113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2431 

AN ACT 

To reauthorize the National Integrated Drought Information 

System. 

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. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Integrated 

3 Drought Information System Reauthorization Act of 

4 2014’’. 

5 SEC. 2. NIDIS PROGRAM AMENDMENTS. 

6 Section 3 of the National Integrated Drought Infor7 mation System Act of 2006 (15 U.S.C. 313d) is amend8 ed— 

9 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting before the pe10 riod at the end the following: ‘‘to better inform and 

11 provide for more timely decisionmaking to reduce 

12 drought related impacts and costs’’; 

13 (2) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the 

14 following: 

15 ‘‘(b) SYSTEM FUNCTIONS.—The National Integrated 

16 Drought Information System shall— 

17 ‘‘(1) provide an effective drought early warning 

18 system that— 

19 ‘‘(A) collects and integrates information on 

20 the key indicators of drought and drought im21 pacts in order to make usable, reliable, and 

22 timely forecasts of drought, including assess23 ments of the severity of drought conditions and 

24 impacts; and 
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1 ‘‘(B) provides such information, forecasts, 

2 and assessments on both national and regional 

3 levels; 

4 ‘‘(2) communicate drought forecasts, drought 

5 conditions, and drought impacts on an ongoing basis 

6 to public and private entities engaged in drought 

7 planning and preparedness, including— 

8 ‘‘(A) decisionmakers at the Federal, re9 gional, State, tribal, and local levels of govern10 ment; 

11 ‘‘(B) the private sector; and 

12 ‘‘(C) the public; 

13 ‘‘(3) provide timely data, information, and 

14 products that reflect local, regional, and State dif15 ferences in drought conditions; 

16 ‘‘(4) coordinate, and integrate as practicable, 

17 Federal research and monitoring in support of a 

18 drought early warning system; 

19 ‘‘(5) build upon existing forecasting and assess20 ment programs and partnerships, including through 

21 the designation of one or more cooperative institutes 

22 to assist with National Integrated Drought Informa23 tion System functions; and 

24 ‘‘(6) continue ongoing research and monitoring 

25 activities related to drought, including research ac-
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1 tivities relating to length, severity, and impacts of 

2 drought and the role of extreme weather events and 

3 climate variability in drought.’’; and 

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

5 ‘‘(e) REPORT.— 

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

7 after the date of enactment of the National Inte8 grated Drought Information System Reauthorization 

9 Act of 2014, the Under Secretary shall transmit to 

10 the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of 

11 the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

12 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen13 ate a report that contains— 

14 ‘‘(A) an analysis of the implementation of 

15 the National Integrated Drought Information 

16 System program, including how the informa17 tion, forecasts, and assessments are utilized in 

18 drought policy planning and response activities; 

19 ‘‘(B) specific plans for continued develop20 ment of such program, including future mile21 stones; and 

22 ‘‘(C) an identification of research, moni23 toring, and forecasting needs to enhance the 

24 predictive capability of drought early warnings 

25 that include— 
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1 ‘‘(i) the length and severity of 

2 droughts; 

3 ‘‘(ii) the contribution of weather 

4 events to reducing the severity or ending 

5 drought conditions; and 

6 ‘‘(iii) regionally specific drought im7 pacts. 

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

9 under paragraph (1), the Under Secretary shall con10 sult with relevant Federal, regional, State, tribal, 

11 and local government agencies, research institutions, 

12 and the private sector.’’. 

13 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

14 Section 4 of such Act (15 U.S.C. 313d note) is 

15 amended to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

17 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

18 this Act $13,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2014 through 

19 2018.’’. 

Passed the House of Representatives February 10, 

2014. 

Attest: 

Clerk. 
113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2431 

AN ACT 

To reauthorize the National Integrated Drought 

Information System.