IB 

Union Calendar No. 247 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 6093 

[Report No. 118–306] 

To improve the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s weather 

research, support improvements in weather forecasting and prediction, 

expand commercial opportunities for the provision of weather data, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 26, 2023 

Mr. LUCAS (for himself, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. MILLER of Ohio, Mr. WEBER of 

Texas, Mr. BABIN, Mr. BAIRD, Mr. MIKE GARCIA of California, Mrs. 

BICE, Mr. OBERNOLTE, Mr. FLEISCHMANN, Ms. TENNEY, Mr. MCCORMICK, Mr. COLLINS, and Mr. KEAN of New Jersey) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and 

Technology 

DECEMBER 11, 2023 

Additional sponsors: Mr. FEENSTRA, Mr. MORAN, Mr. CRAWFORD, Ms. 

BONAMICI, Mrs. FOUSHEE, Ms. ROSS, Mr. JACKSON of North Carolina, 

Ms. STEVENS, Ms. LEE of Pennsylvania, Mr. SORENSEN, Mr. ISSA, Mrs. 

SYKES, Ms. CARAVEO, Ms. SLOTKIN, Ms. MCCLELLAN, and Mr. FROST

DECEMBER 11, 2023 

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 October 26, 2026] 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
2 

•HR 6093 RH

A BILL 

To improve the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s weather research, support improvements in 

weather forecasting and prediction, expand commercial 

opportunities for the provision of weather data, and for 

other purposes. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
3 

•HR 6093 RH

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Reauthor6 ization Act of 2023’’ or the ‘‘Weather Act Reauthorization 

7 Act of 2023’’. 

8 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

9 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

TITLE I—REAUTHORIZATION OF THE WEATHER RESEARCH AND 

FORECASTING INNOVATION ACT OF 2017 

Sec. 101. Public safety priority. 

Sec. 102. United States weather research and forecasting. 

Sec. 103. Verification of the Origins of Rotation in Tornadoes Experiment (VORTEX). 

Sec. 104. Hurricane forecast improvement program. 

Sec. 105. Tsunami Warning and Education Act reauthorization. 

Sec. 106. Observing system planning. 

Sec. 107. Observing system simulation experiments. 

Sec. 108. Computing resources prioritization. 

Sec. 109. Earth prediction innovation center. 

Sec. 110. Satellite architecture planning. 

Sec. 111. Improving uncrewed activities. 

Sec. 112. Interagency Council for Advancing Meteorological Services. 

Sec. 113. Ocean observations. 

Sec. 114. Consolidation of reports. 

Sec. 115. National Landslide Hazards Reduction Program. 

Sec. 116. Amendments to the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and 

Control Act of 1998. 

TITLE II—ENHANCING FEDERAL WEATHER FORECASTING AND 

INNOVATION 

Sec. 201. Weather innovation for the next generation. 

Sec. 202. Next generation radar. 

Sec. 203. Data voids in highly vulnerable areas of the United States. 

Sec. 204. Atmospheric rivers forecast improvement program. 

Sec. 205. Coastal flooding and storm surge forecast improvement program. 

Sec. 206. Aviation weather and data innovation. 

Sec. 207. NESDIS joint venture partnership transition program. 

Sec. 208. Advanced weather interactive processing system. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
4 

•HR 6093 RH

Sec. 209. Reanalysis and reforecasting. 

Sec. 210. National Weather Service workforce. 

TITLE III—COMMERCIAL WEATHER AND ENVIRONMENTAL 

OBSERVATIONS 

Sec. 301. Commercial Data Program. 

Sec. 302. Commercial Data Pilot Program. 

Sec. 303. Contracting authority and avoidance of duplication. 

Sec. 304. Data assimilation, management, and sharing practices. 

Sec. 305. Clerical amendment. 

TITLE IV—COMMUNICATING WEATHER TO THE PUBLIC 

Sec. 401. Definitions. 

Sec. 402. Hazardous weather or water event risk communication. 

Sec. 403. Hazard communication research and engagement. 

Sec. 404. National Weather Service communications improvement. 

Sec. 405. NOAA Weather Radio modernization. 

Sec. 406. Post-storm surveys and assessments. 

Sec. 407. Government Accountability Office report on alert dissemination for hazardous weather or water events. 

Sec. 408. Data collection management and protection. 

TITLE V—IMPROVING WEATHER INFORMATION FOR AGRICULTURE 

AND WATER MANAGEMENT 

Sec. 501. Weather and climate information in agriculture and water management. 

Sec. 502. National Integrated Drought Information System. 

Sec. 503. National Mesonet Program. 

Sec. 504. National Coordinated Soil Moisture Monitoring Network. 

Sec. 505. National water center. 

Sec. 506. Satellite transfers report. 

Sec. 507. Precipitation forecast improvement program. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—In this Act, the terms ‘‘seasonal’’, 

3 ‘‘State’’, ‘‘subseasonal’’, ‘‘Under Secretary’’, ‘‘weather enter4 prise’’, ‘‘weather data’’, and ‘‘weather industry’’ have the 

5 meanings given such terms in section 2 of the Weather Re6 search and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 

7 8501). 

8 (b) WEATHER DATA DEFINED.—Section 2 of the 

9 Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 

10 (15 U.S.C. 8501) is amended— 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
5 

•HR 6093 RH

1 (1) by redesignating paragraph (5) as para2 graph (6); and 

3 (2) by inserting after paragraph (4) the fol4 lowing new paragraph: 

5 ‘‘(5) WEATHER DATA.—The term ‘weather data’ 

6 means information used to track and predict weather 

7 conditions and patterns, including forecasts, observa8 tions, and derivative products from such informa9 tion.’’. 

10 TITLE I—REAUTHORIZATION OF 

11 THE WEATHER RESEARCH 

12 AND FORECASTING INNOVA13 TION ACT OF 2017 

14 SEC. 101. PUBLIC SAFETY PRIORITY. 

15 Section 101 of the Weather Research and Forecasting 

16 Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8511) is amended by 

17 adding at the end the following new sentence: ‘‘The Under 

18 Secretary shall ensure the National Oceanic and Atmos19 pheric Administration remains focused on providing accu20 rate and timely weather forecasts that protect lives and 

21 property and enhance the national economy by dissemi22 nating to the public and core partners through nimble, flexi23 ble, and mobile methods critical weather information and 

24 impact-based decision support services.’’. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
6 

•HR 6093 RH

1 SEC. 102. UNITED STATES WEATHER RESEARCH AND FORE2 CASTING. 

3 Section 110 of the Weather Research and Forecasting 

4 Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8519) is amended to 

5 read as follows: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 110. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

7 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

8 are authorized to be appropriated to the Office of Oceanic 

9 and Atmospheric Research to carry out this title the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(1) $155,000,000 for fiscal year 2024, of 

12 which— 

13 ‘‘(A) $90,000,000 is authorized for weather 

14 laboratories and cooperative institutes; 

15 ‘‘(B) $30,000,000 is authorized for the 

16 United States Weather Research Program; 

17 ‘‘(C) $20,000,000 is authorized for tornado, 

18 severe storm, and next generation radar research; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(D) $15,000,000 is authorized for the joint 

21 technology transfer initiative described in section 

22 102(b)(4) of this title. 

23 ‘‘(2) $156,550,000 for fiscal year 2025, of 

24 which— 

25 ‘‘(A) $90,900,000 is authorized for weather 

26 laboratories and cooperative institutes; 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
7 

•HR 6093 RH

1 ‘‘(B) $30,300,000 is authorized for the 

2 United States Weather Research Program; 

3 ‘‘(C) $20,200,000 is authorized for tornado, 

4 severe storm, and next generation radar research; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(D) $15,150,000 is authorized for the joint 

7 technology transfer initiative described in section 

8 102(b)(4) of this title. 

9 ‘‘(3) $158,116,000 for fiscal year 2026, of 

10 which— 

11 ‘‘(A) $91,809,000 is authorized for weather 

12 laboratories and cooperative institutes; 

13 ‘‘(B) $30,603,000 is authorized for the 

14 United States Weather Research Program; 

15 ‘‘(C) $20,402,000 is authorized for tornado, 

16 severe storm, and next generation radar research; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(D) $15,302,000 is authorized for the joint 

19 technology transfer initiative described in section 

20 102(b)(4) of this title. 

21 ‘‘(4) $159,697,000 for fiscal year 2027, of 

22 which— 

23 ‘‘(A) $92,727,000 is authorized for weather 

24 laboratories and cooperative institutes; 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
8 

•HR 6093 RH

1 ‘‘(B) $30,909,000 is authorized for the 

2 United States Weather Research Program; 

3 ‘‘(C) $20,606,000 is authorized for tornado, 

4 severe storm, and next generation radar research; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(D) $15,455,000 is authorized for the joint 

7 technology transfer initiative described in section 

8 102(b)(4) of this title. 

