II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 570 

To improve the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s weather 

research through a focused program of investment on affordable and 

attainable advances in observational, computing, and modeling capabilities to support substantial improvement in weather forecasting and prediction of high impact weather events, to expand commercial opportunities for the provision of weather data, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 8, 2017 

Mr. THUNE (for himself and Mr. SCHATZ) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

Transportation 

A BILL 

To improve the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s weather research through a focused program 

of investment on affordable and attainable advances in 

observational, computing, and modeling capabilities to 

support substantial improvement in weather forecasting 

and prediction of high impact weather events, to expand 

commercial opportunities for the provision of weather 

data, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

3 ‘‘Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 

4 2017’’. 

5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

6 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

TITLE I—UNITED STATES WEATHER RESEARCH AND 

FORECASTING IMPROVEMENT 

Sec. 101. Public safety priority. 

Sec. 102. Weather research and forecasting innovation. 

Sec. 103. Tornado warning improvement and extension program. 

Sec. 104. Hurricane forecast improvement program. 

Sec. 105. Weather research and development planning. 

Sec. 106. Observing system planning. 

Sec. 107. Observing system simulation experiments. 

Sec. 108. Annual report on computing resources prioritization. 

Sec. 109. United States Weather Research program. 

Sec. 110. Authorization of appropriations. 

TITLE II—SUBSEASONAL AND SEASONAL FORECASTING 

INNOVATION 

Sec. 201. Improving subseasonal and seasonal forecasts. 

TITLE III—WEATHER SATELLITE AND DATA INNOVATION 

Sec. 301. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellite and data 

management. 

Sec. 302. Commercial weather data. 

Sec. 303. Unnecessary duplication. 

TITLE IV—FEDERAL WEATHER COORDINATION 

Sec. 401. Environmental Information Services Working Group. 

Sec. 402. Interagency weather research and forecast innovation coordination. 

Sec. 403. Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research and National Weather 

Service exchange program. 

Sec. 404. Visiting fellows at National Weather Service. 

Sec. 405. Warning coordination meteorologists at weather forecast offices of 

National Weather Service. 

Sec. 406. Improving National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration communication of hazardous weather and water events. 

Sec. 407. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Weather Ready All 

Hazards Award Program. 

Sec. 408. Department of Defense weather forecasting activities. 

Sec. 409. National Weather Service; operations and workforce analysis. 


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Sec. 410. Report on contract positions at National Weather Service. 

Sec. 411. Weather impacts to communities and infrastructure. 

Sec. 412. Weather enterprise outreach. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) SEASONAL.—The term ‘‘seasonal’’ means 

4 the time range between 3 months and 2 years. 

5 (2) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means a State, 

6 a territory, or possession of the United States, in7 cluding a Commonwealth, or the District of Colum8 bia. 

9 (3) SUBSEASONAL.—The term ‘‘subseasonal’’ 

10 means the time range between 2 weeks and 3 

11 months. 

12 (4) UNDER SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Under 

13 Secretary’’ means the Under Secretary of Commerce 

14 for Oceans and Atmosphere. 

15 (5) WEATHER INDUSTRY AND WEATHER EN16 TERPRISE.—The terms ‘‘weather industry’’ and 

17 ‘‘weather enterprise’’ are interchangeable in this Act, 

18 and include individuals and organizations from pub19 lic, private, and academic sectors that contribute to 

20 the research, development, and production of weath21 er forecast products, and primary consumers of 

22 these weather forecast products. 


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1 TITLE I—UNITED STATES 

2 WEATHER RESEARCH AND 

3 FORECASTING IMPROVE4 MENT 

5 SEC. 101. PUBLIC SAFETY PRIORITY. 

6 In conducting research, the Under Secretary shall 

7 prioritize improving weather data, modeling, computing, 

8 forecasting, and warnings for the protection of life and 

9 property and for the enhancement of the national econ10 omy. 

11 SEC. 102. WEATHER RESEARCH AND FORECASTING INNO12 VATION. 

13 (a) PROGRAM.—The Assistant Administrator for the 

14 Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research shall conduct 

15 a program to develop improved understanding of and fore16 cast capabilities for atmospheric events and their impacts, 

17 placing priority on developing more accurate, timely, and 

18 effective warnings and forecasts of high impact weather 

19 events that endanger life and property. 

20 (b) PROGRAM ELEMENTS.—The program described 

21 in subsection (a) shall focus on the following activities: 

22 (1) Improving the fundamental understanding 

23 of weather consistent with section 101, including the 

24 boundary layer and other processes affecting high 

25 impact weather events. 


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1 (2) Improving the understanding of how the 

2 public receives, interprets, and responds to warnings 

3 and forecasts of high impact weather events that en4 danger life and property. 

5 (3) Research and development, and transfer of 

6 knowledge, technologies, and applications to the Na7 tional Weather Service and other appropriate agen8 cies and entities, including the United States weath9 er industry and academic partners, related to— 

10 (A) advanced radar, radar networking 

11 technologies, and other ground-based tech12 nologies, including those emphasizing rapid, 

13 fine-scale sensing of the boundary layer and 

14 lower troposphere, and the use of innovative, 

15 dual-polarization, phased-array technologies; 

16 (B) aerial weather observing systems; 

17 (C) high performance computing and infor18 mation technology and wireless communication 

19 networks; 

20 (D) advanced numerical weather prediction 

21 systems and forecasting tools and techniques 

22 that improve the forecasting of timing, track, 

23 intensity, and severity of high impact weather, 

24 including through— 


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1 (i) the development of more effective 

2 mesoscale models; 

3 (ii) more effective use of existing, and 

4 the development of new, regional and na5 tional cloud-resolving models; 

6 (iii) enhanced global weather models; 

7 and 

8 (iv) integrated assessment models; 

9 (E) quantitative assessment tools for meas10 uring the impact and value of data and observ11 ing systems, including Observing System Sim12 ulation Experiments (as described in section 

13 107), Observing System Experiments, and 

14 Analyses of Alternatives; 

15 (F) atmospheric chemistry and interactions 

16 essential to accurately characterizing atmos17 pheric composition and predicting meteorolog18 ical processes, including cloud microphysical, 

19 precipitation, and atmospheric electrification 

20 processes, to more effectively understand their 

21 role in severe weather; and 

22 (G) additional sources of weather data and 

23 information, including commercial observing 

24 systems. 


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1 (4) A technology transfer initiative, carried out 

2 jointly and in coordination with the Director of the 

3 National Weather Service, and in cooperation with 

4 the United States weather industry and academic 

5 partners, to ensure continuous development and 

6 transition of the latest scientific and technological 

7 advances into operations of the National Weather 

8 Service and to establish a process to sunset outdated 

9 and expensive operational methods and tools to en10 able cost-effective transfer of new methods and tools 

11 into operations. 

12 (c) EXTRAMURAL RESEARCH.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the program 

14 under this section, the Assistant Administrator for 

15 Oceanic and Atmospheric Research shall collaborate 

16 with and support the non-Federal weather research 

17 community, which includes institutions of higher 

18 education, private entities, and nongovernmental or19 ganizations, by making funds available through com20 petitive grants, contracts, and cooperative agree21 ments. 

22 (2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 

23 Congress that not less than 30 percent of the funds 

24 for weather research and development at the Office 

25 of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research should be 


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1 made available for the purpose described in para2 graph (1). 

3 (d) ANNUAL REPORT.—Each year, concurrent with 

4 the annual budget request submitted by the President to 

5 Congress under section 1105 of title 31, United States 

6 Code, for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis7 tration, the Under Secretary shall submit to Congress a 

8 description of current and planned activities under this 

9 section. 

