DigitalGlobe, Inc. announced its support for the Commercial
Remote Sensing Act of 2015, introduced in the U.S. House of
Representatives on May 12 by Reps. Jim Bridenstine (R-OK) and Ed
Perlmutter (D-CO).
The Commercial Remote Sensing Act of 2015 is an important step toward
necessary regulatory reform that will encourage growth in the U.S.
commercial remote sensing industry, ensuring that the United States
remains the world leader in this sector. The bill will provide for the
collection of metrics around the U.S. Department of Commerce’s
regulatory workload and inform Congress about the Department’s ability
to meet statutory deadlines for adjudicating license applications.
Further, the bill mandates a report on statutory updates necessary to
protect national security, protect the U.S. industrial base, and reflect
the current state of the art in remote sensing systems, instruments, and
technologies. This report would be authored by the U.S. Secretary of
Commerce in consultation with other federal agencies and the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Advisory Committee on
Commercial Remote Sensing (ACCRES), of which DigitalGlobe is a member.
“The U.S. commercial remote sensing and earth observation sectors
have experienced tremendous growth in recent years, as these
technologies have been widely adopted by a broad array of consumer,
enterprise, and government applications – contributing to quality of
life, public good, and national security,” said Dr. Walter Scott,
DigitalGlobe Executive Vice President and General Manager, USG. “Updates
to U.S. commercial remote sensing regulations and oversight are
necessary to keep pace with the accelerating technological innovation
that is spurring growth in our domestic industry. DigitalGlobe fully
supports the passage of the Commercial Remote Sensing Act of 2015 and
applauds Representatives Bridenstine and Perlmutter for their leadership
on this important issue.”