9 ‘‘(5) $161,294,000 for fiscal year 2028, of 

10 which— 

11 ‘‘(A) $93,654,000 is authorized for weather 

12 laboratories and cooperative institutes; 

13 ‘‘(B) $31,218,000 is authorized for the 

14 United States Weather Research Program; 

15 ‘‘(C) $20,812,000 is authorized for tornado, 

16 severe storm, and next generation radar research; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(D) $15,609,000 is authorized for the joint 

19 technology transfer initiative described in section 

20 8512(b)(4) of this title. 

21 ‘‘(b) LIMITATION.—No additional funds are authorized 

22 to carry out this title or the amendments made by this 

23 title.’’. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
9 

•HR 6093 RH

1 SEC. 103. VERIFICATION OF THE ORIGINS OF ROTATION IN 

2 TORNADOES EXPERIMENT (VORTEX). 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 103 of the Weather Re4 search and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 

5 8513) is amended to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 103. VERIFICATION OF THE ORIGINS OF ROTATION IN 

7 TORNADOES EXPERIMENT (VORTEX). 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary, in collabo9 ration with the United States weather industry and aca10 demic partners, shall maintain a program for rapidly im11 proving tornado forecasts, predictions, and warnings, in12 cluding forecaster training in radar interpretation and in13 formation integration from new sources. 

14 ‘‘(b) GOAL.—The goal of the program under subsection 

15 (a) shall be to develop and extend accurate tornado fore16 casts, predictions, and warnings in order to reduce the loss 

17 of life or property related to tornadoes, with a focus on the 

18 following: 

19 ‘‘(1) Improving the effectiveness and timeliness of 

20 tornado forecasts, predictions, and warnings. 

21 ‘‘(2) Optimizing lead time and providing action22 able information beyond one hour in advance. 

23 ‘‘(3) Transitioning from warn-on-detection to 

24 warn-on-forecast. 

25 ‘‘(c) INNOVATIVE OBSERVATIONS.—The Under Sec26 retary shall ensure the program under subsection (a) periVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:59 Dec 12, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H6093.RH H6093

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
10 

•HR 6093 RH

1 odically examines, tests, and evaluates the value of incor2 porating innovative observations, such as novel sensor tech3 nologies, observation tools or networks, crewed or uncrewed 

4 systems, and hosted instruments on commercial aircrafts, 

5 vessels, and satellites, with respect to the improvement of 

6 tornado forecasts, predictions, and warnings. 

7 ‘‘(d) ACTIVITIES.—The Under Secretary shall award 

8 grants for research, including relating to the following: 

9 ‘‘(1) Implementing key goals and achieving pro10 gram milestones to the maximum extent practicable 

11 as outlined by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

12 Administration’s 2019 report, ‘Tornado Warning Im13 provement and Extension Program Plan’. 

14 ‘‘(2) In coordination with the National Science 

15 and Technology Council’s Social and Behavioral 

16 Sciences Subcommittee, improving the social, behav17 ioral, risk, communication, and economic sciences re18 garding vulnerabilities, risk communication, and de19 livery of information critical for reducing the loss of 

20 life or property related to tornadoes. 

21 ‘‘(3) Improving the physical sciences, computer 

22 modeling, and tools related to tornado formation, the 

23 impacts of tornadoes on the built and natural envi24 ronment, and the interaction of tornadoes and hurri25 canes. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
11 

•HR 6093 RH

1 ‘‘(e) WARNINGS.—In carrying out subsection (a), the 

2 Under Secretary, in coordination with the program estab3 lished under section 406, shall— 

4 ‘‘(1) conduct and transition to operations the re5 search necessary to develop and deploy probabilistic 

6 weather forecast guidance technology for tornadoes 

7 and related weather phenomena; 

8 ‘‘(2) incorporate into tornado modeling and fore9 casting, as appropriate, social, behavioral, risk, com10 munication, and economic sciences; 

11 ‘‘(3) enhance workforce training on radar inter12 pretation and use of tornado warning systems; and 

13 ‘‘(4) expand computational resources to support 

14 higher-resolution modeling to advance the capability 

15 for warn-on-forecast. 

16 ‘‘(f) TORNADO RATING SYSTEM.—The Under Sec17 retary, in collaboration with local communities and emer18 gency managers, shall— 

19 ‘‘(1) evaluate the system used as of the date of 

20 the enactment of this section to rate the severity of 

21 tornadoes; 

22 ‘‘(2) determine whether updates to such system 

23 are required to ensure such ratings accurately reflect 

24 the severity of tornados; and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
12 

•HR 6093 RH

1 ‘‘(3) if determined necessary, update such sys2 tem. 

3 ‘‘(g) ANNUAL BUDGET.—The Under Secretary shall, 

4 not less frequently than annually, submit to Congress a pro5 posed budget corresponding with carrying out this section.’’. 

6 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents in 

7 section 1(b) of the Weather Research and Forecasting Inno8 vation Act of 2017 is amended by amending the item relat9 ing to section 103 to read as follows: 

‘‘Sec. 103. Verification of the Origins of Rotation in Tornadoes Experiment 

(VORTEX).’’. 

10 SEC. 104. HURRICANE FORECAST IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM. 

11 Section 104 of the Weather Research and Forecasting 

12 Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8514) is amended to 

13 read as follows: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 104. HURRICANE FORECAST IMPROVEMENT PRO15 GRAM. 

16 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary, in collabo17 ration with the United States weather industry and aca18 demic partners, shall maintain a program to improve hur19 ricane forecasting, predictions, and warnings. 

20 ‘‘(b) GOAL.—The goal of the program under subsection 

21 (a) shall be to develop and extend accurate hurricane fore22 casts, predictions, and warnings in order to reduce the loss 

23 of life or property related to hurricanes, with a focus on 

24 the following: 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
13 

•HR 6093 RH

1 ‘‘(1) Improving the understanding and pre2 diction of rapid intensity change and projected path 

3 of hurricanes, including probabilistic methods for 

4 hurricane hazard mapping. 

5 ‘‘(2) Improving the forecast and impact-based 

6 communication of inland flooding, compound flood7 ing, and storm surges from hurricanes, in coordina8 tion with the program established under section 205 

9 of the Weather Act Reauthorization Act of 2023. 

10 ‘‘(3) Incorporating social, behavioral, risk, com11 munication, and economic sciences to clearly inform 

12 response to prevent the loss of life or property, such 

13 as evacuation or shelter in place. 

14 ‘‘(4) Evaluating and incorporating, as appro15 priate, innovative observations, such as novel sensor 

16 technologies, observation tools or networks, crewed or 

17 uncrewed systems, and hosted instruments on com18 mercial aircrafts, vessels, and satellites. 

19 ‘‘(c) ACTIVITIES.—The Under Secretary shall award 

20 grants for research, including relating to the following: 

21 ‘‘(1) Implementing key strategies and following 

22 priorities and objectives outlined by the National Oce23 anic and Atmospheric Administration’s 2019 report 

24 ‘Hurricane Forecast Improvement Program’. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
14 

•HR 6093 RH

1 ‘‘(2) In coordination with the National Science 

2 and Technology Council’s Social and Behavioral 

3 Sciences Subcommittee and other relevant interagency 

4 committees, improving the social, behavioral, risk, 

5 communications, and economic sciences related to 

6 vulnerabilities, risk communication, and delivery of 

7 information critical for reducing the loss of life or 

8 property related to hurricanes. 

9 ‘‘(3) Improving the physical sciences, operational 

10 modeling, and tools related to hurricane formation, 

11 the impacts of wind and water-based hurricane haz12 ards on the built and natural environment, and the 

13 interaction of hurricanes and tornadoes. 

14 ‘‘(d) WARNINGS.—In carrying out subsection (a), the 

15 Under Secretary, in coordination with the program estab16 lished under section 406, shall— 

17 ‘‘(1) conduct and transition to operations the re18 search necessary to develop and deploy probabilistic 

19 weather forecast guidance technology relating to hur20 ricanes and related weather phenomena; 

21 ‘‘(2) incorporate into hurricane modeling and 

22 forecasting, as appropriate, social, behavioral, risk, 

23 communication, and economic sciences research; and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
15 

•HR 6093 RH

1 ‘‘(3) expand computational resources to support 

2 and improve higher-resolution operational modeling 

3 of hurricanes and related weather phenomena. 

4 ‘‘(e) ANNUAL BUDGET.—The Under Secretary shall, 

5 not less frequently than annually, submit to Congress a pro6 posed budget corresponding with carrying out this section.’’. 

7 SEC. 105. TSUNAMI WARNING AND EDUCATION ACT REAU8 THORIZATION. 

9 (a) TITLE HEADING.—The Tsunami Warning and 

10 Education Act (enacted as title VIII of the Magnuson-Ste11 vens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthoriza12 tion Act of 2006 (Public Law 109–479)) is amended in the 

13 title heading, by inserting ‘‘RESEARCH,’’ after 

14 ‘‘WARNING,’’. 