10 SEC. 103. TORNADO WARNING IMPROVEMENT AND EXTEN11 SION PROGRAM. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary, in collabo13 ration with the United States weather industry and aca14 demic partners, shall establish a tornado warning improve15 ment and extension program. 

16 (b) GOAL.—The goal of such program shall be to re17 duce the loss of life and economic losses from tornadoes 

18 through the development and extension of accurate, effec19 tive, and timely tornado forecasts, predictions, and warn20 ings, including the prediction of tornadoes beyond 1 hour 

21 in advance. 

22 (c) PROGRAM PLAN.—Not later than 180 days after 

23 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Assistant Ad24 ministrator for Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, in co25 ordination with the Director of the National Weather 


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1 Service, shall develop a program plan that details the spe2 cific research, development, and technology transfer activi3 ties, as well as corresponding resources and timelines, nec4 essary to achieve the program goal. 

5 (d) ANNUAL BUDGET FOR PLAN SUBMITTAL.—Fol6 lowing completion of the plan, the Under Secretary, acting 

7 through the Assistant Administrator for Oceanic and At8 mospheric Research and in coordination with the Director 

9 of the National Weather Service, shall, not less frequently 

10 than once each year, submit to Congress a proposed budg11 et corresponding with the activities identified in the plan. 

12 SEC. 104. HURRICANE FORECAST IMPROVEMENT PRO13 GRAM. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary, in collabo15 ration with the United States weather industry and such 

16 academic entities as the Administrator considers appro17 priate, shall maintain a project to improve hurricane fore18 casting. 

19 (b) GOAL.—The goal of the project maintained under 

20 subsection (a) shall be to develop and extend accurate hur21 ricane forecasts and warnings in order to reduce loss of 

22 life, injury, and damage to the economy, with a focus on— 

23 (1) improving the prediction of rapid inten24 sification and track of hurricanes; 


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1 (2) improving the forecast and communication 

2 of storm surges from hurricanes; and 

3 (3) incorporating risk communication research 

4 to create more effective watch and warning products. 

5 (c) PROJECT PLAN.—Not later than 1 year after the 

6 date of the enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary, 

7 acting through the Assistant Administrator for Oceanic 

8 and Atmospheric Research and in consultation with the 

9 Director of the National Weather Service, shall develop 

10 a plan for the project maintained under subsection (a) 

11 that details the specific research, development, and tech12 nology transfer activities, as well as corresponding re13 sources and timelines, necessary to achieve the goal set 

14 forth in subsection (b). 

15 SEC. 105. WEATHER RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PLAN16 NING. 

17 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 

18 of this Act, and not less frequently than once each year 

19 thereafter, the Under Secretary, acting through the As20 sistant Administrator for Oceanic and Atmospheric Re21 search and in coordination with the Director of the Na22 tional Weather Service and the Assistant Administrator 

23 for Satellite and Information Services, shall issue a re24 search and development and research to operations plan 


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1 to restore and maintain United States leadership in nu2 merical weather prediction and forecasting that— 

3 (1) describes the forecasting skill and tech4 nology goals, objectives, and progress of the Na5 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in 

6 carrying out the program conducted under section 

7 102; 

8 (2) identifies and prioritizes specific research 

9 and development activities, and performance metrics, 

10 weighted to meet the operational weather mission of 

11 the National Weather Service to achieve a weather12 ready Nation; 

13 (3) describes how the program will collaborate 

14 with stakeholders, including the United States 

15 weather industry and academic partners; and 

16 (4) identifies, through consultation with the Na17 tional Science Foundation, the United States weath18 er industry, and academic partners, research nec19 essary to enhance the integration of social science 

20 knowledge into weather forecast and warning proc21 esses, including to improve the communication of 

22 threat information necessary to enable improved se23 vere weather planning and decisionmaking on the 

24 part of individuals and communities. 


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1 SEC. 106. OBSERVING SYSTEM PLANNING. 

2 The Under Secretary shall— 

3 (1) develop and maintain a prioritized list of 

4 observation data requirements necessary to ensure 

5 weather forecasting capabilities to protect life and 

6 property to the maximum extent practicable; 

7 (2) consistent with section 107, utilize Observ8 ing System Simulation Experiments, Observing Sys9 tem Experiments, Analyses of Alternatives, and 

10 other appropriate assessment tools to ensure contin11 uous systemic evaluations of the observing systems, 

12 data, and information needed to meet the require13 ments of paragraph (1), including options to maxi14 mize observational capabilities and their cost-effec15 tiveness; 

16 (3) identify current and potential future data 

17 gaps in observing capabilities related to the require18 ments listed under paragraph (1); and 

19 (4) determine a range of options to address 

20 gaps identified under paragraph (3). 

21 SEC. 107. OBSERVING SYSTEM SIMULATION EXPERIMENTS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—In support of the requirements of 

23 section 106, the Assistant Administrator for Oceanic and 

24 Atmospheric Research shall undertake Observing System 

25 Simulation Experiments, or such other quantitative as26 sessments as the Assistant Administrator considers approVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:35 Mar 14, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S570.IS S570

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1 priate, to quantitatively assess the relative value and bene2 fits of observing capabilities and systems. Technical and 

3 scientific Observing System Simulation Experiment eval4 uations— 

5 (1) may include assessments of the impact of 

6 observing capabilities on— 

7 (A) global weather prediction; 

8 (B) hurricane track and intensity fore9 casting; 

10 (C) tornado warning lead times and accu11 racy; 

12 (D) prediction of mid-latitude severe local 

13 storm outbreaks; and 

14 (E) prediction of storms that have the po15 tential to cause extreme precipitation and flood16 ing lasting from 6 hours to 1 week; and 

17 (2) shall be conducted in cooperation with other 

18 appropriate entities within the National Oceanic and 

19 Atmospheric Administration, other Federal agencies, 

20 the United States weather industry, and academic 

21 partners to ensure the technical and scientific merit 

22 of results from Observing System Simulation Ex23 periments or other appropriate quantitative assess24 ment methodologies. 


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1 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—Observing System Simulation 

2 Experiments shall quantitatively— 

3 (1) determine the potential impact of proposed 

4 space-based, suborbital, and in situ observing sys5 tems on analyses and forecasts, including potential 

6 impacts on extreme weather events across all parts 

7 of the Nation; 

8 (2) evaluate and compare observing system de9 sign options; and 

10 (3) assess the relative capabilities and costs of 

11 various observing systems and combinations of ob12 serving systems in providing data necessary to pro13 tect life and property. 

14 (c) IMPLEMENTATION.—Observing System Simula15 tion Experiments— 

16 (1) shall be conducted prior to the acquisition 

17 of major Government-owned or Government-leased 

18 operational observing systems, including polar-orbit19 ing and geostationary satellite systems, with a 

20 lifecycle cost of more than $500,000,000; and 

21 (2) shall be conducted prior to the purchase of 

22 any major new commercially provided data with a 

23 lifecycle cost of more than $500,000,000. 

24 (d) PRIORITY OBSERVING SYSTEM SIMULATION EX25 PERIMENTS.— 


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1 (1) GLOBAL NAVIGATION SATELLITE SYSTEM

2 RADIO OCCULTATION.—Not later than 30 days after 

3 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Assistant 

4 Administrator for Oceanic and Atmospheric Re5 search shall complete an Observing System Simula6 tion Experiment to assess the value of data from 

7 Global Navigation Satellite System Radio Occulta8 tion. 

9 (2) GEOSTATIONARY HYPERSPECTRAL SOUND10 ER GLOBAL CONSTELLATION.—Not later than 120 

11 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

12 Assistant Administrator for Oceanic and Atmos13 pheric Research shall complete an Observing System 

14 Simulation Experiment to assess the value of data 

15 from a geostationary hyperspectral sounder global 

16 constellation. 

