Ron Kind: “as described by the previous speaker, this legislation would reauthorize the Coastal Barrier Resources Act for another 5…”

“as described by the previous speaker, this legislation would reauthorize the Coastal Barrier Resources Act for another 5 years. The very essence of the John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System is the series of paper maps that identify every undeveloped coastal barrier land form lying along the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Great Lakes. In the quarter century that has elapsed since the time these maps were first created, there has been a quantum leap in the development of modern information technologies, especially technologies for utilizing geographic and other spatial data. This legislation would authorize the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to transition from the current series of paper maps to a new, modern, digital data format. In the end, a digitized database should produce map products at a lower cost that are far more accurate, accessible, and easy to use to the general public. In order to allow the service to begin this overdue process at the earliest possible date, Fisheries Subcommittee Chairman Wayne Gilchrest and ranking Democratic member on the Fisheries Subcommittee, Congressman Frank Pallone, and the respective staffs have worked closely with the other body to develop this important piece of legislation. I commend Mr. Gilchrest and Mr. Pallone for their cooperation, and I urge Members to support this noncontroversial bill. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.”