I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2407 

To establish a National Climate Service at the National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 14, 2009 

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on Science and Technology 

A BILL 

To establish a National Climate Service at the National 

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

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 Climate Serv5 ice Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

7 The purpose of this Act is to establish a National 

8 Climate Service within the National Oceanic and Atmos9 pheric Administration to— 


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1 (1) advance understanding of climate variability 

2 and change at the global, national, and regional lev3 els; 

4 (2) provide forecasts, warnings, and other infor5 mation to the public on variability and change in 

6 weather and climate that affect geographic areas, 

7 natural resources, infrastructure, economic sectors, 

8 and communities; and 

9 (3) support development of adaptation and re10 sponse plans by Federal agencies, State, local, and 

11 tribal governments, the private sector, and the pub12 lic. 

13 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

14 In this Act: 

15 (1) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘Advi16 sory Committee’’ means the Climate Service Advi17 sory Committee established under section 5. 

18 (2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

19 the Director of the Climate Service Office. 

20 (3) REPRESENTATIVE.—The term ‘‘representa21 tive’’ means an individual who is not a full-time or 

22 part-time employee of the Federal Government and 

23 who is appointed to an advisory committee to rep24 resent the views of an entity or entities outside the 

25 Federal Government. 


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1 (4) SPECIAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE.—The 

2 term ‘‘Special Government Employee’’ has the same 

3 meaning as in section 202(a) of title 18, United 

4 States Code. 

5 (5) UNDER SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Under 

6 Secretary’’ means the Under Secretary of Commerce 

7 for Oceans and Atmosphere. 

8 SEC. 4. NATIONAL CLIMATE SERVICE. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary, building 

10 upon the resources of the National Weather Service and 

11 other weather and climate programs in the National Oce12 anic and Atmospheric Administration, shall establish the 

13 National Climate Service. 

14 (b) CLIMATE SERVICE OFFICE.—The Under Sec15 retary shall establish a Climate Service Office. The Cli16 mate Service Office shall— 

17 (1) coordinate programs at the National Oce18 anic and Atmospheric Administration to ensure the 

19 timely production and distribution of data and infor20 mation on national, regional, and local climate varia21 bility and change over all time scales relevant for 

22 planning and response, including intraseasonal, 

23 interannual, decadal, and multidecadal time periods; 

24 (2) ensure exchange of information between the 

25 research and operational offices at the National OceVerDate Nov 24 2008 01:45 May 15, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2407.IH H2407

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1 anic and Atmospheric Administration to identify re2 search needs for improving climate services and en3 sure the timely and orderly transition of research 

4 findings, improved technologies, models, and other 

5 tools to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad6 ministration’s operations; 

7 (3) ensure operational quality control of all Na8 tional Climate Service products including a trans9 parent and open accounting of all the assumptions 

10 built into the global, national, regional, and local 

11 weather and climate computer models upon which 

12 such climate services and products are based; 

13 (4) ensure a continuous level of high-quality 

14 data collected through a national observation and 

15 monitoring infrastructure by performing regular 

16 maintenance and verification, and periodic upgrades; 

17 (5) serve as liaison to and exchange information 

18 with other Federal agencies that provide climate 

19 services in order to— 

20 (A) ensure the timely dissemination of in21 formation on weather and climate produced by 

22 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin23 istration to other Federal agencies; 

24 (B) ensure that data and information col25 lected by other Federal agencies relevant to imVerDate Nov 24 2008 01:45 May 15, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2407.IH H2407

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1 proving climate services are made available to 

2 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin3 istration; 

4 (C) facilitate the development and delivery 

5 of climate services to relevant stakeholders; and 

6 (D) obtain information from other Federal 

7 agencies to improve the development and dis8 semination by the National Oceanic and Atmos9 pheric Administration of information on climate 

10 and weather to other Federal agencies for the 

11 development of climate service products by 

12 those agencies; 

13 (6) ensure cooperation and collaboration, as ap14 propriate, of the National Climate Service with 

15 State, local, and tribal governments, academic and 

16 nonprofit research organizations, and private sector 

17 entities, including weather information providers and 

18 other stakeholders; and 

19 (7) ensure exchange of data, information, and 

20 research with the United States Global Change Re21 search Program to support the development of as22 sessments required under the Global Change Re23 search Act of 1990 (15 U.S.C. 2921 et seq.). 