15 (b) PURPOSES.—Section 803 of the Tsunami Warning 

16 and Education Act (33 U.S.C. 3202) is amended— 

17 (1) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘timeliness 

18 and’’ before ‘‘accuracy’’; 

19 (2) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘and’’ after the 

20 semicolon; 

21 (3) in paragraph (8), by striking the period and 

22 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

23 (4) by adding at the end the following new para24 graph: 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
16 

•HR 6093 RH

1 ‘‘(9) to ensure data and metadata are managed, 

2 archived, and made available for operations, research, 

3 education, and mitigation activities in accordance 

4 with section 305 of the Weather Research and Fore5 casting Innovation Act of 2017.’’. 

6 (c) TSUNAMI FORECASTING AND WARNING PRO7 GRAM.—Section 804 of the Tsunami Warning and Edu8 cation Act (33 U.S.C. 3203) is amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (b)— 

10 (A) in paragraph (4), by inserting ‘‘, using 

11 industry and scientific best practices,’’ after 

12 ‘‘operational condition’’; 

13 (B) in paragraph (5)— 

14 (i) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

15 ‘‘global seismic network’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘Global Seismic Network’’; 

17 (ii) by redesignating subparagraphs 

18 (D), (E), (F), and (G), as subparagraphs 

19 (E), (F), (G), and (H), respectively; and 

20 (iii) by inserting after subparagraph 

21 (C) the following new subparagraph: 

22 ‘‘(D) the global navigation satellite system 

23 (GNSS) network;’’; 

24 (C) by amending paragraph (6) to read as 

25 follows: 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
17 

•HR 6093 RH

1 ‘‘(6) ensure data quality and management sys2 tems, support data and metadata access and 

3 archiving, and support the requirements of the pro4 gram pursuant to the Foundations for Evidence5 Based Policymaking Act of 2018 (Public Law 115– 

6 435) and chapter 31 of title 44, United States Code;’’; 

7 (D) in paragraph (7)— 

8 (i) by amending the matter preceding 

9 subparagraph (A) to read as follows: ‘‘in10 clude a cooperative effort among the Admin11 istration, the United States Geological Sur12 vey (USGS), the National Aeronautics and 

13 Space Administration (NASA), and the Na14 tional Science Foundation (NSF) under 

15 which the Director of USGS, the Director of 

16 the NSF, and the Administrator of NASA 

17 shall—’’; 

18 (ii) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

19 ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 

20 (iii) by adding at the end the following 

21 new subparagraphs: 

22 ‘‘(C) provide reliable and real-time support 

23 for the GNSS network data streams from NSF, 

24 NASA, and USGS maintained networks, and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
18 

•HR 6093 RH

1 supplement instrumentation coverage for rapid 

2 earthquake assessment; 

3 ‘‘(D) assess the data and information relat4 ing to warning systems of collaborating agencies 

5 for potential utilization in NOAA’s warning sys6 tem, taking into consideration advancement in 

7 research and technology; 

8 ‘‘(E) incorporate, as practicable, tsunami 

9 notifications and warnings in the USGS Earth10 quake Early Warning System; and 

11 ‘‘(F) incorporate, as practicable, prelimi12 nary analysis or data from the National Earth13 quake Information Center regarding the source 

14 and magnitude of an offshore earthquake within 

15 five minutes of detection;’’; 

16 (E) in paragraph (8)— 

17 (i) by inserting ‘‘ and decision support 

18 aides’’ after ‘‘graphical warning products,’’; 

19 and 

20 (ii) by inserting ‘‘-prone’’ after ‘‘tsu21 nami’’; 

22 (F) in paragraph (9), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

23 after the semicolon; 

24 (G) in paragraph (10), by striking the pe25 riod and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
19 

•HR 6093 RH

1 (H) by adding at the end the following new 

2 paragraph: 

3 ‘‘(11) update tsunami inundation maps, models, 

4 or other geographic products, in order to best support, 

5 as appropriate, relevant agencies with tsunami miti6 gation and recovery activities.’’; 

7 (2) in subsection (c)— 

8 (A) by striking paragraph (1) and redesig9 nating paragraphs (2) and (3) as paragraphs 

10 (1) and (2), respectively; and 

11 (B) in paragraph (1), as so redesignated— 

12 (i) by striking ‘‘the Atlantic Ocean, in13 cluding the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mex14 ico, that are determined—’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘the Pacific, Arctic, and Atlantic Oceans, 

16 including the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of 

17 Mexico, that are determined to pose signifi18 cant risks of tsunami for States and United 

19 States territories along the coastal areas of 

20 such regions; and’’; and 

21 (ii) by striking subparagraphs (A) and 

22 (B); 

23 (3) by redesignating subsections (d), (e), (f), and 

24 (g) as subsections (e), (f), (g), and (h), respectively; 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
20 

•HR 6093 RH

1 (4) by inserting after subsection (c) the following 

2 new subsection: 

3 ‘‘(d) TSUNAMI WARNING ALERT LEVEL EVALUA4 TION.—The Administrator, in collaboration with social sci5 entists, emergency personnel, and high-risk communities, 

6 shall— 

7 ‘‘(1) evaluate tsunami alert levels terminology, 

8 timing, and effectiveness; 

9 ‘‘(2) determine if such alerts produce the desired 

10 response and understanding from possible tsunami11 prone communities; and 

12 ‘‘(3) if necessary, update the alert level system 

13 for increased effectiveness.’’; 

14 (5) in subsection (e), as so redesignated— 

15 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

16 (i) in the matter preceding subpara17 graph (A), by inserting ‘‘responsible for 

18 Alaska, the continental United States, Ha19 waii, United States territories, and inter20 national entities the Administrator deter21 mines appropriate’’ before the period; 

22 (ii) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

23 ‘‘which is primarily responsible for Alaska 

24 and the continental United States’’; and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
21 

•HR 6093 RH

1 (iii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

2 ‘‘, which is primarily responsible for Ha3 waii, the Caribbean, and other areas of the 

4 Pacific not covered by the National Center’’; 

5 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

6 (i) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 

7 ‘‘current,’’ after ‘‘sea level,’’; 

8 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

9 ‘‘and volcanic eruptions’’ and inserting 

10 ‘‘volcanic eruptions, or other sources’’; 

11 (iii) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

12 ‘‘buoy data and tidal’’ and inserting ‘‘and 

13 coastal’’; 

14 (iv) in subparagraph (E), by striking 

15 ‘‘Integrated Ocean Observing System of the 

16 Administration’’ and inserting ‘‘United 

17 States and global ocean and coastal observ18 ing system’’; 

19 (v) in subparagraph (H), by inserting 

20 ‘‘monitoring needs,’’ after ‘‘response,’’; and 

21 (vi) by amending subparagraph (I) to 

22 read as follows: 

23 ‘‘(I) Providing a Tsunami Warning Coordi24 nator to coordinate with partners and stakeVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:59 Dec 12, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H6093.RH H6093

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
22 

•HR 6093 RH

1 holders products and services of the centers sup2 ported or maintained under paragraph (1).’’; 

3 (C) by amending paragraph (3) to read as 

4 follows: 

5 ‘‘(3) FAIL-SAFE WARNING CAPABILITY.—The Ad6 ministrator shall support and maintain fail-safe 

7 warning capability for the tsunami warning centers 

8 supported or maintained under paragraph (1), and 

9 such centers shall conduct at least one service back up 

10 drill biannually.’’; 

11 (D) in paragraph (4)— 

12 (i) by amending the matter preceding 

13 subparagraph (A) to read as follows: ‘‘The 

14 Administrator shall coordinate with the 

15 weather forecast offices of the National 

16 Weather Service, the centers supported or 

17 maintained under paragraph (1), and such 

18 national and regional program offices of the 

19 Administration as the Administrator or the 

20 coordinating committee, as established in 

21 section 805(b), consider appropriate to en22 sure that regional and local weather forecast 

23 offices—’’; 

24 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

25 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
23 

•HR 6093 RH

1 (iii) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

2 the period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

3 (iv) by adding at the end the following 

4 new subparagraph: 

5 ‘‘(D) conduct education and outreach efforts 

6 to help prepare coastal communities for tsunami 

7 hazards.’’; 

8 (E) in paragraph (5)— 

9 (i) in the section heading, by striking 

10 ‘‘UNIFORM’’ and inserting ‘‘STANDARD11 IZED’’; 

12 (ii) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

13 ‘‘uniform’’ and inserting ‘‘standardized’’; 

14 (iii) in subparagraph (C)(ii), by strik15 ing ‘‘uniform’’ and inserting ‘‘standard16 ized’’; 

17 (iv) in subparagraph (D), by striking 

18 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; 

19 (v) in subparagraph (E), by striking 

20 the period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

21 (vi) by adding at the end the following 

22 new subparagraph: 

23 ‘‘(F) align the analytic techniques and 

24 methodologies of the existing tsunami warning 

25 centers supported or maintained under paraVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:59 Dec 12, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H6093.RH H6093

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
24 

•HR 6093 RH

1 graph (1) to ensure seamless continuity of oper2 ations and mitigate risk of operational failure 

3 by prioritizing investments that include— 

4 ‘‘(i) replacing end of life equipment; 

5 ‘‘(ii) ensuring product consistency; 

6 ‘‘(iii) enabling consistent operational 

7 process for backup capabilities; 

8 ‘‘(iv) mitigating existing operational 

9 security risks; and 

10 ‘‘(v) meeting information security re11 quirements specified in chapter 35 of title 

12 44, United States Code.’’; and 

13 (F) by adding at the end the following new 

14 paragraph: 

15 ‘‘(7) REPORTING.—Not later than 180 days after 

16 the date of the enactment of this paragraph and an17 nually thereafter until such time as all relevant re18 quirements have been satisfied, the Administrator 

19 shall provide to the Committee on Science, Space, and 

20 Technology of the House of Representatives and the 

21 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor22 tation of the Senate an update briefing on the 

23 progress of the following: 

24 ‘‘(A) Standardizing products and proce25 dures under paragraph (5), including tsunami 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
25 

•HR 6093 RH

1 assessments, forecast guidance, and related prod2 ucts. 

