3pointD.com

GovExec has an interesting story [via AllPointsBlog] about the political wrangling over a US Geological Survey mapping facility in Missouri. It seems the USGS wants to close an office there, but the state’s lawmakers want to hang onto the jobs it produces — even though it works on technology the USGS feels is outmoded.

The U.S. Geological Survey wants to close Rolla’s Mid-Continent Mapping Center and two other regional facilities, which it says have become outdated as the agency’s mission turns to more advanced forms of geospatial imaging. Activities would be consolidated in a new National Geospatial Technical Operations Center, located at the fourth major mapping facility in Lakewood, Colo. Functions there would then be subject to potential competition with the private sector, under the White House’s competitive sourcing initiative. The decision reflects tough times for the USGS.

Missouri congressional representative Jo Ann Emerson wants the center to stay open, and is standing in the way. It’s for someone else to ponder, but I’d love to know just how our government, which used to be at the forefront of technology, has come to be so behind.