IB 

Union Calendar No. 258 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2431 

[Report No. 113–348] 

To reauthorize the National Integrated Drought Information System. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 19, 2013 

Mr. HALL (for himself, Mr. SMITH of Texas, and Mr. BEN RAY LUJA ́N of 

New Mexico) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 

FEBRUARY 6, 2014 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on June 19, 2013] 


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A BILL 

To reauthorize the National Integrated Drought Information 

System. 


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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

5 Drought Information System Reauthorization Act of 2013’’. 

6 SEC. 2. NIDIS PROGRAM AMENDMENTS. 

7 Section 3 of the National Integrated Drought Informa8 tion System Act of 2006 (15 U.S.C. 313d) is amended— 

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 time22 ly forecasts of drought, including assessments of 

23 the severity of drought conditions and impacts; 

24 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 prod14 ucts that reflect local, regional, and State differences 

15 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 acVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:12 Feb 06, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2431.RH H2431

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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 Integrated 

8 Drought Information System Reauthorization Act of 

9 2013, the Under Secretary shall transmit to the Com10 mittee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

11 House of Representatives and the Committee on Com12 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a 

13 report that contains— 

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

15 the National Integrated Drought Information 

16 System program, including how the information, 

17 forecasts, and assessments are utilized in drought 

18 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 pre24 dictive capability of drought early warnings that 

25 include— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the length and severity of 

2 droughts; 

3 ‘‘(ii) the contribution of weather events 

4 to reducing the severity or ending drought 

5 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, and 

11 local government agencies, research institutions, and 

12 the private sector.’’. 

13 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

14 Section 4 of such Act (15 U.S.C. 313d note) is amend15 ed 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.’’. 


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Union Calendar No. 258 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2431 

[Report No. 113–348] 

A BILL 

To reauthorize the National Integrated Drought 

Information System. 

FEBRUARY 6, 2014 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS