John M. Palatiello

The stature of the surveying and geospatial profession in Washington, DC was recently enhanced by the launch of a bipartisan Construction Procurement Caucus in the U.S. Congress.

Why land surveying needs H.R. 8810, the National Landslide Preparedness Act.

The surveying profession scored a major victory when President Trump signed S. 1069, the Digital Coast Act.

Included in the plan is $100 billion for workforce development, which may assist in attracting the next generation of land surveying professionals and technicians.

The Geospatial Data Act, as enacted, seeks to improve the coordination and use of geospatial data by the federal government.

Having won control of the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, House Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), will ask the Democrat caucus to create a select committee on climate change similar to a former panel behind the failed effort to pass cap-and-trade legislation when her party last held a Congressional majority in 2009-2010.

There has long been an intersection between GIS data and privacy, but recent revelations about Facebook, the work the firm Cambridge Analytics did for the 2016 Trump campaign, and other news reports about data disclosures involving large numbers of individuals should cause surveyors and other geospatial professionals to evaluate their data policies.

Lost among many pre-holiday activities, including President Trump signing the tax bill into law, was the President's issuance of an Executive Order on Critical Minerals on December 21.