (1) In 2013, GPS provided economic benefits with a mid-range estimated value of approximately $68,700,000,000 or 0.4 percent of the gross domestic product of the United States. (2) The Department of Homeland Security identifies GPS as essential to 14 of the 16 industries that are clas- sified as part of the nation’s critical infrastructure. (3) In 2013, GPS-enabled precision agriculture was estimated to save grain farmers 10 to 15 percent in oper- ating costs and purchased inputs and the broad economic benefit of precision agriculture in grain farming was esti- mated to provide a mid-range benefit of $13,700,000,000. VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:06 May 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR216.ATS SR216 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •SRES 216 ATS (4) In 2013, GPS-enabled surveying was estimated to produce a mid-range economic benefit of $11,600,000,000. (5) Globally, 3,600,000,000 Global Navigation Sat- ellite System devices were in use in 2014, 450,000,000 of which were in North America. (6) In 2012, the Boston Consulting Group estimated that the geospatial services ecosystem, which is supported by GPS, drove $1,600,000,000,000 in revenues and $1,400,000,000,000 in cost savings throughout the United States economy. (7) GPS-enabled internet publishing, broadcasting, and search portals accounted for $170,781,000,000 in revenue in 2017 and supported over 275,000 jobs in 2017. (8) GPS enables location-based services that will en- hance the over $568,470,000,000 app economy, sup- porting an estimated 5,744,481 jobs across the United States in 2018. (9) GPS has proven to be essential to the foundation of the ridesharing industry accessed on smartphones, val- ued by one estimate to be over $61,000,000,000: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Senate recognizes— 1 (1) the contributions made by the men and 2 women of the Air Force who are responsible for op- 3 erating and maintaining the Global Positioning Sys- 4 tem constellation; 5 (2) the valuable contributions made by the De- 6 partment of Transportation in coordinating inter- 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:06 May 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR216.ATS SR216 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •SRES 216 ATS actions with the civil users of the Global Positioning 1 System; and 2 (3) the importance of continuous availability, 3 accuracy, efficiency, robustness, reliability, and resil- 4 iency of the Global Positioning System constellation. 5 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:06 May 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\SR216.ATS SR216 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS