On the Capitol Hill steps for the April 23, 2024, NSPS meeting. 16 The Oregon Surveyor | Vol. 47, No. 4 Featured Article On Tuesday, April 23, a contingent of Oregon surveyors converged on the halls of Congress to lobby on your behalf. Unfortunately, Congress was in recess, but the staff in each of the congressional offices hosted us and we had some great meetings. One thing you quickly learn in Washington, D.C. is that the staff run the place and the members vote. There are some incredibly bright young people in these offices who are very well versed in policy issues and ask some great questions. In total, approximately 60 NSPS members from 37 states participated in the 2024 NSPS Day on the Hill. Approximately 140 congressional meetings took place to present three issues affecting surveyors around the country. Your representatives from Oregon were Ben Stacy, Matt Banton, PLSO Lobbyist Darrell Fuller, and myself. The issues presented to our representatives included: • A request for a “Sense of the Congress” resolution on the importance of preventing deregulation of the professional licensure. This resolution would allow states to point to the importance placed on professional licensure by congress when defending against local deregulation legislation. The recent example of this in Oregon was the fight last year regarding Water Rights Examiner Certificates. • A request for a Survey Monument Preservation provision to be included in upcoming disaster relief legislation. Recent examples of why this legislation is important can be drawn from the 2020 Oregon Wildfires and the 2023 Lahaina, Hawaii fire. • A request for a “TAP” Pilot program to be funded within the upcoming National Defense Authorization Act. TAP stands for the Transitional Assistance Program which helps military service members transition to civilian life and careers. The proposed pilot program would aim to connect military members with relevant surveying and mapping skills they learned in the military with the civilian jobs in the surveying profession. Overall, the Day on the Hill was a very successful day and although we were not able to get commitments to sponsor our legislation, we made great connections with staff and were able to educate them about surveying and the issues we face. If you would like to know more about the experience please reach out to Ben Stacy and Matt Banton for feedback and to plan your future participation in this event. This was Ben’s second year attending and Matt’s first. Thank you to both of them for representing PLSO and NSPS in Washington, D.C.! In addition to the lobbying efforts on Tuesday, 24 teams which included high school and college students from around the country participated in the NSPS student competition on the capitol mall and NSPS Spring Meeting Report By Pat Gaylord, PLS
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