Commercial Remote Sensing Amendment Act of 2022

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6845, the Commercial Remote Sensing Amendment Act. I introduced this bipartisan legislation along with my colleague, Representative Perlmutter, to update reporting requirements for NOAA's Office of Commercial Remote Sensing Regulatory Affairs so that Congress can monitor how regulations are impacting the growth and improvement of the commercial remote sensing industry.

Remote sensing uses data collected from satellites to produce images of the Earth. It has become a critical resource in fields like agriculture, finance, trade, and energy.

For instance, imagery and data from commercial remote sensing allows us to improve crop production by helping farmers more efficiently apply water and fertilizer. It informs future commodity prices by actively monitoring weather and crop health.

Commercial remote sensing also improves our ability to prepare for and to respond to natural disasters by informing flood plain mapping, tornado tracking, and drought monitoring, topics that are very important to the people of Oklahoma.

It can also be helpful in humanitarian relief efforts and monitoring treaty compliance, among other applications.

As you can see, commercial remote sensing provides us with critical information for many important applications. This technology is constantly evolving, and the industry is seeing tremendous growth.

To effectively support and manage remote sensing activities, it is critical that Congress receives timely and comprehensive reports so we can evaluate the state of the industry and how regulations are affecting its growth.

The Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act of 2015 established a reporting requirement from the Department of Commerce on the status of commercial remote sensing licensing and regulation. That requirement expired in 2020.

H.R. 6845 will reinstate the reporting requirement and keep Congress informed of agency actions, their impact on licensees, and the state of the commercial remote sensing industry. These reports to Congress will give us the information we need to ensure that the U.S. remains a global leader in this important field.

Madam Speaker, H.R. 6845 is a no-nonsense, bipartisan bill that will help ensure that the U.S. remains the global leader in the commercial remote sensing industry.

I thank my friend, Representative Perlmutter, for working with me on this legislation. I urge all of my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as may consume.

As I said before, commercial remote sensing provides us with critical information to a number of fields like agriculture, finance, trade, energy, and more. This, in turn, allows us to be better stewards of our resources.

H.R. 6845, the Commercial Remote Sensing Amendment Act, will help us

ensure that Congress receives the updates necessary to monitor industry regulations. By updating these reporting requirements, we can ensure that the U.S. remains the global leader in this important field.

Again, I thank Representative Perlmutter for cosponsoring this bill with me, and I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6845) to provide for transparent licensing of commercial remote sensing systems, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on H.R. 6845, the bill now under consideration.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to support H.R. 6845, the Commercial Remote Sensing Amendment Act of 2022. I thank Science Committee Ranking Member Lucas for introducing this bipartisan bill, and Representative Ed Perlmutter, a member of our Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics that I chair, for being an original cosponsor.

This bill will provide increased transparency in the licensing of commercial remote sensing systems by requiring the regulatory agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to provide additional reporting on the licensing of commercial remote sensing systems.

The bill also amends the statute to ensure that the time required for issuing commercial remote sensing licenses aligns with updated regulations.

I am pleased that the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology strengthened the bill in its consideration of the legislation. An amendment we sponsored added further annual reporting requirements on the applications for licenses submitted and licenses issued.

The amendment also sustained the sunset clause of annual reporting. The sunset date of 2030 will ensure that we go back, review the law, and stay responsive to changes in this rapidly growing commercial space sector.

Commercial remote sensing is a highly competitive global industry, with $2.6 billion in revenue for 2020 alone, according to a report of the Satellite Industry Association.

Commercial remote sensing data are used in energy, agriculture, disaster monitoring, mapping, national security applications, and much more. This bill provides Congress with transparency in information that will benefit our oversight of the licensing and regulation of this important and growing industry.

I urge my colleagues to support passage of H.R. 6845, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time to speak at this time, and I am prepared to close. I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 6845, and I yield back the balance of my time.