17 (e) RESULTS.—Upon completion of all Observing 

18 System Simulation Experiments, the Assistant Adminis19 trator shall make available to the public the results an 

20 assessment of related private and public sector weather 

21 data sourcing options, including their availability, afford22 ability, and cost-effectiveness. Such assessments shall be 

23 developed in accordance with section 50503 of title 51, 

24 United States Code. 


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1 SEC. 108. ANNUAL REPORT ON COMPUTING RESOURCES 

2 PRIORITIZATION. 

3 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 

4 of this Act and not less frequently than once each year 

5 thereafter, the Under Secretary, acting through the Chief 

6 Information Officer of the National Oceanic and Atmos7 pheric Administration and in coordination with the Assist8 ant Administrator for Oceanic and Atmospheric Research 

9 and the Director of the National Weather Service, shall 

10 produce and make publicly available a report that explains 

11 how the Under Secretary intends— 

12 (1) to continually support upgrades to pursue 

13 the fastest, most powerful, and cost-effective high 

14 performance computing technologies in support of 

15 its weather prediction mission; 

16 (2) to ensure a balance between the research to 

17 operations requirements to develop the next genera18 tion of regional and global models as well as highly 

19 reliable operational models; 

20 (3) to take advantage of advanced development 

21 concepts to, as appropriate, make next generation 

22 weather prediction models available in beta-test 

23 mode to operational forecasters, the United States 

24 weather industry, and partners in academic and 

25 Government research; and 


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1 (4) to use existing computing resources to im2 prove advanced research and operational weather 

3 prediction. 

4 SEC. 109. UNITED STATES WEATHER RESEARCH PROGRAM. 

5 Section 108 of the Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin6 istration Authorization Act of 1992 (Public Law 102–567; 

7 15 U.S.C. 313 note) is amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (a)— 

9 (A) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 

10 and inserting a semicolon; 

11 (B) in paragraph (4), by striking the pe12 riod at the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

13 (C) by inserting after paragraph (4) the 

14 following: 

15 ‘‘(5) submit to the Committee on Commerce, 

16 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the 

17 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

18 House of Representatives, not less frequently than 

19 once each year, a report, including— 

20 ‘‘(A) a list of ongoing research projects; 

21 ‘‘(B) project goals and a point of contact 

22 for each project; 

23 ‘‘(C) the five projects related to weather 

24 observations, short-term weather, or subsea25 sonal forecasts within Office of Oceanic and AtVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:35 Mar 14, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S570.IS S570

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1 mospheric Research that are closest to opera2 tionalization; 

3 ‘‘(D) for each project referred to in sub4 paragraph (C)— 

5 ‘‘(i) the potential benefit; 

6 ‘‘(ii) any barrier to operationalization; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(iii) the plan for operationalization, 

9 including which line office will financially 

10 support the project and how much the line 

11 office intends to spend; 

12 ‘‘(6) establish teams with staff from the Office 

13 of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research and the Na14 tional Weather Service to oversee the operationaliza15 tion of research products developed by the Office of 

16 Oceanic and Atmospheric Research; 

17 ‘‘(7) develop mechanisms for research priorities 

18 of the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research 

19 to be informed by the relevant line offices within the 

20 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 

21 the relevant user community, and the weather enter22 prise; 

23 ‘‘(8) develop an internal mechanism to track 

24 the progress of each research project within the Of25 fice of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research and 


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1 mechanisms to terminate a project that is not ade2 quately progressing; 

3 ‘‘(9) develop and implement a system to track 

4 whether extramural research grant goals were ac5 complished; 

6 ‘‘(10) provide facilities for products developed 

7 by the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research 

8 to be tested in operational simulations, such as test 

9 beds; and 

10 ‘‘(11) encourage academic collaboration with 

11 the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research and 

12 the National Weather Service by facilitating visiting 

13 scholars.’’; 

14 (2) in subsection (b), in the matter preceding 

15 paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘Not later than 90 days 

16 after the date of enactment of this Act, the’’ and in17 serting ‘‘The’’; and 

18 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub19 section: 

20 ‘‘(c) SUBSEASONAL DEFINED.—In this section, the 

21 term ‘subseasonal’ means the time range between 2 weeks 

22 and 3 months.’’. 

23 SEC. 110. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

24 (a) FISCAL YEARS 2017 AND 2018.—For each of fis25 cal years 2017 and 2018, there are authorized to be apVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:35 Mar 14, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S570.IS S570

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1 propriated to Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Re2 search— 

3 (1) $111,516,000 to carry out this title, of 

4 which— 

5 (A) $85,758,000 is authorized for weather 

6 laboratories and cooperative institutes; and 

7 (B) $25,758,000 is authorized for weather 

8 and air chemistry research programs; and 

9 (2) an additional amount of $20,000,000 for 

10 the joint technology transfer initiative described in 

11 section 102(b)(4). 

12 (b) LIMITATION.—No additional funds are authorized 

13 to carry out this title and the amendments made by this 

14 title. 

15 TITLE II—SUBSEASONAL AND 

16 SEASONAL FORECASTING IN17 NOVATION 

18 SEC. 201. IMPROVING SUBSEASONAL AND SEASONAL FORE19 CASTS. 

20 Section 1762 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (Pub21 lic Law 99–198; 15 U.S.C. 313 note) is amended— 

22 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘(a)’’ and in23 serting ‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—’’; 

24 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘(b)’’ and in25 serting ‘‘(b) POLICY.—’’; and 


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1 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(c) FUNCTIONS.—The Under Secretary, acting 

3 through the Director of the National Weather Service and 

4 the heads of such other programs of the National Oceanic 

5 and Atmospheric Administration as the Under Secretary 

6 considers appropriate, shall— 

7 ‘‘(1) collect and utilize information in order to 

8 make usable, reliable, and timely foundational fore9 casts of subseasonal and seasonal temperature and 

10 precipitation; 

11 ‘‘(2) leverage existing research and models from 

12 the weather enterprise to improve the forecasts 

13 under paragraph (1); 

14 ‘‘(3) determine and provide information on how 

15 the forecasted conditions under paragraph (1) may 

16 impact— 

17 ‘‘(A) the number and severity of droughts, 

18 fires, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, heat waves, 

19 coastal inundation, winter storms, high impact 

20 weather, or other relevant natural disasters; 

21 ‘‘(B) snowpack; and 

22 ‘‘(C) sea ice conditions; and 

23 ‘‘(4) develop an Internet clearinghouse to pro24 vide the forecasts under paragraph (1) and the inVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:35 Mar 14, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S570.IS S570

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1 formation under paragraphs (1) and (3) on both na2 tional and regional levels. 

3 ‘‘(d) COMMUNICATION.—The Director of the Na4 tional Weather Service shall provide the forecasts under 

5 paragraph (1) of subsection (c) and the information on 

6 their impacts under paragraph (3) of such subsection to 

7 the public, including public and private entities engaged 

8 in planning and preparedness, such as National Weather 

9 Service Core partners at the Federal, regional, State, trib10 al, and local levels of government. 

11 ‘‘(e) COOPERATION.—The Under Secretary shall 

12 build upon existing forecasting and assessment programs 

13 and partnerships, including— 

14 ‘‘(1) by designating research and monitoring ac15 tivities related to subseasonal and seasonal forecasts 

16 as a priority in one or more solicitations of the Co17 operative Institutes of the Office of Oceanic and At18 mospheric Research; 

19 ‘‘(2) by contributing to the interagency Earth 

20 System Prediction Capability; and 

21 ‘‘(3) by consulting with the Secretary of De22 fense and the Secretary of Homeland Security to de23 termine the highest priority subseasonal and sea24 sonal forecast needs to enhance national security. 

