A bipartisan group of House members has introduced H.R. 3634, the "Federal Prison Industries Competition in Contracting Act of 2011".
This bill is virtually identical to H.R. 2965, the bill that passed the House in 2006 by a 362-57 vote (Roll no. 443).  MAPPS supported that bill.  A companion bill was approved by a Senate committee, but was not enacted into law.  However, other piecemeal FPI reforms have been put in place by Congress in recent years.

Under   H.R. 3634, FPI’s Unicor, would be required to submit a detailed analysis of the impact to the private sector before entering into new product markets and would not be able to sell products commercially or internationally; the only customer could be the federal government. It also prohibits agencies from contracting with FPI in which inmates would have access to sensitive or classified information.

The letter has three "asks" for the President and Congress.

1. Pass and sign surface transportation, aviation, water resources, and clean water and drinking water infrastructure authorization bills. Enactment of these authorizations will immediately provide programmatic and fiscal certainty that will help job creators in every state put people back to work.

2. Pass and sign appropriations bills for the remainder of fiscal year 2012.  Short-term continuing resolutions provide little or no certainty to public agencies or those who perform work for them. In fact, our members say that the failure to pass routine authorizations and appropriations bills undermines business confidence.

3. Increase public-private partnerships. Any effort to reinvigorate the design and construction markets must successfully jumpstart new privately-funded construction. The strength of the private sector market is the single largest determining factor in the health of the construction industry. The best way to boost private demand for construction is to put in place pro-growth policies that will boost economic expansion.

The coalition posted the ad below in Roll Call, a newspaper focused on Congress, on December 8

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The U.S. House of Representatives yesterday voted 405-16 in favor of repealing Section 511 of Public Law No. 109-222, which mandates a requirement that federal, sate and local governments withhold 3 percent of their payments on contracts for goods and services. 

On several occasions MAPPS has urged the IRS to eliminate the 3 percent withholding. 

The bill will now wait for a vote in the Senate before a final approval from President Obama. 

Unlike some more controversial bills that have been passed through the House, this bill has had support by both parties. President Obama had included a delay in the effective date of the withholding in his recently unveiled jobs package.

Guest Blogger: Richard Breitlow is an account executive with AGFA Materials Corporation, where he specializes in aerial photography product sales.  He is chairman of the Aerial Acquisition Committee of MAPPS with more than 38 years’ experience in the aerial photography business.

 

Recently, President Obama proposed a Federal debt and deficit reduction plan that includes slower and longer depreciation schedules for business owned aircraft. While billed as eliminating a tax loophole for corporate executives’ jets, the proposal would also adversely affect small businesses, including aerial imagery and geospatial data collection operators. MAPPS has already commented on that proposal.

 

Now the "President’s Plan for Economic Growth and Deficit Reduction" has been released, including a proposed $100 per flight fee for air traffic control services.  This double-whammy on the aerial survey profession is both economically unwise and politically burdensome and unfair.

 

In order to protect the interests of the aerial survey profession, and the public and clients we serve, I suggest:

• the current Pay at the Pump method be preserved as the best way for general aviation to help pay for ATC services and the "fee per flight" concept be rejected,
• Identify “Super Committee” members who are aviation friendly and urge them to either reject the fee outright, or adopt wording to exclude flights that are primarily work operations, such as small businesses operating aircraft for aerial surveys.
• Identify FAA activities that can be reformed, eliminated or privatized to save money and explore a more balanced and equitable method of paying for FAA and ATC services that does not  unfairly target general aviation generally or aerial survey operations in particular.

On September 12 MAPPS Executive Director John Palatiello was one of five witnesses who testified at a public hearing by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) entitled, “Withholding on Payments by Government Entities to Persons Providing Property or Services.” The hearing was to address legislation enacted by Congress calling for a 3 percent withholding on all federal contracts, including mapping, surveying and geospatial activities, with the IRS in charge of implementing regulations on  section 3402(t) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Palatiello reiterated MAPPS opposition to the 3 percent withholding. He said even with a recent change in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (section 52.232-10), A/E firms, including those in surveying and mapping, still face a potential retainage or withholding of 13 percent on Federal contracts, an amount often in excess of the net profit. He said small business cannot afford to be in the banking business, making interest free loans to the federal government. He also said the withholding will drive firms out of the Federal contracting market at a time when we should be encouraging more competition.

As a means to help business, Palatiello urged that all long-term contracts be grandfathered. In particular, an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (ID/IQ) contract should be grandfathered, and the 3%withholding should not apply to any task order entered into or against the ID/IQ contract after the effective date of the IRS regulation.  The same policy should apply to other types of contract vehicles, such as GSA Schedule and Basic Ordering Agreements (BOAs), he told the IRS.

In 2009, MAPPS testified at an IRS oversight hearing opposing 3 percent withholding.

MAPPS is a member of the Government Withholding Coalition (the Coalition), led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The Coalition was formed to seek repeal of Section 511 of Public Law No. 109-222, which mandates the sweeping new requirement that federal, sate and local governments withhold 3% of their payments for goods and services (the government withholding regime).

Currently there is bi-partisan support in Congress to repeal the withholding. H.R. 674 and S. 164 are intended to “amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal the imposition of 3 percent withholding on certain payments made to vendors by government entities.” The bills are cosponsored by a bipartisan group of 250 members of the U.S. House of Representatives and 21 U.S. Senators. This legislation is a priority for the Republican leadership in the House and is scheduled to be debated this fall. President Obama has included a delay in the effective date of the withholding in his recently unveiled jobs package.

MAPPS, and its meetings, is like a Jimmy Buffett concert. If you’re not a member, you don’t know what you’re missing. Once you go, you won’t ever want to miss one.