3 ‘‘(B) Migrating the message generation sys4 tems of the centers supported or maintained 

5 under paragraph (1) to the Advanced Weather 

6 Information Processing Systems, or successor 

7 systems. 

8 ‘‘(C) The structural reorganization effort, if 

9 necessary, to align such centers’ organizational 

10 charts. 

11 ‘‘(D) The expected timeline for the full com12 pletion of standardizing such centers’ products 

13 and procedures.’’; 

14 (6) in subsection (f), as so redesignated— 

15 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

16 (i) in the matter preceding subpara17 graph (A), by inserting ‘‘detect, measure, 

18 and’’ after ‘‘used to’’; 

19 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

20 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; 

21 (iii) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

22 ‘‘and the Advanced National Seismic Sys23 tem’’ and inserting ‘‘the Advanced National 

24 Seismic System, and the global navigation 

25 satellite system (GNSS); and’’; and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
26 

•HR 6093 RH

1 (iv) by adding at the end the following 

2 new subparagraph: 

3 ‘‘(D) ensure research is coordinated with 

4 tsunami warning operations;’’; and 

5 (B) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘accord6 ing to industry best practices’’ before the period; 

7 and 

8 (7) in subsection (h)(2)(A), as so redesignated, 

9 by striking ‘‘accuracy of the tsunami model used’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘timeliness and accuracy of the forecast 

11 used to issue the warning’’. 

12 (d) NATIONAL TSUNAMI HAZARD MITIGATION PRO13 GRAM.—Section 805(c) of the Tsunami Warning and Edu14 cation Act (33 U.S.C. 3204(c)) is amended— 

15 (1) in paragraph (5)— 

16 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (B), 

17 (C), (D), (E), (F), and (G) as subparagraphs 

18 (C), (D), (E), (F), (G), and (H), respectively; 

19 (B) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the 

20 following new subparagraph: 

21 ‘‘(B) Coastal digital elevation models 

22 (DEMs) to support the development of inunda23 tion maps.’’; and 

24 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

25 subparagraphs: 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
27 

•HR 6093 RH

1 ‘‘(I) Evaluation of the variation of inunda2 tion impact resulting from tsunami-driven sedi3 ment transport. 

4 ‘‘(J) Evaluation of tsunami debris impact 

5 on critical infrastructure (as such term is de6 fined in section 1016(e) of Public Law 107–56 

7 (42 U.S.C. 5195c(e))) and lifelines. 

8 ‘‘(K) High-resolution and high-quality dig9 ital elevation models needed for at-risk coast10 lines, ports, and harbors, particularly for regions 

11 not covered by existing inundation maps.’’; and 

12 (2) in paragraph (7)(C), by inserting ‘‘and be13 havioral’’ after ‘‘social’’; 

14 (e) TSUNAMI RESEARCH PROGRAM.—Section 806 of 

15 the Tsunami Warning and Education Act (33 U.S.C. 3205) 

16 is amended— 

17 (1) in subsection (a)— 

18 (A) by striking ‘‘section 805(d)’’ and insert19 ing ‘‘section 805(b)’’; and 

20 (B) by inserting ‘‘and management’’ after 

21 ‘‘data collection’’; 

22 (2) in subsection (b)— 

23 (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘deploy24 ment and’’ after ‘‘may include’’; 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
28 

•HR 6093 RH

1 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘social 

2 science research’’ and inserting ‘‘social and be3 havioral science research, including data collec4 tion,’’; 

5 (C) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

6 after the semicolon; 

7 (D) by redesignating paragraph (5) as 

8 paragraph (7); and 

9 (E) by inserting after paragraph (4) the fol10 lowing new paragraphs: 

11 ‘‘(5) develop decision support tools; 

12 ‘‘(6) leverage and prioritize research opportuni13 ties; and’’; and 

14 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub15 section: 

16 ‘‘(c) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PLAN.—Not later 

17 than 12 months after the date of the enactment of this sub18 section and not less frequently than every 36 months there19 after, the Administrator, in consultation with the Inter20 agency Council for Advancing Meteorological Services, shall 

21 develop a research and development and research to oper22 ations plan to improve tsunami detection and forecasting 

23 capabilities that— 

24 ‘‘(1) identifies and prioritizes research and devel25 opment priorities to satisfy section 804; 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
29 

•HR 6093 RH

1 ‘‘(2) identifies key research needs for better de2 tecting tsunamis that may occur in open ocean and 

3 along the coastlines of the United States and its terri4 tories, improve forecasting of tsunamis that are not 

5 seismically driven, and other opportunities deter6 mined appropriate; 

7 ‘‘(3) develops plans for transitioning research to 

8 operations; and 

9 ‘‘(4) identifies collaboration opportunities that 

10 may further and align tsunami research, develop11 ment, warnings, and operations between the centers 

12 supported or maintained under section 804, the Na13 tional Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program, the Na14 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Cen15 ter for Tsunami Research, the National Science Foun16 dation, the United States Geological Survey, the Fed17 eral Emergency Management Agency, institutions of 

18 higher education, private entities, stakeholders, and 

19 others determined appropriate.’’; 

20 (f) GLOBAL TSUNAMI WARNING AND MITIGATION NET21 WORK.—Section 807(d) of the Tsunami Warning and Edu22 cation Act (33 U.S.C. 3206(d)) is amended by inserting 

23 ‘‘and management’’ after ‘‘data sharing’’; 

24 (g) TSUNAMI SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ADVISORY

25 PANEL.—Section 808(b)(1) of the Tsunami Warning and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
30 

•HR 6093 RH

1 Education Act (33 U.S.C. 3206a(b)(1)) is amended by in2 serting ‘‘and behavioral’’ after ‘‘social’’; 

3 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

4 809 of the Tsunami Warning and Education Act (33 U.S.C. 

5 3207) is amended to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 809. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

7 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to the Ad8 ministrator to carry out this title $30,000,000 for each of 

9 fiscal years 2024 through 2028, of which— 

10 ‘‘(1) not less than 27 percent of the amount ap11 propriated for each fiscal year shall be for activities 

12 conducted at the State level under the national tsu13 nami hazard mitigation program under section 805; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(2) not less than 8 percent of the amount ap16 propriated shall be for the tsunami research program 

17 under section 806.’’. 

18 SEC. 106. OBSERVING SYSTEM PLANNING. 

19 Section 106 of the Weather Research and Forecasting 

20 Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8516) is amended— 

21 (1) in paragraph (3)— 

22 (A) by inserting ‘‘Federal’’ before ‘‘observing 

23 capabilities’’; and 

24 (B) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; 

25 (2) in paragraph (4)— 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
31 

•HR 6093 RH

1 (A) by inserting ‘‘, including private sector 

2 partnerships or commercial acquisition,’’ after 

3 ‘‘options’’; and 

4 (B) by striking the period and inserting a 

5 semicolon; and 

6 (3) by adding at the end the following new para7 graphs: 

8 ‘‘(5) compare costs and schedule, including cost9 benefit analysis, of Federal and private sector supple10 mental options to fill the observation data require11 ments under paragraph (1) and gaps identified pur12 suant to paragraph (3); and 

13 ‘‘(6) not later than one year after the date of the 

14 enactment of this paragraph, submit to Congress a re15 port that provides an analysis of the technical, sched16 ule, cost, and cost benefit analyses to place an oper17 ational polar-orbiting environmental satellite capa18 bility in the early morning orbit to support the 

19 weather enterprise and the Administration’s mis20 sion.’’. 