25 ‘‘(f) FORECAST COMMUNICATION COORDINATORS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall 

2 foster effective communication, understanding, and 

3 use of the forecasts by the intended users of the in4 formation described in subsection (d). This may in5 clude assistance to States for forecast communica6 tion coordinators to enable local interpretation and 

7 planning based on the information. 

8 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—For each State that re9 quests assistance under this subsection, the Under 

10 Secretary may— 

11 ‘‘(A) provide funds to support an indi12 vidual in that State— 

13 ‘‘(i) to serve as a liaison among the 

14 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin15 istration, other Federal departments and 

16 agencies, the weather enterprise, the State, 

17 and relevant interests within that State; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(ii) to receive the forecasts and infor20 mation under subsection (c) and dissemi21 nate the forecasts and information 

22 throughout the State, including to county 

23 and tribal governments; and 

24 ‘‘(B) require matching funds of at least 50 

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1 governmental organization, a trade association, 

2 or the private sector. 

3 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION.—Assistance to an individual 

4 State under this subsection shall not exceed 

5 $100,000 in a fiscal year. 

6 ‘‘(g) COOPERATION FROM OTHER FEDERAL AGEN7 CIES.—Each Federal department and agency shall cooper8 ate as appropriate with the Under Secretary in carrying 

9 out this section. 

10 ‘‘(h) REPORTS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months 

12 after the date of the enactment of the Weather Re13 search and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017, the 

14 Under Secretary shall submit to the Committee on 

15 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen16 ate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech17 nology of the House of Representatives a report, in18 cluding— 

19 ‘‘(A) an analysis of the how information 

20 from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

21 Administration on subseasonal and seasonal 

22 forecasts, as provided under subsection (c), is 

23 utilized in public planning and preparedness; 

24 ‘‘(B) specific plans and goals for the con25 tinued development of the subseasonal and seaVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:35 Mar 14, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S570.IS S570

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1 sonal forecasts and related products described 

2 in subsection (c); and 

3 ‘‘(C) an identification of research, moni4 toring, observing, and forecasting requirements 

5 to meet the goals described in subparagraph 

6 (B). 

7 ‘‘(2) CONSULTATION.—In developing the report 

8 under paragraph (1), the Under Secretary shall con9 sult with relevant Federal, regional, State, tribal, 

10 and local government agencies, research institutions, 

11 and the private sector. 

12 ‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

13 ‘‘(1) FOUNDATIONAL FORECAST.—The term 

14 ‘foundational forecast’ means basic weather observa15 tion and forecast data, largely in raw form, before 

16 further processing is applied. 

17 ‘‘(2) NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CORE PART18 NERS.—The term ‘National Weather Service core 

19 partners’ means government and nongovernment en20 tities which are directly involved in the preparation 

21 or dissemination of, or discussions involving, haz22 ardous weather or other emergency information put 

23 out by the National Weather Service. 

24 ‘‘(3) SEASONAL.—The term ‘seasonal’ means 

25 the time range between 3 months and 2 years. 


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1 ‘‘(4) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means a State, 

2 a territory, or possession of the United States, in3 cluding a Commonwealth, or the District of Colum4 bia. 

5 ‘‘(5) SUBSEASONAL.—The term ‘subseasonal’ 

6 means the time range between 2 weeks and 3 

7 months. 

8 ‘‘(6) UNDER SECRETARY.—The term ‘Under 

9 Secretary’ means the Under Secretary of Commerce 

10 for Oceans and Atmosphere. 

11 ‘‘(7) WEATHER INDUSTRY AND WEATHER EN12 TERPRISE.—The terms ‘weather industry’ and 

13 ‘weather enterprise’ are interchangeable in this sec14 tion and include individuals and organizations from 

15 public, private, and academic sectors that contribute 

16 to the research, development, and production of 

17 weather forecast products, and primary consumers 

18 of these weather forecast products. 

19 ‘‘(j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For 

20 each of fiscal years 2017 and 2018, there are authorized 

21 out of funds appropriated to the National Weather Serv22 ice, $26,500,000 to carry out the activities of this sec23 tion.’’. 


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1 TITLE III—WEATHER SATELLITE 

2 AND DATA INNOVATION 

3 SEC. 301. NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMIN4 ISTRATION SATELLITE AND DATA MANAGE5 MENT. 

6 (a) SHORT-TERM MANAGEMENT OF ENVIRON7 MENTAL OBSERVATIONS.— 

8 (1) MICROSATELLITE CONSTELLATIONS.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary 

10 shall complete and operationalize the Constella11 tion Observing System for Meteorology, 

12 Ionosphere, and Climate–1 and Climate–2 

13 (COSMIC) in effect on the day before the date 

14 of the enactment of this Act— 

15 (i) by deploying constellations of 

16 microsatellites in both the equatorial and 

17 polar orbits; 

18 (ii) by integrating the resulting data 

19 and research into all national operational 

20 and research weather forecast models; and 

21 (iii) by ensuring that the resulting 

22 data of National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

23 Administration’s COSMIC–1 and COS24 MIC–2 programs are free and open to all 

25 communities. 


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1 (B) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not less fre2 quently than once each year until the Under 

3 Secretary has completed and operationalized the 

4 program described in subparagraph (A) pursu5 ant to such subparagraph, the Under Secretary 

6 shall submit to Congress a report on the status 

7 of the efforts of the Under Secretary to carry 

8 out such subparagraph. 

9 (2) INTEGRATION OF OCEAN AND COASTAL

10 DATA FROM THE INTEGRATED OCEAN OBSERVING

11 SYSTEM.—In National Weather Service Regions 

12 where the Director of the National Weather Service 

13 determines that ocean and coastal data would im14 prove forecasts, the Director, in consultation with 

15 the Assistant Administrator for Oceanic and Atmos16 pheric Research and the Assistant Administrator of 

17 the National Ocean Service, shall— 

18 (A) integrate additional coastal and ocean 

19 observations, and other data and research, from 

20 the Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) 

21 into regional weather forecasts to improve 

22 weather forecasts and forecasting decision sup23 port systems; and 

24 (B) support the development of real-time 

25 data sharing products and forecast products in 


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1 collaboration with the regional associations of 

2 such system, including contributions from the 

3 private sector, academia, and research institu4 tions to ensure timely and accurate use of ocean 

5 and coastal data in regional forecasts. 

6 (3) EXISTING MONITORING AND OBSERVATION7 CAPABILITY.—The Under Secretary shall identify 

8 degradation of existing monitoring and observation 

9 capabilities that could lead to a reduction in forecast 

10 quality. 

11 (4) SPECIFICATIONS FOR NEW SATELLITE SYS12 TEMS OR DATA DETERMINED BY OPERATIONAL

13 NEEDS.—In developing specifications for any sat14 ellite systems or data to follow the Joint Polar Sat15 ellite System, Geostationary Operational Environ16 mental Satellites, and any other satellites, in effect 

17 on the day before the date of enactment of this Act, 

18 the Under Secretary shall ensure the specifications 

19 are determined to the extent practicable by the rec20 ommendations of the reports under subsection (b) of 

21 this section. 

22 (b) INDEPENDENT STUDY ON FUTURE OF NATIONAL

23 OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION SAT24 ELLITE SYSTEMS AND DATA.— 

25 (1) AGREEMENT.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary 

2 shall seek to enter into an agreement with the 

3 National Academy of Sciences to perform the 

4 services covered by this subsection. 

5 (B) TIMING.—The Under Secretary shall 

6 seek to enter into the agreement described in 

7 subparagraph (A) before September 30, 2018. 

8 (2) STUDY.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—Under an agreement 

10 between the Under Secretary and the National 

11 Academy of Sciences under this subsection, the 

12 National Academy of Sciences shall conduct a 

13 study on matters concerning future satellite 

14 data needs. 