The MAPPS 2011 Summer Meeting, held June 26-30 at the Sagamore Resort in Bolton Landing, N.Y., on Lake George was no exception. The conference was the perfect convergence of all the necessary elements – perfect 80 degree, low humidity weather, a beautiful setting, some 250 enthusiastic geospatial professionals, spouses and children, an outstanding program of business practice, ethics and technical sessions, and enjoyable social activities that enabled attendees to network, share information, and form business-to-business relationships.

The keynote, delivered by former Connecticut Governor John G. Rowland, addressed "Overcoming Adversity and The Arrogance of Power." Rowland (R), a former state legislator and Congressman who set records for gubernatorial election victories in the Nutmeg State, resigned from office and later spent a year in a Federal prison institution for accepting illegal gifts. He counseled MAPPS not to let power, success and selfishness overshadow ethics standards.

General sessions at MAPPS meetings differ from those in other associations insofar as they combine education and information exchanges on the business aspects of a private sector geospatial practice. MAPPS meetings attract senior management of firms – principals, owners, partners and executive professionals – who seek information on technology in order to make return-on-investment decisions.

In a conference session on how geospatial Intelligence (GeoINT) is moving to a cloud computing environment, panelists from leading National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA) contractors gave perspectives on applications from data discovery and sharing, to online processing, GIS Services, visualization, and mobile device applications. The session was followed by a Federal Agency Update, in which Dennis Morgan of NGA and Dr. Joseph Fontanella of the Army Geospatial Center provided updates on their agency activities, contracting opportunities and programs affecting private geospatial firms, including those in GeoINT and cloud computing. Vicki Lucas of USGS updated on initiatives such as The National Map, the National Enhanced Elevation Assessment, or LiDAR initiative, and continuation of the USGS’s optical science laboratory for calibration of analog (film) aerial camera, as well as proposals for digital camera calibration.

For several years, there has been discussion in the community about a "gas tax for geospatial" – a user fee and revolving fund to finance the NSDI and other national programs. In a presentation, “Brother Can You Spare Me a Dime? An Innovative Idea for Financing Government Geospatial Data Activities” a lively discussion developed the concept and offered arguments for and against such an alternative to lobbying for annual appropriations from Congress. The concept was presented by MAPPS Executive Director John Palatiello, followed by comments from each member of the MAPPS Board of Directors and an open discussion among members. Based on the members’ response, MAPPS will continue to explore the user fee and revolving fund concept, as well as alternate methods of financing national government data requirements.

A session on “Turning University Competition into Cooperation” explored unfair competition with the private sector by universities performing geospatial production contracts with little or no research or education component, and ways private firms can partner with post-secondary schools for mutual benefit.

Taking advantage of holding the meeting in New York, just an hour’s drive north of the state capitol Albany, MAPPS hosted Bill Johnson, New York State GIS coordinator and a past president of NSGIC, who spoke on “GIS from a State Coordinator's Perspective,” focusing on security, emergency response, broadband and other statewide uses for GIS.

The FAA and private firms debated whether UAV's are a threat or opportunity for private aerial acquisition firms. MAPPS members heard from a new entrepreneurial startup acquiring imagery using a small UAV platform, learned about recent testing of a UAV mapping system, and received an update on FAA's activities related to UAV regulations and the process for authorizing commercial unmanned aerial vehicles in the United States.

Business sessions included social media for marketing, mergers and acquisitions, and how to implement and stick to a strategic business plan. In the latter session, both large and small firm principals and owners who have developed and implemented successful strategic planning shared their experiences in developing and implementing plans, discussed how to stay on the road map while avoiding detours, and the benefits of having a written plan.

Technical and marketing sessions included data verification, validation, and QA/QC, including off-the-shelf tools and third-party services, while a “The Need for Immersive LiDAR Standards” was the continuation of several previous MAPPS sessions on mobile mapping systems and static (tripod mounted) LiDAR systems, with this forum exploring educating the end user on the true capabilities of these platforms, what role accuracy plays in decisions on technology employment, and what practices should be employed to determine the right tool for the project. A presentation on the National Broadband Mapping Program provided the status and business opportunities for surveying and mapping firms in mapping where broadband service exists and is yet to be deployed, as well in the design and construction of new infrastructure. It was reported that hundreds of millions of dollars in Federal funds are still to be expended for universal broadband, creating potential contracts for location services. The session also identified the extent to which American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (AAR), or stimulus, funds were used to fund government and university competition with the private sector. It was reported that only about one-third of funds went to firms for private sector job creation or preservation.

MAPPS members also received an update on federal legislation affecting the geospatial profession, including news that the House Appropriations Committee has withheld Federal Communications Commission (FCC) funding to approve a spectrum application by the company LightSquared that would interfere with GPS signals. It was also reported that a Senate version of the Federal Land Asset Inventory reform (FLAIR) Act has been recently introduced, the House has passed three provisions limiting insourcing and encouraging contracting out to the private sector, FEMA flood mapping reform legislation containing provisions beneficial to the surveying and mapping profession is working its way through Congress, federal geospatial governance and coordination reform legislation will soon be introduced, privacy limits on precise geolocation data are still under consideration in the House and Senate, although the Federal Trade Commission has conceded its proposed rules must be revised to avoid unintended consequences for mapping and geospatial activities, and legislation banning certain LiDAR operations as "laser pointers", subject to criminal prosecution, when used near aircraft or airports is being addressed in Congress and at the FAA by MAPPS.

PowerPoint presentations from the conference are available to MAPPS members in the members-only section of the MAPPS website, www.mapps.org. For additional information and a MAPPS membership application, go to www.mapps.org.