II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3642 

To direct the Secretary of Energy and the Administrator of the National 

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to conduct collaborative research to advance weather models in the United States, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 23, 2024 

Mr. LUJA ́N (for himself and Mrs. BLACKBURN) introduced the following bill; 

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

Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Energy and the Administrator 

of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

to conduct collaborative research to advance weather 

models in the United States, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Advanced Weather 

5 Model Computing Development Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 


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1 (1) ADMINISTRATION.—The term ‘‘Administra2 tion’’ means the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

3 Administration. 

4 (2) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis5 trator’’ means the Administrator of the National 

6 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

7 (3) ADVANCED COMPUTING TECHNIQUES.—The 

8 term ‘‘advanced computing techniques’’ includes the 

9 hardware, software, and computational methods nec10 essary to develop and deploy advanced weather mod11 els, such as artificial intelligence, high-performance 

12 computing, cloud computing, numerical methods, 

13 machine learning, data assimilation, large scale data 

14 analytics, predictive analysis techniques, and quan15 tum computing. 

16 (4) ADVANCED WEATHER MODEL.—The term 

17 ‘‘advanced weather model’’ means a model or suite 

18 of models used for the prediction of physical, biologi19 cal, or chemical Earth system processes spanning 

20 weather, seasonal to sub-seasonal, or climate time 

21 scales. 

22 (5) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON23 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con24 gress’’ means— 


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1 (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

2 and Transportation and the Committee on En3 ergy and Natural Resources of the Senate; and 

4 (B) the Committee on Science, Space, and 

5 Technology of the House of Representatives. 

6 (6) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

7 means the Department of Energy. 

8 (7) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

9 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

10 meaning given that term in section 101 of the High11 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

12 (8) NATIONAL LABORATORY.—The term ‘‘Na13 tional Laboratory’’ has the meaning given that term 

14 in section 2 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

15 U.S.C. 15801). 

16 (9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

17 the Secretary of Energy. 

18 SEC. 3. COORDINATION OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 

19 ACTIVITIES RELATING TO IMPROVEMENT OF 

20 ADVANCED WEATHER MODELS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary and the Adminis22 trator shall carry out collaborative research and develop23 ment activities using advanced computing techniques that 

24 are focused on the improvement of advanced weather modVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:56 Jan 26, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3642.IS S3642

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1 els relevant to the missions of the Department and the 

2 Administration. 

3 (b) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary and the Ad5 ministrator shall carry out the activities under sub6 section (a) through the establishment of a memo7 randum of understanding or other appropriate inter8 agency agreement. 

9 (2) USE OF PROCESS.—The memorandum or 

10 agreement, as the case may be, required under para11 graph (1) shall require the use of a competitive, 

12 merit-reviewed process that considers applications 

13 from Federal agencies, National Laboratories, insti14 tutions of higher education, nonprofit institutions, 

15 and other appropriate entities (or a consortia there16 of). 

17 (c) ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out the activities under 

18 subsection (a), the Secretary and the Administrator 

19 may— 

20 (1) conduct collaborative research to develop 

21 new methods and optimization of advanced com22 puting techniques; 

23 (2) explore options for performance portability 

24 of optimized advanced weather model codes between 

25 the operational computing systems of the AdminisVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:56 Jan 26, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3642.IS S3642

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1 tration and the high-performance computers of the 

2 Department; 

3 (3) advance methods to accommodate, analyze, 

4 and extract information from large data sets of 

5 weather and climate information; 

6 (4) to the maximum extent practicable, and in 

7 compliance with national security policies, promote 

8 collaboration, open community-based software devel9 opment, and data sharing between Federal agencies, 

10 National Laboratories, institutions of higher edu11 cation, nonprofit institutions, and other appropriate 

12 entities by providing necessary access and secure 

13 data transfer capabilities; and 

14 (5) support maintenance of and improvements 

15 to scientific computing infrastructure that the Sec16 retary and the Administrator determine appropriate. 

17 (d) COORDINATION.—In carrying out the activities 

18 under subsection (a), the Secretary and the Administrator 

19 may— 

20 (1) carry out reimbursable agreements between 

21 the Department, the Administration, and other enti22 ties to maximize the effectiveness of research and 

23 development; and 

24 (2) collaborate with other Federal agencies as 

25 appropriate. 


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1 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

2 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary and the Ad3 ministrator shall submit to the appropriate committees of 

4 Congress a report detailing the following: 

5 (1) Interagency coordination between each Fed6 eral agency involved in the activities carried out 

7 under this section, including activities described in 

8 subsection (c). 

9 (2) Potential opportunities to expand the tech10 nical capabilities of the Department and the Admin11 istration with respect to those activities. 

12 (3) Collaborative research achievements with re13 spect to those activities. 

14 (4) Areas of future mutually beneficial gains as 

15 a result of those activities. 