15 (B) ELEMENTS.—In conducting the study 

16 under subparagraph (A), the National Academy 

17 of Sciences shall— 

18 (i) develop recommendations on how 

19 to make the data portfolio of the Adminis20 tration more robust and cost-effective; 

21 (ii) assess the costs and benefits of 

22 moving toward a constellation of many 

23 small satellites, standardizing satellite bus 

24 design, relying more on the purchasing of 


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1 data, or acquiring data from other sources 

2 or methods; 

3 (iii) identify the environmental obser4 vations that are essential to the perform5 ance of weather models, based on an as6 sessment of Federal, academic, and private 

7 sector weather research, and the cost of 

8 obtaining the environmental data; 

9 (iv) identify environmental observa10 tions that improve the quality of oper11 ational and research weather models in ef12 fect on the day before the date of enact13 ment of this Act; 

14 (v) identify and prioritize new envi15 ronmental observations that could con16 tribute to existing and future weather 

17 models; and 

18 (vi) develop recommendations on a 

19 portfolio of environmental observations 

20 that balances essential, quality-improving, 

21 and new data, private and nonprivate 

22 sources, and space-based and Earth-based 

23 sources. 

24 (C) DEADLINE AND REPORT.—In carrying 

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1 tional Academy of Sciences shall complete and 

2 transmit to the Under Secretary a report con3 taining the findings of the National Academy of 

4 Sciences with respect to the study not later 

5 than 2 years after the date on which the Ad6 ministrator enters into an agreement with the 

7 National Academy of Sciences under paragraph 

8 (1)(A). 

9 (3) ALTERNATE ORGANIZATION.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—If the Under Secretary 

11 is unable within the period prescribed in sub12 paragraph (B) of paragraph (1) to enter into 

13 an agreement described in subparagraph (A) of 

14 such paragraph with the National Academy of 

15 Sciences on terms acceptable to the Under Sec16 retary, the Under Secretary shall seek to enter 

17 into such an agreement with another appro18 priate organization that— 

19 (i) is not part of the Federal Govern20 ment; 

21 (ii) operates as a not-for-profit entity; 

22 and 

23 (iii) has expertise and objectivity com24 parable to that of the National Academy of 

25 Sciences. 


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1 (B) TREATMENT.—If the Under Secretary 

2 enters into an agreement with another organi3 zation as described in subparagraph (A), any 

4 reference in this subsection to the National 

5 Academy of Sciences shall be treated as a ref6 erence to the other organization. 

7 (4) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

8 There are authorized to be appropriated, out of 

9 funds appropriated to National Environmental Sat10 ellite, Data, and Information Service, to carry out 

11 this subsection $1,000,000 for the period encom12 passing fiscal years 2018 through 2019. 

13 SEC. 302. COMMERCIAL WEATHER DATA. 

14 (a) DATA AND HOSTED SATELLITE PAYLOADS.— 

15 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary 

16 of Commerce may enter into agreements for— 

17 (1) the purchase of weather data through con18 tracts with commercial providers; and 

19 (2) the placement of weather satellite instru20 ments on cohosted government or private payloads. 

21 (b) STRATEGY.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

23 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec24 retary of Commerce, in consultation with the Under 

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1 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 

2 and the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech3 nology of the House of Representatives a strategy to 

4 enable the procurement of quality commercial weath5 er data. The strategy shall assess the range of com6 mercial opportunities, including public-private part7 nerships, for obtaining surface-based, aviation-based, 

8 and space-based weather observations. The strategy 

9 shall include the expected cost-effectiveness of these 

10 opportunities as well as provide a plan for procuring 

11 data, including an expected implementation timeline, 

12 from these nongovernmental sources, as appropriate. 

13 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The strategy shall in14 clude— 

15 (A) an analysis of financial or other bene16 fits to, and risks associated with, acquiring 

17 commercial weather data or services, including 

18 through multiyear acquisition approaches; 

19 (B) an identification of methods to address 

20 planning, programming, budgeting, and execu21 tion challenges to such approaches, including— 

22 (i) how standards will be set to ensure 

23 that data is reliable and effective; 

24 (ii) how data may be acquired through 

25 commercial experimental or innovative 


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1 techniques and then evaluated for integra2 tion into operational use; 

3 (iii) how to guarantee public access to 

4 all forecast-critical data to ensure that the 

5 United States weather industry and the 

6 public continue to have access to informa7 tion critical to their work; and 

8 (iv) in accordance with section 50503 

9 of title 51, United States Code, methods to 

10 address potential termination liability or 

11 cancellation costs associated with weather 

12 data or service contracts; and 

13 (C) an identification of any changes needed 

14 in the requirements development and approval 

15 processes of the Department of Commerce to 

16 facilitate effective and efficient implementation 

17 of such strategy. 

18 (3) AUTHORITY FOR AGREEMENTS.—The As19 sistant Administrator for National Environmental 

20 Satellite, Data, and Information Service may enter 

21 into multiyear agreements necessary to carry out the 

22 strategy developed under this subsection. 

23 (c) PILOT PROGRAM.— 

24 (1) CRITERIA.—Not later than 30 days after 

25 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Under 


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1 Secretary shall publish data and metadata standards 

2 and specifications for space-based commercial weath3 er data, including radio occultation data, and, as 

4 soon as possible, geostationary hyperspectral sound5 er data. 

6 (2) PILOT CONTRACTS.— 

7 (A) CONTRACTS.—Not later than 90 days 

8 after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

9 Under Secretary shall, through an open com10 petition, enter into at least one pilot contract 

11 with one or more private sector entities capable 

12 of providing data that meet the standards and 

13 specifications set by the Under Secretary for 

14 providing commercial weather data in a manner 

15 that allows the Under Secretary to calibrate 

16 and evaluate the data for its use in National 

17 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration mete18 orological models. 

19 (B) ASSESSMENT OF DATA VIABILITY.— 

20 Not later than the date that is 3 years after the 

21 date on which the Under Secretary enters into 

22 a contract under subparagraph (A), the Under 

23 Secretary shall assess and submit to the Com24 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor25 tation of the Senate and the Committee on 


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1 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 

2 Representatives the results of a determination 

3 of the extent to which data provided under the 

4 contract entered into under subparagraph (A) 

5 meet the criteria published under paragraph (1) 

6 and the extent to which the pilot program has 

7 demonstrated— 

8 (i) the viability of assimilating the 

9 commercially provided data into National 

10 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

11 meteorological models; 

12 (ii) whether, and by how much, the 

13 data add value to weather forecasts; and 

14 (iii) the accuracy, quality, timeliness, 

15 validity, reliability, usability, information 

16 technology security, and cost-effectiveness 

17 of obtaining commercial weather data from 

18 private sector providers. 

19 (3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For 

20 each of fiscal years 2017 through 2020, there are 

21 authorized to be appropriated for procurement, ac22 quisition, and construction at National Environ23 mental Satellite, Data, and Information Service, 

24 $6,000,000 to carry out this subsection. 


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1 (d) OBTAINING FUTURE DATA.—If an assessment 

2 under subsection (c)(2)(B) demonstrates the ability of 

3 commercial weather data to meet data and metadata 

4 standards and specifications published under subsection 

5 (c)(1), the Under Secretary shall— 

6 (1) where appropriate, cost-effective, and fea7 sible, obtain commercial weather data from private 

8 sector providers; 

9 (2) as early as possible in the acquisition proc10 ess for any future National Oceanic and Atmos11 pheric Administration meteorological space system, 

12 consider whether there is a suitable, cost-effective, 

13 commercial capability available or that will be avail14 able to meet any or all of the observational require15 ments by the planned operational date of the system; 

16 (3) if a suitable, cost-effective, commercial ca17 pability is or will be available as described in para18 graph (2), determine whether it is in the national in19 terest to develop a governmental meteorological 

20 space system; and 

21 (4) submit to the Committee on Commerce, 

22 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the 

23 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

24 House of Representatives a report detailing any de25 termination made under paragraphs (2) and (3). 


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1 (e) DATA SHARING PRACTICES.—The Under Sec2 retary shall continue to meet the international meteorolog3 ical agreements into which the Under Secretary has en4 tered, including practices set forth through World Mete5 orological Organization Resolution 40. 