21 SEC. 107. OBSERVING SYSTEM SIMULATION EXPERIMENTS. 

22 Section 107 of the Weather Research and Forecasting 

23 Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8517) is amended— 

24 (1) in subsection (b)(3), by striking ‘‘providing 

25 data’’ and inserting ‘‘comparison to current or experVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:59 Dec 12, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H6093.RH H6093

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
32 

•HR 6093 RH

1 imental commercial system capabilities that provide 

2 data’’; 

3 (2) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ‘‘, including 

4 polar-orbiting and geostationary satellite systems,’’; 

5 (3) by striking subsection (d); and 

6 (4) by redesignating subsection (e) as subsection 

7 (d). 

8 SEC. 108. COMPUTING RESOURCES PRIORITIZATION. 

9 Section 108 of the Weather Research and Forecasting 

10 Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8518) is amended by 

11 striking subsection (a)(3)(C) and all that follows through 

12 subsection (b)(7) and inserting the following new sub13 sections: 

14 ‘‘(b) COMPUTING RESEARCH INITIATIVE.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary, in col16 laboration with the Secretary of Energy, shall carry 

17 out an initiative, which may leverage Department of 

18 Energy high performance computers, cloud com19 puting, or expertise, to run advanced coupled models 

20 in order to conduct proof of concept scenarios in com21 parison with current issued forecasts and models. The 

22 Under Secretary and Secretary of Energy shall carry 

23 out the initiative through a competitive, merit-re24 viewed process, and consider applications from Fed25 eral agencies, National Laboratories, institutions of 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
33 

•HR 6093 RH

1 higher education (as such term is defined in section 

2 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

3 1001)), nonprofit institutions, and other appropriate 

4 entities (or a consortia thereof). 

5 ‘‘(2) COMPONENTS.—In carrying out the initia6 tive under paragraph (1), the Under Secretary shall 

7 prevent duplication and coordinate research efforts in 

8 artificial intelligence, high performance computing, 

9 cloud computing, quantum computing, modeling and 

10 simulation, machine learning, data assimilation, 

11 large scale data analytics, and predictive analysis 

12 across the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin13 istration, and may— 

14 ‘‘(A) conduct research to compare National 

15 Weather Service forecast and model outputs to 

16 predictions and model outputs developed through 

17 such initiative; 

18 ‘‘(B) share relevant modeling system and 

19 applications innovations developed through such 

20 initiative, including Unified Forecast System21 based applications, through community-based ac22 tivities, in accordance with section 10601 of the 

23 James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization 

24 Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (15 U.S.C. 8512a); 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
34 

•HR 6093 RH

1 ‘‘(C) leverage coordinating activities man2 aged by the National Science and Technology 

3 Council, the Interagency Council for Advancing 

4 Meteorological Services, and other relevant inter5 agency entities; 

6 ‘‘(D) provide sufficient capacity for long7 term archive and access of model output to sup8 port research and long-term study; 

9 ‘‘(E) determine computing decisions based 

10 on an agile requirements framework; and 

11 ‘‘(F) support the training, recruitment, and 

12 retention of the next generation weather, water, 

13 and climate computing workforce through incen14 tives and pathways for career development and 

15 employment opportunities. 

16 ‘‘(3) RESEARCH SECURITY.—The activities au17 thorized under this section shall be applied in a man18 ner consistent with subtitle D of title VI of the Re19 search and Development, Competition, and Innova20 tion Act (enacted as division B of Public Law 117– 

21 167; 42 U.S.C. 19231 et seq.). 

22 ‘‘(4) TERMINATION.—The authority under this 

23 subsection shall terminate five years after the date of 

24 the enactment of this subsection. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
35 

•HR 6093 RH

1 ‘‘(c) ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE INVESTMENTS.—The 

2 Under Secretary shall leverage artificial intelligence and 

3 machine learning technologies to facilitate, optimize, and 

4 further leverage advanced computing to accomplish critical 

5 missions of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin6 istration by enhancing existing and forthcoming high-per7 formance and cloud computing infrastructure or systems. 

8 ‘‘(d) CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE.—The Under Sec9 retary may expand, and where applicable establish, centers 

10 of excellence to aid the adoption of next-generation artificial 

11 intelligence and machine learning enabled advanced com12 puting capabilities. Each such center may carry out activi13 ties that include the following: 

14 ‘‘(1) Leveraging robust public-private partner15 ship models to provide access to training, experience, 

16 and long-term development of workforce and infra17 structure. 

18 ‘‘(2) Developing and optimizing tools, libraries, 

19 algorithms, data structures, and other supporting 

20 software necessary for specific applications on high 

21 performance computing systems. 

22 ‘‘(3) Applying modern artificial intelligence, 

23 deep machine-learning, and advanced data analysis 

24 technologies to address current and future mission 

25 challenges. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
36 

•HR 6093 RH

1 ‘‘(4) To the maximum extent practicable, explore 

2 quantum computing and related application partner3 ships with public, private, and academic entities to 

4 improve the accuracy and resolution of weather pre5 dictions. 

6 ‘‘(e) MULTI-YEAR CONTRACTS.—The Under Secretary 

7 may enter into multi-year contracts in accordance with sec8 tion 3903 of title 41, United States Code, and shall ensure 

9 compliance with all clauses provided in such section to sup10 port operations, research, and development related to high 

11 performance and cloud computing infrastructure or systems 

12 with an unfunded contingent liability in the event of can13 cellation. 

14 ‘‘(f) REPORT.—Not later than two years after the date 

15 of the enactment of this subsection, the Under Secretary 

16 shall submit to the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech17 nology of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

18 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the Com19 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a 

20 report evaluating the following: 

21 ‘‘(1) The effectiveness of the initiative required 

22 under subsection (b), including applied research dis23 coveries and advanced modeling improvements 

24 achieved. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
37 

•HR 6093 RH

1 ‘‘(2) A best estimate of the overall value of high2 resolution probabilistic forecast guidance for haz3 ardous weather or water events (as such term is de4 fined in section 406) using a next-generation weather 

5 forecast and warning framework. 

6 ‘‘(3) The needs for cloud computing, quantum 

7 computing, or high-performance computing, visual8 ization, and dissemination collaboration between the 

9 Department of Energy and the National Oceanic and 

10 Atmospheric Administration. 

11 ‘‘(4) A timeline and guidance for implementa12 tion of the following: 

13 ‘‘(A) High-resolution numerical weather 

14 prediction models. 

15 ‘‘(B) Methods for meeting the cloud com16 puting, quantum computing, or high-perform17 ance computing, visualization, and dissemina18 tion needs identified under paragraph (3).’’. 

19 SEC. 109. EARTH PREDICTION INNOVATION CENTER. 

20 Paragraph (5) of section 102(b) of the Weather Re21 search and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 

22 8512(b)) is amended— 

23 (1) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

24 the semicolon; and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
38 

•HR 6093 RH

1 (2) by striking subparagraph (E) and inserting 

2 the following new subparagraphs: 

3 ‘‘(E) developing community weather re4 search modeling systems that— 

5 ‘‘(i) are accessible by the public in ac6 cordance with section 10601 of the James 

7 M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization 

8 Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (15 U.S.C. 8512a) 

9 and available for archive and long-term 

10 study; 

11 ‘‘(ii) meet basic end-user requirements 

12 for running on public computers and net13 works located outside of secure National 

14 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

15 information and technology systems; 

16 ‘‘(iii) utilize, whenever appropriate 

17 and cost-effective, innovative strategies and 

18 methods, including cloud-based computing 

19 capabilities, for hosting and management of 

20 part or all of the system described in this 

21 subparagraph; 

22 ‘‘(iv) utilize modeling systems that 

23 allow for interoperability with new model 

24 components, modules, and next-generation 

25 software and coding languages; 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
39 

•HR 6093 RH

1 ‘‘(v) allow for open testing and inte2 gration of promising operational model im3 provements from the broader community; 

4 ‘‘(vi) access as close to a real-time 

5 basis as possible operational data and 

6 metadata, including commercially pur7 chased data for use in Earth Prediction In8 novation Center research and development 

9 testing grounds pursuant to redistribution 

10 restrictions, licensing agreements, and ap11 plicable existing laws and regulations; and 

12 ‘‘(vii) provide supported and portable 

13 versions of the unified forecast system, in14 cluding applications for hurricane, space 

15 weather, ocean, cryosphere, air quality, and 

16 coastal models, that can reproduce current 

17 operational global and regional model pre18 diction; and 

19 ‘‘(F) establishing a National Oceanic and 

20 Atmospheric Administration Data Lake, to be 

21 maintained by the Administration, a commercial 

22 partner, or non-profit entity, that consolidates 

23 and maintains a publicly available and continu24 ously updated collection of data and metadata 

25 used in numerical weather prediction for use in 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
40 

•HR 6093 RH

1 the Earth Prediction Innovation Center’s model 

2 testing, pursuant to redistribution restrictions, 

3 licensing agreements, and applicable existing 

4 laws and regulations.’’. 

