Whereas the management, use, and exchange of geographic information and geospatial data and analysis are essential for operations and decisionmaking in Federal agencies; Whereas Geographic Information System technology (referred to in this preamble as GIS ) embraces new and innovative ways to use, discover, and share geospatial data through online portals and web services; Whereas GIS facilitates the sharing of geographic data, services, and maps through online portals such as GeoPlatform.gov; Whereas GIS helps provide shared and trusted geospatial data, services, and applications for use— (1) by the public; and (2) by government agencies and partners of government agencies to meet their mission needs; Whereas GIS is an interdisciplinary tool used by students, teachers, researchers, universities, and practitioners in numerous fields and disciplines; Whereas geography is identified as a core academic subject eligible for Federal funding under the Every Student Succeeds Act ( Public Law 114–95 ; 129 Stat. 1802); Whereas GIS helps foster collaboration and partnerships in the advancement of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (referred to in this preamble as the NSDI ); Whereas GIS provides a common framework for the Federal Government and State, Tribal, and local governments, non-Federal partners, communities, constituents, professional bodies for standards, data catalogs, partnerships, and tools that make up the NSDI; Whereas GIS is used to investigate and address societal, environmental, and cultural issues, including— (1) local issues; (2) global issues; (3) issues from the past; (4) issues in the present; and (5) potential future issues identified through modeling; Whereas GIS and related geospatial technologies are used in classrooms to engage students in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) learning; Whereas GIS fosters competition within the sector of geospatial technologies, which is considered a high-growth industry by the Department of Labor