6 SEC. 303. UNNECESSARY DUPLICATION. 

7 In meeting the requirements under this title, the 

8 Under Secretary shall avoid unnecessary duplication be9 tween public and private sources of data and the cor10 responding expenditure of funds and employment of per11 sonnel. 

12 TITLE IV—FEDERAL WEATHER 

13 COORDINATION 

14 SEC. 401. ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION SERVICES 

15 WORKING GROUP. 

16 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The National Oceanic and 

17 Atmospheric Administration Science Advisory Board shall 

18 continue to maintain a standing working group named the 

19 Environmental Information Services Working Group (in 

20 this section referred to as the ‘‘Working Group’’)— 

21 (1) to provide advice for prioritizing weather re22 search initiatives at the National Oceanic and At23 mospheric Administration to produce real improve24 ment in weather forecasting; 


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1 (2) to provide advice on existing or emerging 

2 technologies or techniques that can be found in pri3 vate industry or the research community that could 

4 be incorporated into forecasting at the National 

5 Weather Service to improve forecasting skill; 

6 (3) to identify opportunities to improve— 

7 (A) communications between weather fore8 casters, Federal, State, local, tribal, and other 

9 emergency management personnel, and the pub10 lic; and 

11 (B) communications and partnerships 

12 among the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

13 Administration and the private and academic 

14 sectors; and 

15 (4) to address such other matters as the 

16 Science Advisory Board requests of the Working 

17 Group. 

18 (b) COMPOSITION.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Working Group shall be 

20 composed of leading experts and innovators from all 

21 relevant fields of science and engineering including 

22 atmospheric chemistry, atmospheric physics, meteor23 ology, hydrology, social science, risk communica24 tions, electrical engineering, and computer sciences. 


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1 In carrying out this section, the Working Group may 

2 organize into subpanels. 

3 (2) NUMBER.—The Working Group shall be 

4 composed of no fewer than 15 members. Nominees 

5 for the Working Group may be forwarded by the 

6 Working Group for approval by the Science Advisory 

7 Board. Members of the Working Group may choose 

8 a chair (or co-chairs) from among their number with 

9 approval by the Science Advisory Board. 

10 (c) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not less frequently than once 

11 each year, the Working Group shall transmit to the 

12 Science Advisory Board for submission to the Under Sec13 retary a report on progress made by National Oceanic and 

14 Atmospheric Administration in adopting the Working 

15 Group’s recommendations. The Science Advisory Board 

16 shall transmit this report to the Under Secretary. Within 

17 30 days of receipt of such report, the Under Secretary 

18 shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

19 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 

20 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Rep21 resentatives a copy of such report. 

22 SEC. 402. INTERAGENCY WEATHER RESEARCH AND FORE23 CAST INNOVATION COORDINATION. 

24 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director of the Office of 

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1 agency Committee for Advancing Weather Services to im2 prove coordination of relevant weather research and fore3 cast innovation activities across the Federal Government. 

4 The Interagency Committee shall— 

5 (1) include participation by the National Aero6 nautics and Space Administration, the Federal Avia7 tion Administration, National Oceanic and Atmos8 pheric Administration and its constituent elements, 

9 the National Science Foundation, and such other 

10 agencies involved in weather forecasting research as 

11 the President determines are appropriate; 

12 (2) identify and prioritize top forecast needs 

13 and coordinate those needs against budget requests 

14 and program initiatives across participating offices 

15 and agencies; and 

16 (3) share information regarding operational 

17 needs and forecasting improvements across relevant 

18 agencies. 

19 (b) CO-CHAIR.—The Federal Coordinator for Meteor20 ology shall serve as a co-chair of this panel. 

21 (c) FURTHER COORDINATION.—The Director of the 

22 Office of Science and Technology Policy shall take such 

23 other steps as are necessary to coordinate the activities 

24 of the Federal Government with those of the United States 


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1 weather industry, State governments, emergency man2 agers, and academic researchers. 

3 SEC. 403. OFFICE OF OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC RE4 SEARCH AND NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE 

5 EXCHANGE PROGRAM. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Administrator for 

7 Oceanic and Atmospheric Research and the Director of 

8 National Weather Service may establish a program to de9 tail Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research personnel 

10 to the National Weather Service and National Weather 

11 Service personnel to the Office of Oceanic and Atmos12 pheric Research. 

13 (b) GOAL.—The goal of this program is to enhance 

14 forecasting innovation through regular, direct interaction 

15 between the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research’s 

16 world-class scientists and the National Weather Service’s 

17 operational staff. 

18 (c) ELEMENTS.—The program shall allow up to 10 

19 Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research staff and Na20 tional Weather Service staff to spend up to 1 year on de21 tail. Candidates shall be jointly selected by the Assistant 

22 Administrator for Oceanic and Atmospheric Research and 

23 the Director of the National Weather Service. 

24 (d) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not less frequently than once 

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1 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

2 Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech3 nology of the House of Representatives a report on partici4 pation in such program and shall highlight any innova5 tions that come from this interaction. 

6 SEC. 404. VISITING FELLOWS AT NATIONAL WEATHER 

7 SERVICE. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National 

9 Weather Service may establish a program to host 

10 postdoctoral fellows and academic researchers at any of 

11 the National Centers for Environmental Prediction. 

12 (b) GOAL.—This program shall be designed to pro13 vide direct interaction between forecasters and talented 

14 academic and private sector researchers in an effort to 

15 bring innovation to forecasting tools and techniques to the 

16 National Weather Service. 

17 (c) SELECTION AND APPOINTMENT.—Such fellows 

18 shall be competitively selected and appointed for a term 

19 not to exceed 1 year. 

20 SEC. 405. WARNING COORDINATION METEOROLOGISTS AT 

21 WEATHER FORECAST OFFICES OF NATIONAL 

22 WEATHER SERVICE. 

23 (a) DESIGNATION OF WARNING COORDINATION ME24 TEOROLOGISTS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National 

2 Weather Service shall designate at least one warning 

3 coordination meteorologist at each weather forecast 

4 office of the National Weather Service. 

5 (2) NO ADDITIONAL EMPLOYEES AUTHOR6 IZED.—Nothing in this section shall be construed to 

7 authorize or require a change in the authorized 

8 number of full time equivalent employees in the Na9 tional Weather Service or otherwise result in the em10 ployment of any additional employees. 

11 (3) PERFORMANCE BY OTHER EMPLOYEES.— 

12 Performance of the responsibilities outlined in this 

13 section is not limited to the warning coordination 

14 meteorologist position. 

15 (b) PRIMARY ROLE OF WARNING COORDINATION

16 METEOROLOGISTS.—The primary role of the warning co17 ordination meteorologist shall be to carry out the respon18 sibilities required by this section. 