5 SEC. 110. SATELLITE ARCHITECTURE PLANNING. 

6 Section 301 of the Weather Research and Forecasting 

7 Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8531) is amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (a), by striking paragraph (1) 

9 and redesignating paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) as 

10 paragraphs (1), (2), and (3), respectively; 

11 (2) by amending subsection (b) to read as fol12 lows: 

13 ‘‘(b) NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINIS14 TRATION SATELLITE SYSTEMS AND DATA.— 

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

16 maintain a fleet of Administration space-based obser17 vation platforms that provide critical operations-fo18 cused data and information to support the National 

19 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s mission to 

20 monitor the global environment in order to protect 

21 lives and property from extreme weather and other 

22 natural phenomena. 

23 ‘‘(2) COLLABORATION.—The Under Secretary 

24 shall implement recommendations from the NOAA 

25 Observing Systems Council to ensure an appropriate 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
41 

•HR 6093 RH

1 mix of government, academic, commercial sector, and 

2 international partnerships in the provision of data 

3 and information, including a broadened effort on 

4 data acquisition through the Commercial Data Pro5 gram under section 302 when cost effective and bene6 ficial to the Administration. 

7 ‘‘(3) PRIORITY.—The Under Secretary shall en8 sure that Administration platforms maintained under 

9 paragraph (1) prioritize the development of products 

10 and services that are tailored to meet the National 

11 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s mission. 

12 ‘‘(4) NATIONAL CENTERS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL

13 INFORMATION.—The Under Secretary shall maintain 

14 the National Centers for Environmental Information 

15 to provide a long-term archive and access to the Ad16 ministration’s national and global data and 

17 metadata.’’; and 

18 (3) in subsection (f)(1), by striking ‘‘2023’’ and 

19 inserting ‘‘2030’’. 

20 SEC. 111. IMPROVING UNCREWED ACTIVITIES. 

21 Subparagraph (G) of section 102(b)(3) of the Weather 

22 Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (15 

23 U.S.C. 8512(b)(3)) is amended by striking ‘‘, including 

24 commercial observing systems’’ and inserting ‘‘, including 

25 stationary and mobile commercial observing systems, such 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
42 

•HR 6093 RH

1 as uncrewed aircraft and marine systems, to provide obser2 vations of the atmosphere and ocean, and other observa3 tions, in cooperation with the Office of Marine and Avia4 tion Operations’’. 

5 SEC. 112. INTERAGENCY COUNCIL FOR ADVANCING METE6 OROLOGICAL SERVICES. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 402 of the Weather Re8 search and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 

9 8542) is amended— 

10 (1) in subsection (a)— 

11 (A) by striking ‘‘Advancing Weather Serv12 ices’’ and inserting ‘‘Advancing Meteorological 

13 Services (in this section referred to as the ‘Inter14 agency Council’)’’; and 

15 (B) by striking ‘‘Committee’’ each place it 

16 appears and inserting ‘‘Council’’; 

17 (2) by amending subsections (b) and (c) to read 

18 as follows: 

19 ‘‘(b) CO-CHAIRS.—The Director of the Office of Science 

20 and Technology Policy and the Under Secretary shall serve 

21 as co-chairs of the Interagency Council. The Under Sec22 retary shall serve as the Federal Coordinator for Meteor23 ology. 

24 ‘‘(c) FURTHER COORDINATION.—The Director of the 

25 Office of Science and Technology Policy shall take such 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
43 

•HR 6093 RH

1 steps as are necessary to coordinate the activities of the Fed2 eral Government with stakeholders in the United States 

3 weather industry, academic partners, State governments, 

4 and emergency managers, including by implementing 

5 mechanisms to encourage and enable the participation of 

6 non-Federal employees in the functions of the Interagency 

7 Council.’’; 

8 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub9 sections: 

10 ‘‘(d) FUNCTIONS.—The Interagency Council shall be 

11 the formal mechanism by which all relevant Federal depart12 ments and agencies coordinate implementation of policy 

13 and practices to ensure United States global leadership in 

14 meteorological services. In doing so, the Interagency Council 

15 shall review programs and support relevant weather re16 search and forecast innovation activities, as well as other 

17 related implementation activities, related to Federal mete18 orological services, including by carrying out the following: 

19 ‘‘(1) Identifying and helping prioritize meteoro20 logical research and service delivery needs, including 

21 relating to observations, operational systems, commu22 nications, and infrastructure. 

23 ‘‘(2) Providing recommendations to streamline 

24 or consolidate activities and develop greater effi25 ciencies in cross-agency activities. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
44 

•HR 6093 RH

1 ‘‘(3) Leveraging Earth system science research 

2 outcomes of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

3 Administration, the National Aeronautics and Space 

4 Administration, and other relevant Federal depart5 ments and agencies, including research outcomes re6 lated to the relevant recommended key science and ap7 plications questions and priorities in the National 

8 Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s 

9 2018 report ‘Thriving on Our Changing Planet: A 

10 Decadal Strategy for Earth Observation from Space’, 

11 to understand and predict high-impact weather phe12 nomena. 

13 ‘‘(4) Facilitating the expansion and strength14 ening of partnerships with private sector entities to 

15 advance meteorological research, communications, 

16 and computing in collaboration with the Earth sys17 tem science, service, and stakeholder communities. 

18 ‘‘(5) Sharing information regarding meteorolog19 ical research improvement needs and science opportu20 nities across relevant Federal departments and agen21 cies. 

22 ‘‘(6) Providing advice to all relevant Federal de23 partments and agencies regarding potential collabora24 tions and expected level of resources needed to main25 tain and operate the Interagency Council. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
45 

•HR 6093 RH

1 ‘‘(7) Enhancing communication and coordina2 tion and promoting sharing within relevant Federal 

3 departments and agencies and across the Interagency 

4 Council. 

5 ‘‘(8) Developing, recruiting, and sustaining a 

6 professional and diverse workforce for meteorological 

7 research and services. 

8 ‘‘(e) DATA INVENTORY.—The Interagency Council, in 

9 coordination and avoidance of duplication with the United 

10 States Group on Earth Observations, shall promote data 

11 and metadata access and archive activities to increase ac12 cessibility, interoperability, and reusability by maintain13 ing a data inventory of meteorological observations. Not less 

14 frequently than annually for a period of five years begin15 ning on the date of the enactment of this subsection, the 

16 Interagency Council shall solicit updated information from 

17 private sector entities identifying current and near future 

18 sources of such data. Such data shall be made available to 

19 member departments and agencies under subsection (a). 

20 ‘‘(f) COORDINATION OFFICE.—The Interagency Mete21 orological Coordination Office shall provide to the Inter22 agency Council such administrative and logistical support 

23 as the Interagency Council may require, as determined by 

24 the co-chairs. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
46 

•HR 6093 RH

1 ‘‘(g) COST SHARE.—Member departments and agen2 cies of the Interagency Council under subsection (a) may 

3 provide reimbursable financial support to the Interagency 

4 Meteorological Coordinating Office to enhance cost-sharing 

5 and collaboration related to weather research and forecast 

6 innovation activities. 

7 ‘‘(h) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 

8 of the enactment of this subsection and annually thereafter, 

9 the Interagency Council shall publish a report which identi10 fies among member agencies the following: 

11 ‘‘(1) Federal programs that use meteorological 

12 observations, data sources, and capabilities. 

13 ‘‘(2) Federal programs that acquire such data 

14 from private sector entities. 

15 ‘‘(3) Advancements in meteorological data collec16 tion, assimilation, and forecasting that could improve 

17 Federal programmatic operational capabilities. 

18 ‘‘(4) Barriers to acquiring meteorological obser19 vations, data sources, and capabilities that could be 

20 used to better meet Federal programmatic needs.’’. 

21 (b) REFERENCES.—Any reference to the Interagency 

22 Committee for Advancing Weather Services in any law, 

23 rule, regulation, paper, record, map, or other such document 

24 of the United States shall be deemed to be a reference to 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
47 

•HR 6093 RH

1 the Interagency Council for Advancing Meteorological Serv2 ices. 

3 SEC. 113. OCEAN OBSERVATIONS. 

4 Subsection (b) of section 12304 of the Integrated Coast5 al and Ocean Observation System Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 

6 3603) is amended by adding at the end the following new 

7 paragraph: 

8 ‘‘(5) SHIPS OF OPPORTUNITY PILOT PROGRAM.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in 

10 coordination with the heads of relevant Federal 

11 departments and agencies, shall, subject to rel12 evant regulations and certifications, maintain 

13 pilot programs or projects to contract with re14 search or commercial ship operators for data col15 lection and assess the potential costs, benefits, 

16 and viability of a global network of ocean and 

17 atmospheric observing instruments operating on 

18 research or commercial ocean vessels, including 

19 in the Arctic, in order to supplement the Inte20 grated Coastal, Great Lakes, and Ocean Observa21 tion System in improving understanding of 

22 coastal and ocean systems and their relation23 ships to human activities. 