24 (c) NATIONAL CLIMATE SERVICE.— 


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

2 operate the National Climate Service through a na3 tional center, the Climate Service Office, and a net4 work of regional and local facilities, including the es5 tablished regional and local offices of the National 

6 Weather Service, 6 Regional Climate Centers, the of7 fices of the Regional Integrated Sciences and Assess8 ments program, the National Integrated Drought 

9 Information System, and any other National Oceanic 

10 and Atmospheric Administration or National Oce11 anic and Atmospheric Administration-supported re12 gional and local entities, as appropriate. 

13 (2) REGIONAL CLIMATE CENTERS PROGRAM.— 

14 The Under Secretary shall maintain a network of 6 

15 Regional Climate Centers to work cooperatively with 

16 the offices of State climatologists to— 

17 (A) collect and exchange data and informa18 tion needed to characterize, understand, and 

19 forecast regional and local weather and climate; 

20 (B) facilitate collection and exchange of 

21 data and information between the States and 

22 Federal Government on weather and climate in 

23 conjunction with the National Climatic Data 

24 Center; 

25 (C) support research and observations; 


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1 (D) obtain input on stakeholder needs for 

2 weather and climate information and products; 

3 and 

4 (E) support State and local adaptation and 

5 response planning. 

6 (3) REGIONAL INTEGRATED SCIENCES AND AS7 SESSMENTS PROGRAM.—The Under Secretary shall 

8 maintain a network of offices as part of the Regional 

9 Integrated Sciences and Assessments Program. Such 

10 offices shall engage in cooperative research, develop11 ment, and demonstration projects with the academic 

12 community on climate products, technologies, mod13 els, and other tools to improve understanding and 

14 forecasting of regional and local climate variability 

15 and change and the effects on economic activities, 

16 natural resources, and water availability, and other 

17 effects on communities, to facilitate development of 

18 regional and local adaptation plans to respond to cli19 mate variability and change, and any other needed 

20 research identified by the Under Secretary or the 

21 Advisory Committee. 

22 (4) OTHER OFFICES.—In carrying out the func23 tions of the National Climate Service, the Under 

24 Secretary shall utilize the assets and expertise of— 

25 (A) the National Weather Service to— 


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1 (i) deliver operational weather and cli2 mate forecasts, warnings, products, and in3 formation through the National Climate 

4 Services Division, Local Weather Forecast 

5 Offices, Weather Service Offices, and River 

6 Forecast Centers; and 

7 (ii) develop climate forecast models 

8 and tools through the National Centers for 

9 Environmental Prediction; 

10 (B) the National Environmental Satellite, 

11 Data, and Information Service to provide data 

12 services and support for product development 

13 and operations through the National Climatic 

14 Data Center and the Regional Climate Centers; 

15 (C) the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric 

16 Research to— 

17 (i) provide research on product devel18 opment; 

19 (ii) improve weather and climate fore20 cast models; 

21 (iii) provide new technologies and 

22 methods of observation; and 

23 (iv) oversee the National Oceanic and 

24 Atmospheric Administration supported re25 search performed by the Joint Cooperative 


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1 Institutes, universities, and other non-Fed2 eral entities; 

3 (D) the National Integrated Drought In4 formation System to— 

5 (i) provide an effective drought warn6 ing system; 

7 (ii) coordinate and integrate Federal 

8 research on droughts; 

9 (iii) collect and integrate information 

10 on key indicators of drought; 

11 (iv) make usable, reliable, and timely 

12 forecasts and assessments of drought, in13 cluding assessments of the severity of 

14 drought conditions and impacts; and 

15 (v) communicate drought forecasts, 

16 conditions, and impacts to Federal, re17 gional, State, tribal, and local govern18 ments, the private sector, and the public; 

19 and 

20 (E) any other National Oceanic and At21 mospheric Administration offices or programs, 

22 as appropriate. 

23 (5) SERVICE ELEMENTS.—The National Cli24 mate Service shall— 


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1 (A) conduct analyses of and studies relat2 ing to the effects of weather and climate on 

3 communities, including effects on agricultural 

4 production, natural resources, energy supply 

5 and demand, recreation, and other sectors of 

6 the economy; 

7 (B) carry out observations, data collection, 

8 and monitoring of atmospheric and oceanic con9 ditions on a statewide, regional, national, and 

10 global basis; 

11 (C) provide information and technical sup12 port for Federal, regional, State, tribal, and 

13 local government efforts to assess and respond 

14 to climate variability and change; 

15 (D) develop systems for the management 

16 and dissemination of data, information, and as17 sessments, including mechanisms for consulta18 tion with current and potential users; and 

19 (E) conduct research to improve fore20 casting, characterization, and understanding of 

21 weather and climate variability and change and 

22 its effects on communities, including its effects 

23 on agricultural production, natural resources, 

24 energy supply and demand, recreation, and 

25 other sectors of the economy. 