19 (c) RESPONSIBILITIES.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

21 consistent with the analysis described in section 409, 

22 and in order to increase impact-based decision sup23 port services, each warning coordination meteorolo24 gist designated under subsection (a) shall— 


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1 (A) be responsible for providing service to 

2 the geographic area of responsibility covered by 

3 the weather forecast office at which the warning 

4 coordination meteorologist is employed to help 

5 ensure that users of products of the National 

6 Weather Service can respond effectively to im7 prove outcomes from weather events; 

8 (B) liaise with users of products and serv9 ices of the National Weather Service, such as 

10 the public, media outlets, users in the aviation, 

11 marine, and agricultural communities, and for12 estry, land, and water management interests, to 

13 evaluate the adequacy and usefulness of the 

14 products and services of the National Weather 

15 Service; 

16 (C) collaborate with such weather forecast 

17 offices and State, local, and tribal government 

18 agencies as the Director considers appropriate 

19 in developing, proposing, and implementing 

20 plans to develop, modify, or tailor products and 

21 services of the National Weather Service to im22 prove the usefulness of such products and serv23 ices; 

24 (D) ensure the maintenance and accuracy 

25 of severe weather call lists, appropriate office 


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1 severe weather policy or procedures, and other 

2 severe weather or dissemination methodologies 

3 or strategies; and 

4 (E) work closely with State, local, and trib5 al emergency management agencies, and other 

6 agencies related to disaster management, to en7 sure a planned, coordinated, and effective pre8 paredness and response effort. 

9 (2) OTHER STAFF.—The Director may assign a 

10 responsibility set forth in paragraph (1) to such 

11 other staff as the Director considers appropriate to 

12 carry out such responsibility. 

13 (d) ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), a 

15 warning coordination meteorologist designated under 

16 subsection (a) may— 

17 (A) work with a State agency to develop 

18 plans for promoting more effective use of prod19 ucts and services of the National Weather Serv20 ice throughout the State; 

21 (B) identify priority community prepared22 ness objectives; 

23 (C) develop plans to meet the objectives 

24 identified under paragraph (2); and 


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1 (D) conduct severe weather event pre2 paredness planning and citizen education efforts 

3 with and through various State, local, and trib4 al government agencies and other disaster man5 agement-related organizations. 

6 (2) OTHER STAFF.—The Director may assign a 

7 responsibility set forth in paragraph (1) to such 

8 other staff as the Director considers appropriate to 

9 carry out such responsibility. 

10 (e) PLACEMENT WITH STATE AND LOCAL EMER11 GENCY MANAGERS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this section, 

13 the Director of the National Weather Service may 

14 place a warning coordination meteorologist des15 ignated under subsection (a) with a State or local 

16 emergency manager if the Director considers doing 

17 so is necessary or convenient to carry out this sec18 tion. 

19 (2) TREATMENT.—If the Director determines 

20 that the placement of a warning coordination mete21 orologist placed with a State or local emergency 

22 manager under paragraph (1) is near a weather 

23 forecast office of the National Weather Service, such 

24 placement shall be treated as designation of the 


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1 warning coordination meteorologist at such weather 

2 forecast office for purposes of subsection (a). 

3 SEC. 406. IMPROVING NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOS4 PHERIC ADMINISTRATION COMMUNICATION 

5 OF HAZARDOUS WEATHER AND WATER 

6 EVENTS. 

7 (a) PURPOSE OF SYSTEM.—For purposes of the as8 sessment required by subsection (b)(1)(A), the purpose of 

9 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration system 

10 for issuing watches and warnings regarding hazardous 

11 weather and water events shall be risk communication to 

12 the general public that informs action to prevent loss of 

13 life and property. 

14 (b) ASSESSMENT OF SYSTEM.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 

16 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Under 

17 Secretary shall— 

18 (A) assess the National Oceanic and At19 mospheric Administration system for issuing 

20 watches and warnings regarding hazardous 

21 weather and water events; and 

22 (B) submit to Congress a report on the 

23 findings of the Under Secretary with respect to 

24 the assessment conducted under subparagraph 

25 (A). 


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1 (2) ELEMENTS.—The assessment required by 

2 paragraph (1)(A) shall include the following: 

3 (A) An evaluation of whether the National 

4 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration sys5 tem for issuing watches and warnings regarding 

6 hazardous weather and water events meets the 

7 purpose described in subsection (a). 

8 (B) Development of recommendations 

9 for— 

10 (i) legislative and administrative ac11 tion to improve the system described in 

12 paragraph (1)(A); and 

13 (ii) such research as the Under Sec14 retary considers necessary to address the 

15 focus areas described in paragraph (3). 

16 (3) FOCUS AREAS.—The assessment required 

17 by paragraph (1)(A) shall focus on the following: 

18 (A) Ways to communicate the risks posed 

19 by hazardous weather or water events to the 

20 public that are most likely to result in action to 

21 mitigate the risk. 

22 (B) Ways to communicate the risks posed 

23 by hazardous weather or water events to the 

24 public as broadly and rapidly as practicable. 


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1 (C) Ways to preserve the benefits of the 

2 existing watches and warnings system. 

3 (D) Ways to maintain the utility of the 

4 watches and warnings system for Government 

5 and commercial users of the system. 

6 (4) CONSULTATION.—In conducting the assess7 ment required by paragraph (1)(A), the Under Sec8 retary shall— 

9 (A) consult with such line offices within 

10 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin11 istration as the Under Secretary considers rel12 evant, including the the National Ocean Serv13 ice, the National Weather Service, and the Of14 fice of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research; 

15 (B) consult with individuals in the aca16 demic sector, including individuals in the field 

17 of social and behavioral sciences, and other 

18 weather services; 

19 (C) consult with media outlets that will be 

20 distributing the watches and warnings; 

21 (D) consult with non-Federal forecasters 

22 that produce alternate severe weather risk com23 munication products; 

24 (E) consult with emergency planners and 

25 responders, including State and local emergency 


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1 management agencies, and other government 

2 users of the watches and warnings system, in3 cluding the Federal Emergency Management 

4 Agency, the Office of Personnel Management, 

5 the Coast Guard, and such other Federal agen6 cies as the Under Secretary determines rely on 

7 watches and warnings for operational decisions; 

8 and 

9 (F) make use of the services of the Na10 tional Academy of Sciences, as the Under Sec11 retary considers necessary and practicable, in12 cluding contracting with the National Research 

13 Council to review the scientific and technical 

14 soundness of the assessment required by para15 graph (1)(A), including the recommendations 

16 developed under paragraph (2)(B). 

17 (5) METHODOLOGIES.—In conducting the as18 sessment required by paragraph (1)(A), the Under 

19 Secretary shall use such methodologies as the Under 

20 Secretary considers are generally accepted by the 

21 weather enterprise, including social and behavioral 

22 sciences. 

23 (c) IMPROVEMENTS TO SYSTEM.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall, 

25 based on the assessment required by subsection 


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1 (b)(1)(A), make such recommendations to Congress 

2 to improve the system as the Under Secretary con3 siders necessary— 

4 (A) to improve the system for issuing 

5 watches and warnings regarding hazardous 

6 weather and water events; and 

7 (B) to support efforts to satisfy research 

8 needs to enable future improvements to such 

9 system. 

10 (2) REQUIREMENTS REGARDING RECOMMENDA11 TIONS.—In carrying out paragraph (1)(A), the 

12 Under Secretary shall ensure that any recommenda13 tion that the Under Secretary considers a major 

14 change— 

15 (A) is validated by social and behavioral 

16 science using a generalizable sample; 

17 (B) accounts for the needs of various de18 mographics, vulnerable populations, and geo19 graphic regions; 

20 (C) accounts for the differences between 

21 types of weather and water hazards; 

22 (D) responds to the needs of Federal, 

23 State, and local government partners and media 

24 partners; and 


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1 (E) accounts for necessary changes to Fed2 erally operated watch and warning propagation 

3 and dissemination infrastructure and protocols. 

4 (d) WATCHES AND WARNINGS DEFINED.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para6 graph (2), in this section, the terms ‘‘watch’’ and 

7 ‘‘warning’’, with respect to a hazardous weather and 

8 water event, mean products issued by the Adminis9 tration, intended for consumption by the general 

10 public, to alert the general public to the potential for 

11 or presence of the event and to inform action to pre12 vent loss of life and property. 