24 ‘‘(B) STANDARDS AND SPECIFICATIONS.— 

25 The Administrator shall ensure that data acVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:59 Dec 12, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00047 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H6093.RH H6093

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
48 

•HR 6093 RH

1 quired through the pilot program established 

2 pursuant to subparagraph (A) meets the most re3 cent standards and specifications required for 

4 observation services and data as published pur5 suant to subsection (c) of section 302 of the 

6 Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation 

7 Act of 2017. 

8 ‘‘(C) REPORT.—Not later than five years 

9 after the date of the enactment of this paragraph, 

10 the Administrator, in consultation with the Sec11 retary of Transportation, shall submit to Con12 gress a report on the requirements for a global 

13 network of ocean and atmospheric instruments 

14 operating on research or commercial ocean ves15 sels for measurement and data transmission. 

16 ‘‘(D) SUNSET.—This paragraph shall ter17 minate on the earlier of— 

18 ‘‘(i) September 30, 2029; or 

19 ‘‘(ii) one year after the date on which 

20 the report required under subparagraph (B) 

21 is submitted by the Administrator.’’. 

22 SEC. 114. CONSOLIDATION OF REPORTS. 

23 (a) WEATHER RESEARCH AND FORECASTING INNOVA24 TION ACT OF 2017.— 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
49 

•HR 6093 RH

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Weather Research and 

2 Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 is amended— 

3 (A) in section 102 (15 U.S.C. 8512), by 

4 striking subsection (d); 

5 (B) by amending section 105 (15 U.S.C. 

6 8515) to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 105. WEATHER RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PLAN8 NING. 

9 ‘‘Not later than two years after the date of the enact10 ment of this section and not less frequently than semiannu11 ally thereafter, the Under Secretary, acting through the As12 sistant Administrator for Oceanic and Atmospheric Re13 search, and in coordination with the Director of the Na14 tional Weather Service and the Assistant Administrator for 

15 Satellite and Information Services, shall issue a research 

16 and development and research to operations plan to main17 tain United States leadership in numerical weather pre18 diction and forecasting that— 

19 ‘‘(1) describes the forecasting skill and technology 

20 goals, objectives, expected budget, and progress of the 

21 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in 

22 carrying out the program conducted under section 

23 102; 

24 ‘‘(2) identifies and prioritizes specific research 

25 and development activities, data collection and analVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:59 Dec 12, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00049 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H6093.RH H6093

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
50 

•HR 6093 RH

1 ysis, predictive modeling, demonstration of potential 

2 operational forecast application, education, training, 

3 and performance metrics, weighted to meet the oper4 ational weather and flood-event mission of the Na5 tional Weather Service to achieve a weather-ready 

6 Nation; 

7 ‘‘(3) describes how the program conducted under 

8 section 102 will collaborate with Federal agencies and 

9 departments, international partners, and stake10 holders, including the United States weather industry 

11 and academic partners, and the role of each in ad12 vancing weather forecasting and communication; 

13 ‘‘(4) identifies, through consultation with the Na14 tional Science Foundation, the United States weather 

15 industry, and academic partners, research necessary 

16 to advance the scientific understanding of weather 

17 processes and provide information to improve weather 

18 warning and forecast systems in the United States 

19 most effectively; and 

20 ‘‘(5) describes how the National Oceanic and At21 mospheric Administration is advancing community 

22 weather modeling.’’; 

23 (C) in section 403 (15 U.S.C. 8543)— 

24 (i) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘the’’ 

25 after ‘‘Director of’’; and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
51 

•HR 6093 RH

1 (ii) by amending subsection (d) to read 

2 as follows: 

3 ‘‘(d) ANNUAL BRIEFING.—Not less frequently than 

4 once each year, the Under Secretary shall brief the Com5 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

6 Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech7 nology of the House of Representatives on participation in 

8 the program under subsection (a) and shall highlight any 

9 innovations that come from the interaction described in 

10 subsection (b).’’; and 

11 (D) by striking sections 408 through 411 

12 and section 414 and redesignating sections 412 

13 and 413 as sections 408 and 409, respectively. 

14 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The table of con15 tents in section 1(b) of the Weather Research and 

16 Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 is amended by 

17 striking the items relating to sections 408 through 414 

18 and inserting the following new items: 

‘‘Sec. 408. Weather enterprise outreach. 

‘‘Sec. 409. Hurricane hunter aircraft.’’. 

19 (b) NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINIS20 TRATION AUTHORIZATION ACT OF 1992.—The National 

21 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Authorization 

22 Act of 1992 (Public Law 102–567) is amended— 

23 (1) in section 106, by striking subsection (c) (15 

24 U.S.C. 1537); and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
52 

•HR 6093 RH

1 (2) in section 108 (15 U.S.C. 8520)— 

2 (A) by striking subsection (b); and 

3 (B) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub4 section (b). 

5 SEC. 115. NATIONAL LANDSLIDE HAZARDS REDUCTION 

6 PROGRAM. 

7 Subsection (h) of section 3 of the National Landslide 

8 Preparedness Act (43 U.S.C. 3102) is amended, in the mat9 ter preceding paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘2021 through 

10 2024’’ and inserting ‘‘2024 through 2028’’. 

11 SEC. 116. AMENDMENTS TO THE HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOM 

12 AND HYPOXIA RESEARCH AND CONTROL ACT 

13 OF 1998. 

14 (a) ASSESSMENTS.—Section 603 of the Harmful Algal 

15 Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Act of 1998 (33 

16 U.S.C. 4001) is amended— 

17 (1) in subsection (a)— 

18 (A) by renumbering paragraphs (13) and 

19 (14) as paragraphs (14) and (15), respectively; 

20 and 

21 (B) by inserting after paragraph (12) the 

22 following new paragraph: 

23 ‘‘(13) the Department of Energy;’’. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
53 

•HR 6093 RH

1 (2) by striking subsections (b), (c), (d), (e), (h), 

2 and (i) and redesignating subsections (f) and (g) as 

3 subsections (b) and (c), respectively; 

4 (3) in subsection (b), as so redesignated— 

5 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘coastal 

6 waters including the Great Lakes’’ and inserting 

7 ‘‘marine, estuarine, and freshwater systems’’; 

8 and 

9 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

10 (i) by amending subparagraph (A) to 

11 read as follows: 

12 ‘‘(A) examine the causes and ecological con13 sequences of hypoxia on marine and aquatic spe14 cies in their natural environments, and socio15 cultural or economic costs of hypoxia, including 

16 impacts on food safety and security;’’; 

17 (ii) by redesignating subparagraphs 

18 (B) through (D) as subparagraphs (D) 

19 through (F), respectively; 

20 (iii) by inserting after subparagraph 

21 (A) the following new subparagraphs: 

22 ‘‘(B) examine the effect of other environ23 mental stressors on hypoxia; 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
54 

•HR 6093 RH

1 ‘‘(C) evaluate alternatives for reducing, 

2 mitigating, and controlling hypoxia and its en3 vironmental impacts;’’; 

4 (iv) in subparagraph (D), as so redes5 ignated, by inserting ‘‘, social,’’ after ‘‘eco6 logical’’; and 

7 (v) in subparagraph (E), as so redesig8 nated, by striking ‘‘hypoxia modeling and 

9 monitoring data’’ and inserting ‘‘hypoxia 

10 modeling, forecasting, and monitoring and 

11 observation data’’; and 

12 (4) in subsection (c), as so redesignated, by 

13 mending such subsection to read as follows: 

14 ‘‘(c) ACTION STRATEGY AND SCIENTIFIC ASSESSMENT

15 FOR MARINE AND FRESHWATER HARMFUL ALGAL

16 BLOOMS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) Not less often than once every five years, the 

18 Task Force shall complete and submit to Congress an 

19 action strategy, including a scientific assessment, of 

20 harmful algal blooms in the United States (in this 

21 Act referred to as the ‘Action Strategy’). Each such 

22 Action Strategy, including scientific assessment, shall 

23 examine both marine and freshwater harmful algal 

24 blooms, including those in the Great Lakes and upper 

25 reaches of estuaries, those in freshwater lakes and rivVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:59 Dec 12, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00054 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H6093.RH H6093

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
55 

•HR 6093 RH

1 ers, and those that originate in freshwater lakes or 

2 rivers and migrate to coastal waters. 

3 ‘‘(2) Each Action Strategy under this subsection 

4 shall— 

5 ‘‘(A) examine the causes and ecological con6 sequences, and the socio-cultural or economic 

7 costs, including impacts on food safety and secu8 rity, of harmful algal blooms; 

9 ‘‘(B) examine the effect of other environ10 mental stressors on harmful algal blooms; 

11 ‘‘(C) examine potential methods to prevent, 

12 control, and mitigate harmful algal blooms and 

13 the potential ecological, social, cultural, and eco14 nomic costs and benefits of such methods; 

15 ‘‘(D) identify priorities for research needed 

16 to advance techniques and technologies to detect, 

17 predict, monitor, respond to, and minimize the 

18 occurrence, duration, and severity of harmful 

19 algal blooms, including recommendations to 

20 eliminate significant gaps in harmful algal 

21 bloom forecasting, monitoring, and observation 

22 data; 

23 ‘‘(E) evaluate progress made by, and the 

24 needs of, Task Force activities and actions to 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
56 

•HR 6093 RH

1 prevent, control, and mitigate harmful algal 

2 blooms; 

3 ‘‘(F) identify ways to improve coordination 

4 and prevent unnecessary duplication of effort 

5 among Federal departments and agencies with 

6 respect to research on harmful algal blooms; and 

7 ‘‘(G) include regional chapters relating to 

8 the requirements described in this paragraph in 

9 order to highlight geographically and ecologically 

10 diverse locations with significant ecological, so11 cial, cultural, and economic impacts from harm12 ful algal blooms.’’. 

