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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5490 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 5490

To require the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere to 
   maintain a communications program to communicate with the general 
 public about patterns and trends with respect to changing weather and 
                    climate, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           December 11, 2024

Mr. Welch (for himself and Mr. Warnock) introduced the following bill; 
    which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
To require the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere to 
   maintain a communications program to communicate with the general 
 public about patterns and trends with respect to changing weather and 
                    climate, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Natural Disaster Education and 
Outreach Act of 2024''.

SEC. 2. COMMUNICATION PROGRAM REGARDING PATTERNS AND TRENDS WITH 
              RESPECT TO CHANGING WEATHER AND CLIMATE.

    (a) In General.--The Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and 
Atmosphere (in this section referred to as the ``Under Secretary'') 
shall establish a communications program to communicate with the 
general public about patterns and trends with respect to changing 
weather and climate with the goal of--
            (1) providing communities and local governments in the 
        United States operational climate products and services to base 
        key decisions about allocating resources and preparedness 
        measures before actual weather events occur; and
            (2) informing the general public about changing weather 
        patterns caused by a changing climate.
    (b) Communication Regarding Climate Assessments.--In carrying out 
the communications program required under subsection (a), the Under 
Secretary shall include communication regarding the climate assessments 
conducted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and 
may consider including communication regarding other government climate 
assessments required by the Global Change Research Act of 1990 (15 
U.S.C. 2921 et seq.), such as the National Climate Assessment.
    (c) Working Group.--
            (1) In general.--In carrying out the communications program 
        required under subsection (a), the Under Secretary shall 
        maintain a working group for the purpose of identifying the 
        most effective ways to disseminate information about changing 
        weather patterns and risks associated with such changes, 
        including public campaigns, educational resources for community 
        and local leaders, and outreach to key decision makers and 
        educators in local government and community organizations.
            (2) Makeup and organization.--The Under Secretary shall 
        determine the makeup and organization of the working group 
        required under paragraph (1).
            (3) Support services.--The working group required under 
        paragraph (1) shall coordinate with existing programs engaged 
        in weather and climate communication and the provision of 
        operational climate services, including the impact-based 
        decision support services of the National Weather Service.
    (d) Funding.--There are authorized to be appropriated to the 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration $3,000,000 for each of 
fiscal years 2025 through 2028 to carry out this section.
                                 <all>
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