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1 SEC. 5. CLIMATE SERVICE ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall estab3 lish a Climate Service Advisory Committee to provide ad4 vice on— 

5 (1) climate service product development; 

6 (2) delivery of services to decisionmakers and 

7 other stakeholders; 

8 (3) infrastructure to support observations and 

9 monitoring; 

10 (4) computation and modeling needs, research 

11 needs, and other resources needed to develop, dis12 tribute, and ensure the utility of climate data, prod13 ucts, and services; and 

14 (5) any other topics as may be requested by the 

15 Under Secretary or Congress. 

16 (b) MEMBERS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Advisory Committee 

18 shall be composed of at least 25 members appointed 

19 by the Under Secretary. Each member of the Advi20 sory Committee shall be qualified either— 

21 (A) by education, training, and experience 

22 to evaluate scientific and technical information 

23 on matters referred to the Advisory Committee 

24 under this section; or 


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1 (B) to evaluate the utility and need for cli2 mate products by planners, decisionmakers, the 

3 private sector, and the public. 

4 (2) TERMS OF SERVICE.—Members shall be ap5 pointed for 3-year terms, renewable once, and shall 

6 serve at the discretion of the Under Secretary. Va7 cancy appointments shall be for the remainder of the 

8 unexpired term of the vacancy, and an individual so 

9 appointed may subsequently be appointed for 2 full 

10 3-year terms if the remainder of the unexpired term 

11 is less than one year. 

12 (3) CHAIRPERSON.—The Under Secretary shall 

13 designate a chairperson from among the members of 

14 the Advisory Committee. The designated Chair15 person shall alternate between a member who is ap16 pointed as a representative and a member who is ap17 pointed as a Special Government Employee. 

18 (4) SUBCOMMITTEES.— 

19 (A) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Advisory 

20 Committee shall establish— 

21 (i) a Subcommittee on Science and 

22 Technology to advise the National Climate 

23 Service on needed research, technology de24 velopment, and additional observations, 


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1 and on any other scientific or technical 

2 issues as appropriate; and 

3 (ii) a Subcommittee on Product De4 velopment and Delivery composed pri5 marily of representatives of the community 

6 of potential users of the products devel7 oped and delivered by the National Climate 

8 Service. 

9 The Advisory Committee may establish such ad10 ditional subcommittees of its members as may 

11 be necessary. 

12 (B) APPOINTMENT.— 

13 (i) FULL ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—At 

14 least 50 percent of the members of the Ad15 visory Committee shall be appointed as 

16 Special Government Employees. 

17 (ii) SUBCOMMITTEES.—At least 75 

18 percent of the members of the Sub19 committee on Science and Technology shall 

20 be appointed as Special Government Em21 ployees. Not more than 25 percent of the 

22 members of the Subcommittee on Product 

23 Development and Delivery shall be ap24 pointed as Special Government Employees. 

25 (c) ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.— 


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1 (1) REPORTING.—The Advisory Committee 

2 shall report to the Under Secretary and the appro3 priate requesting party. 

4 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT.—The Under 

5 Secretary shall provide administrative support to the 

6 Advisory Committee. 

7 (3) MEETINGS.—The Advisory Committee shall 

8 meet at least twice each year and at other times at 

9 the call of the Under Secretary or the Chairperson. 

10 (4) COMPENSATION AND EXPENSES.—A mem11 ber of the Advisory Committee shall not be com12 pensated for service on the Advisory Committee, but 

13 may be allowed travel expenses, including per diem 

14 in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with subchapter 

15 I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code. 

16 (d) EXPIRATION.—Section 14 of the Federal Advi17 sory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to 

18 the Climate Service Advisory Committee. 

19 SEC. 6. REPEAL. 

20 The National Climate Program Act (15 U.S.C. 2901 

21 et seq.) is repealed. 

22 SEC. 7. ESTABLISHMENT OF REGIONAL INTEGRATED 

23 SCIENCES AND ASSESSMENTS TEAMS. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall estab25 lish Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments 


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1 (RISA) Teams through a competitive, peer-reviewed selec2 tion process. Teams shall conduct applied regional climate 

3 research and projects to address the needs of local and 

4 regional decisionmakers for information and tools to de5 velop adaptation and response plans to climate variability 

6 and change. The awards shall be administered through a 

7 cooperative agreement between the National Oceanic and 

8 Atmospheric Administration and the RISA Team. Each 

9 award shall be for a period of five years for an amount 

10 up to $300,000 per year. 