16 (5) Continuation of coordination between the 

17 Department and the Administration on those activi18 ties. 

19 SEC. 4. INITIATIVE ON DEVELOPMENT OF ADVANCED 

20 WEATHER MODELS USING ADVANCED COM21 PUTING TECHNIQUES. 

22 (a) COMPUTING RESEARCH INITIATIVE.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in col24 laboration with the Secretary, shall carry out an ini25 tiative that may leverage advanced computing techVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:56 Jan 26, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3642.IS S3642

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1 niques and the expertise of the Department to de2 velop and deploy advanced weather models to con3 duct proof of concept scenarios in comparison with 

4 current issued models (in this section referred to as 

5 the ‘‘Initiative’’). 

6 (2) PROCESS.—The Administrator, in collabora7 tion with the Secretary, shall carry out the Initiative 

8 through a competitive, merit-reviewed process and 

9 consider applications from Federal agencies, Na10 tional Laboratories, institutions of higher education, 

11 nonprofit institutions, and other appropriate entities 

12 (or a consortia thereof). 

13 (3) COMPONENTS.—In carrying out the Initia14 tive, the Administrator, in collaboration with the 

15 Secretary, shall prevent duplication and coordinate 

16 research efforts in advanced computing techniques 

17 across the Administration, and may— 

18 (A) leverage related efforts and data from 

19 the National Science and Technology Council, 

20 the Interagency Council for Advancing Meteoro21 logical Services, and other relevant interagency 

22 entities; 

23 (B) provide sufficient capacity for long24 term archive of and access to model output to 

25 support research and long-term study; 


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1 (C) determine computing decisions based 

2 on an agile requirements framework; 

3 (D) support the training, recruitment, and 

4 retention of the next generation weather, water, 

5 and climate computing workforce through in6 centives and pathways for career development 

7 and employment opportunities; 

8 (E) support maintenance of and improve9 ments to scientific computing infrastructure 

10 that the Administrator and the Secretary deter11 mine appropriate; 

12 (F) conduct comparative research between 

13 forecasts issued by the National Weather Serv14 ice and operational models of the National 

15 Weather Service as compared to predictions and 

16 models developed to run using advanced com17 puting techniques; and 

18 (G) share relevant modeling system and 

19 application innovations developed through the 

20 Initiative, including applications based on the 

21 Unified Forecast System, through community22 based activities. 

23 (b) CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in collabora25 tion with the Administrator, may establish at NaVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:56 Jan 26, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3642.IS S3642

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1 tional Laboratories not more than 3 centers of excel2 lence to support advanced weather models by re3 searching, developing, and deploying advanced com4 puting techniques in collaboration with research lab5 oratories of the Administration and other relevant 

6 entities. 

7 (2) ACTIVITIES.—Each center established under 

8 paragraph (1) may carry out activities that include 

9 the following: 

10 (A) Leveraging robust public-private part11 nership models to provide access to training, ex12 perience, and long-term development of work13 force and infrastructure. 

14 (B) Developing and optimizing tools, li15 braries, algorithms, data structures, and other 

16 supporting software necessary for specific appli17 cations on high-performance computing sys18 tems. 

19 (C) Applying advanced computing tech20 niques to improve the accuracy and resolution 

21 of advanced weather model predictions and to 

22 address current and future mission challenges. 

23 (c) PRIORITY.—In selecting National Laboratories at 

24 which to establish a center of excellence under subsection 


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1 (b), the Secretary, in collaboration with the Administrator, 

2 shall give priority to Laboratories that— 

3 (1) have existing partnerships or relationships 

4 with the Administration; 

5 (2) host significant artificial intelligence en6 abled high-performance computing systems; 

7 (3) have a workforce with experience in ad8 vanced computing techniques; 

9 (4) are geographically proximate to one of the 

10 research laboratories of the Administration; and 

11 (5) have a workforce with experience in weather 

12 and climate modeling or computation. 

13 (d) MULTI-YEAR CONTRACTS.—The Administrator 

14 and the Secretary may enter into multi-year contracts in 

15 accordance with section 3903 of title 41, United States 

16 Code, and shall ensure compliance with all provisions of 

17 that section, to support operational research and develop18 ment related to advanced computing techniques. 

19 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

20 of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall sub21 mit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report 

22 evaluating the following: 

23 (1) The effectiveness of the Initiative, including 

24 applied research discoveries and advanced modeling 

25 improvements achieved through the Initiative. 


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1 (2) Potential opportunities to expand capabili2 ties of the Department and the Administration with 

3 respect to advanced computing techniques. 

4 (3) The need for collaboration on advanced 

5 computing techniques between the Department and 

6 the Administration. 

7 (f) SUNSET.—The authority under this section shall 

8 terminate on the date that is 5 years after the date of 

9 the enactment of this Act. 

10 SEC. 5. RESEARCH SECURITY. 

11 The activities authorized or required to be conducted 

12 under this Act shall be carried out in a manner consistent 

13 with subtitle D of title VI of the Research and Develop14 ment, Competition, and Innovation Act (42 U.S.C. 19231 

15 et seq.). 

Æ 


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