13 (2) EXCEPTION.—ln this section, the terms 

14 ‘‘watch’’ and ‘‘warning’’ do not include technical or 

15 specialized meteorological and hydrological forecasts, 

16 outlooks, or model guidance products. 

17 SEC. 407. NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMIN18 ISTRATION WEATHER READY ALL HAZARDS 

19 AWARD PROGRAM. 

20 (a) PROGRAM.—The Director of the National Weath21 er Service is authorized to establish the National Oceanic 

22 and Atmospheric Administration Weather Ready All Haz23 ards Award Program. This award program shall provide 

24 annual awards to honor individuals or organizations that 

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1 istration Weather Radio All Hazards receivers or trans2 mitters to save lives and protect property. Individuals or 

3 organizations that utilize other early warning tools or ap4 plications also qualify for this award. 

5 (b) GOAL.—This award program draws attention to 

6 the life-saving work of the National Oceanic and Atmos7 pheric Administration Weather Ready All Hazards Pro8 gram, as well as emerging tools and applications, that pro9 vide real-time warning to individuals and communities of 

10 severe weather or other hazardous conditions. 

11 (c) PROGRAM ELEMENTS.— 

12 (1) NOMINATIONS.—Nominations for this 

13 award shall be made annually by the Weather Field 

14 Offices to the Director of the National Weather 

15 Service. Broadcast meteorologists, weather radio 

16 manufacturers and weather warning tool and appli17 cation developers, emergency managers, and public 

18 safety officials may nominate individuals or organi19 zations to their local Weather Field Offices, but the 

20 final list of award nominees must come from the 

21 Weather Field Offices. 

22 (2) SELECTION OF AWARDEES.—Annually, the 

23 Director of the National Weather Service shall 

24 choose winners of this award whose timely actions, 

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1 istration Weather Radio All Hazards receivers or 

2 transmitters or other early warning tools and appli3 cations, saved lives or property, or demonstrated 

4 public service in support of weather or all hazard 

5 warnings. 

6 (3) AWARD CEREMONY.—The Director of the 

7 National Weather Service shall establish a means of 

8 making these awards to provide maximum public 

9 awareness of the importance of National Oceanic 

10 and Atmospheric Administration Weather Radio, 

11 and such other warning tools and applications as are 

12 represented in the awards. 

13 SEC. 408. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE WEATHER FORE14 CASTING ACTIVITIES. 

15 Not later than 60 days after the date of the enact16 ment of this Act, the Under Secretary shall submit to the 

17 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

18 the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and 

19 Technology of the House of Representatives a report ana20 lyzing the impacts of the proposed Air Force divestiture 

21 in the United States Weather Research and Forecasting 

22 Model, including— 

23 (1) the impact on— 

24 (A) the United States weather forecasting 

25 capabilities; 


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1 (B) the accuracy of civilian regional fore2 casts; 

3 (C) the civilian readiness for traditional 

4 weather and extreme weather events in the 

5 United States; and 

6 (D) the research necessary to develop the 

7 United States Weather Research and Fore8 casting Model; and 

9 (2) such other analysis relating to the divesti10 ture as the Under Secretary considers appropriate. 

11 SEC. 409. NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE; OPERATIONS AND 

12 WORKFORCE ANALYSIS. 

13 The Under Secretary shall contract or continue to 

14 partner with an external organization to conduct a base15 line analysis of National Weather Service operations and 

16 workforce. 

17 SEC. 410. REPORT ON CONTRACT POSITIONS AT NATIONAL 

18 WEATHER SERVICE. 

19 (a) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 180 days 

20 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Under 

21 Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the use 

22 of contractors at the National Weather Service for the 

23 most recently completed fiscal year. 


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1 (b) CONTENTS.—The report required by subsection 

2 (a) shall include, with respect to the most recently com3 pleted fiscal year, the following: 

4 (1) The total number of full-time equivalent 

5 employees at the National Weather Service, 

6 disaggregated by each equivalent level of the General 

7 Schedule. 

8 (2) The total number of full-time equivalent 

9 contractors at the National Weather Service, 

10 disaggregated by each equivalent level of the General 

11 Schedule that most closely approximates their du12 ties. 

13 (3) The total number of vacant positions at the 

14 National Weather Service on the day before the date 

15 of enactment of this Act, disaggregated by each 

16 equivalent level of the General Schedule. 

17 (4) The five most common positions filled by 

18 full-time equivalent contractors at the National 

19 Weather Service and the equivalent level of the Gen20 eral Schedule that most closely approximates the du21 ties of such positions. 

22 (5) Of the positions identified under paragraph 

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1 tity in National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis2 tration. 

3 (6) The average full-time equivalent salary for 

4 Federal employees at the National Weather Service 

5 for each equivalent level of the General Schedule. 

6 (7) The average salary for full-time equivalent 

7 contractors performing at each equivalent level of 

8 the General Schedule at the National Weather Serv9 ice. 

10 (8) A description of any actions taken by the 

11 Under Secretary to respond to the issues raised by 

12 the Inspector General of the Department of Com13 merce regarding the hiring of former National Oce14 anic and Atmospheric Administration employees as 

15 contractors at the National Weather Service such as 

16 the issues raised in the Investigative Report dated 

17 June 2, 2015 (OIG–12–0447). 

18 (c) ANNUAL PUBLICATION.—For each fiscal year 

19 after the fiscal year covered by the report required by sub20 section (a), the Under Secretary shall, not later than 180 

21 days after the completion of the fiscal year, publish on 

22 a publicly accessible Internet website the information de23 scribed in paragraphs (1) through (8) of subsection (b) 

24 for such fiscal year. 


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1 SEC. 411. WEATHER IMPACTS TO COMMUNITIES AND IN2 FRASTRUCTURE. 

3 (a) REVIEW.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National 

5 Weather Service shall review existing research, prod6 ucts, and services that meet the specific needs of the 

7 urban environment, given its unique physical charac8 teristics and forecasting challenges. 

9 (2) ELEMENTS.—The review required by para10 graph (1) shall include research, products, and serv11 ices with the potential to improve modeling and fore12 casting capabilities, taking into account factors in13 cluding varying building heights, impermeable sur14 faces, lack of tree canopy, traffic, pollution, and 

15 inter-building wind effects. 

16 (b) REPORT AND ASSESSMENT.—Upon completion of 

17 the review required by subsection (a), the Under Secretary 

18 shall submit to Congress a report on the research, prod19 ucts, and services of the National Weather Service, includ20 ing an assessment of such research, products, and services 

21 that is based on the review, public comment, and recent 

22 publications by the National Academy of Sciences. 

23 SEC. 412. WEATHER ENTERPRISE OUTREACH. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary may estab25 lish mechanisms for outreach to the weather enterprise— 


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1 (1) to assess the weather forecasts and forecast 

2 products provided by the National Oceanic and At3 mospheric Administration; and 

4 (2) to determine the highest priority weather 

5 forecast needs of the community described in sub6 section (b). 

7 (b) OUTREACH COMMUNITY.—In conducting out8 reach under subsection (a), the Under Secretary shall con9 tact leading experts and innovators from relevant stake10 holders, including the representatives from the following: 

11 (1) State or local emergency management agen12 cies. 

13 (2) State agriculture agencies. 

14 (3) Indian tribes (as defined in section 4 of the 

15 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

16 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304)) and Native Hawaiians (as de17 fined in section 6207 of the Elementary and Sec18 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7517)). 

19 (4) The private aerospace industry. 

20 (5) The private earth observing industry. 

21 (6) The operational forecasting community. 

22 (7) The academic community. 

23 (8) Professional societies that focus on meteor24 ology. 


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1 (9) Such other stakeholder groups as the Under 

2 Secretary considers appropriate. 

Æ 


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