11 (b) RISA TEAMS.—Teams shall be composed of 

12 multi-institutional partnerships whose individual members 

13 may include— 

14 (1) institutions of higher education, as defined 

15 in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 

16 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)); 

17 (2) minority serving institutions, as defined in 

18 section 371(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965; 

19 and 

20 (3) nongovernmental organizations, Federal 

21 agencies, State and local agencies, tribal organiza22 tions, and for-profit entities. 

23 (c) CONSIDERATIONS.—In making awards under this 

24 section, the Under Secretary shall consider— 


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1 (1) the overall geographic distribution of RISA 

2 Teams and existing gaps in applied research to sup3 port local and regional decisionmakers; 

4 (2) the team’s ability to contribute to the Na5 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s ef6 forts to deliver climate services in the region; and 

7 (3) the team’s proposal to integrate social and 

8 physical sciences research to address the effects of 

9 climate variability and change on the ecological, eco10 nomic, and social systems in the region. 

11 SEC. 8. SURVEY OF NEED FOR CLIMATE SERVICES. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall pro13 vide a report to Congress within 6 months after the date 

14 of enactment of this Act that compiles information on the 

15 current climate products being delivered by the National 

16 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and its partner 

17 organizations to users and stakeholders and on the needs 

18 of users and stakeholders for new climate products and 

19 services. 

20 (b) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—The report shall iden21 tify— 

22 (1) specific user groups and stakeholders that 

23 currently are served by the National Oceanic and 

24 Atmospheric Administration and its partner organi25 zations; 


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1 (2) the type of climate products and services 

2 currently delivered to specific user groups and stake3 holders and the specific National Oceanic and At4 mospheric Administration office or partner organiza5 tion that delivers these products and services; 

6 (3) potential user groups and stakeholders that 

7 may be served by expanding climate products and 

8 services; and 

9 (4) specific needs for new climate products and 

10 services identified by user groups and stakeholders. 

11 (c) CONSULTATION.—The Under Secretary shall con12 sult with the Climate Service Advisory Committee in the 

13 preparation of this report. 

14 SEC. 9. IMPLEMENTATION PLAN. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall pre16 pare a plan for creating a National Climate Service in the 

17 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and de18 livering climate products and services to the National Oce19 anic and Atmospheric Administration users and stake20 holders. The plan shall be submitted to the President and 

21 the Congress within 6 months after the date of enactment 

22 of this Act. 

23 (b) DRAFT PLAN.—Prior to the submission of the 

24 final plan, the Under Secretary shall publish a draft plan 


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1 in the Federal Register with a public comment period of 

2 at least 30 days. 

3 (c) CONTENTS.—The plan shall— 

4 (1) identify the current gaps in climate services 

5 and outline the process and resources the National 

6 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will use to 

7 fill these gaps; 

8 (2) describe the roles of the National Oceanic 

9 and Atmospheric Administration line offices and the 

10 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

11 partner organizations in the development and deliv12 ery of climate products and services; 

13 (3) describe the development and implementa14 tion of quality assurance and control mechanisms for 

15 climate products and services delivered by the Na16 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and 

17 its partner organizations; 

18 (4) identify the mechanisms and opportunities 

19 for determining user needs and engaging in a two20 way dialogue with users that will inform climate 

21 product and service development and delivery of au22 thoritative, timely, and useful information on climate 

23 variability and change and the effects on local, 

24 State, regional, national, and global scales; 


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1 (5) identify new responsibilities or tasks to be 

2 undertaken by existing National Oceanic and Atmos3 pheric Administration line offices and partner orga4 nizations; and 

5 (6) identify new infrastructure, equipment, per6 sonnel, or other resources needed to implement the 

7 proposed plan. 

8 (d) CONTINUITY OF SERVICE.—During the develop9 ment of the implementation plan, the public comment pe10 riod, and final plan, the National Oceanic and Atmos11 pheric Administration shall continue to provide climate 

12 services to the user community. 

13 (e) CONSULTATION.—In developing the plan, the 

14 Under Secretary shall consult with user groups and stake15 holders, other Federal agencies, the Climate Service Advi16 sory Committee, and Congress. 

Æ 


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