13 (b) CONSULTATIONS.—Section 102 of the Harmful 

14 Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Amendments Act of 2004 (33 

15 U.S.C. 4001a) is amended— 

16 (1) by striking ‘‘the coastal’’; 

17 (2) by inserting ‘‘and’’ after ‘‘Indian tribes,’’; 

18 (3) by inserting ‘‘and’’ after ‘‘local govern19 ments,’’; and 

20 (4) by striking ‘‘with expertise in coastal zone 

21 science and management’’ and inserting ‘‘with rel22 evant expertise’’. 

23 (c) NATIONAL HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOM AND HYPOXIA

24 PROGRAM.—Section 603A of the Harmful Algal Bloom and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
57 

•HR 6093 RH

1 Hypoxia Research and Control Act of 1998 (33 U.S.C. 

2 4002) is amended— 

3 (1) in subsection (a)— 

4 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

5 (i) by striking ‘‘predicting,’’ and in6 serting ‘‘monitoring, observing, fore7 casting,’’; and 

8 (ii) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semi9 colon; 

10 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

11 (i) by striking ‘‘comprehensive research 

12 plan and action strategy under section 

13 603B’’ and inserting ‘‘the Action Strategy, 

14 including scientific assessment, under sec15 tion 603(c)’’; and 

16 (ii) by striking the period and insert17 ing ‘‘; and’’; and 

18 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

19 paragraph: 

20 ‘‘(3) the scientific assessment under section 

21 603(b).’’; 

22 (2) in subsection (c)— 

23 (A) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘ocean 

24 and Great Lakes’’ and inserting ‘‘marine, estua25 rine, and freshwater systems’’; and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
58 

•HR 6093 RH

1 (B) in paragraph (5), by inserting ‘‘while 

2 recognizing each agency is acting under its own 

3 independent mission and authority’’ before the 

4 semicolon; 

5 (3) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘Except as pro6 vided in subsection (h), the’’ and inserting ‘‘The’’; 

7 (4) in subsection (e)— 

8 (A) by amending paragraph (2) to read as 

9 follows: 

10 ‘‘(2) examine, in collaboration with State and 

11 local entities and Indian Tribes, including island 

12 communities, low-population rural communities, In13 digenous communities, subsistence communities, fish14 eries, and recreation industries that are most depend15 ent on coastal and water resources that may be im16 pacted by marine and freshwater harmful algal 

17 blooms and hypoxia, the causes, ecological con18 sequences, cultural impacts, and social and economic 

19 costs of harmful algal blooms and hypoxia;’’; 

20 (B) by striking paragraph (3); 

21 (C) by redesignating paragraphs (4), (5), 

22 and (6) as paragraphs (3), (4), and (5), respec23 tively; 

24 (D) in paragraph (3), as so redesignated— 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
59 

•HR 6093 RH

1 (i) by striking ‘‘to, regional’’ and in2 serting ‘‘to regional’’; and 

3 (ii) by striking ‘‘agencies’’ and insert4 ing ‘‘entities, and regional coastal observing 

5 systems (as such term is defined in section 

6 12330(6) of the Integrated Coastal and 

7 Ocean Observation System Act of 2009 (33 

8 U.S.C. 3602(6)))’’; 

9 (E) in paragraph (5), as so redesignated, by 

10 inserting ‘‘and communities’’ after ‘‘ecosystems’’; 

11 (F) by inserting after paragraph (5) (as re12 designated) the following new paragraph: 

13 ‘‘(6) support sustained observations, including 

14 through peer-reviewed, merit-based, competitive grant 

15 funding, to provide State and local entities, Indian 

16 Tribes, and others access to real-time or near real17 time observation data for decision-making to protect 

18 human and ecological health and local economies;’’; 

19 (G) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘State 

20 and local’’ and inserting ‘‘State, local, and Trib21 al’’; and 

22 (H) in paragraph (9)(A), by striking ‘‘trib23 al’’ and inserting ‘‘Tribal’’; 

24 (5) by amending subsections (f) and (g) to read 

25 as follows: 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
60 

•HR 6093 RH

1 ‘‘(f) COOPERATIVE EFFORTS.—The Under Secretary 

2 shall work cooperatively with and avoid duplication of ef3 fort of other agencies on the Task Force, and with and of 

4 States, Indian tribes, and nongovernmental organizations 

5 concerned with marine and freshwater issues, and shall co6 ordinate harmful algal bloom and hypoxia and related ac7 tivities and research. 

8 ‘‘(g) FRESHWATER AND ESTUARINE PROGRAM DU9 TIES.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in co11 ordination with the Task Force, shall carry out the 

12 duties under subsection (e) for freshwater and estua13 rine aspects of the Program through the activities au14 thorized under section 603C. 

15 ‘‘(2) NONDUPLICATION.—The Administrator 

16 shall ensure that activities carried out under this sub17 section focus on new approaches to addressing fresh18 water harmful algal blooms and are not duplicative 

19 of existing research and development programs au20 thorized under this Act or any other law.’’; and 

21 (6) by amending subsection (h) to read as fol22 lows: 

23 ‘‘(h) ANTI-DEFICIENCY ACT APPLIED TO HARMFUL

24 ALGAL BLOOM SERVICES.—Any services by an officer or 

25 employee under this title relating to the immediate developVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:59 Dec 12, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00060 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H6093.RH H6093

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
61 

•HR 6093 RH

1 ment and dissemination of the Harmful Algal Bloom Oper2 ational Forecast System of the National Centers for Coastal 

3 Ocean Science and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

4 Administration shall be considered, for purposes of section 

5 1342 of title 31, United States Code, services for emergencies 

6 involving the safety of human life or the protection of prop7 erty. Such consideration shall only apply to areas with ac8 tive harmful algal blooms during any lapse in appropria9 tions beginning on or after the date of the enactment of this 

10 subsection.’’. 

11 (d) NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINIS12 TRATION ACTIVITIES.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Harmful Algal Bloom 

14 and Hypoxia Research and Control Act of 1998 is 

15 amended by amending section 603B (33 U.S.C. 4003) 

16 to read as follows: 

17 ‘‘SEC. 603B. NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC AD18 MINISTRATION ACTIVITIES. 

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall— 

20 ‘‘(1) carry out marine, coastal, and Great Lakes 

21 harmful algal bloom and hypoxia events response ac22 tivities; 

23 ‘‘(2) develop and enhance operational harmful 

24 algal bloom observing and forecasting programs, in25 cluding operational observations and forecasting, 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
62 

•HR 6093 RH

1 monitoring, modeling, data management, and infor2 mation dissemination; 

3 ‘‘(3) maintain and enhance peer-reviewed, merit4 based, competitive grant funding relating to harmful 

5 algal blooms and hypoxia to— 

6 ‘‘(A) maintain and enhance baseline moni7 toring programs established by the Program; 

8 ‘‘(B) support the projects maintained and 

9 established by the Program; 

10 ‘‘(C) address the research and management 

11 needs and priorities identified in the Action 

12 Strategy under section 603(c); 

13 ‘‘(D) accelerate the utilization of effective 

14 methods of intervention and mitigation to reduce 

15 the frequency, severity, and impacts of harmful 

16 algal bloom and hypoxia events; 

17 ‘‘(E) identify opportunities to improve 

18 monitoring of harmful algal bloom and hypoxia, 

19 with a particular focus on coastal waters that 

20 may affect fisheries, public health, or subsistence 

21 harvest; 

22 ‘‘(F) examine the effects of other environ23 mental stressors on harmful algal blooms and 

24 hypoxia; 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
63 

•HR 6093 RH

1 ‘‘(G) assess the effects of multiple environ2 mental stressors on living marine resources and 

3 coastal ecosystems; and 

4 ‘‘(H) evaluate adaptation and mitigation 

5 strategies to address the impacts of harmful algal 

6 blooms and hypoxia; 

7 ‘‘(4) enhance communication and coordination 

8 among Federal agencies carrying out marine and 

9 freshwater harmful algal bloom and hypoxia activities 

10 and research; 

11 ‘‘(5) to the greatest extent practicable, leverage 

12 existing resources and expertise available from local 

13 research universities and institutions; and 

14 ‘‘(6) use cost effective methods in carrying out 

15 this section. 

16 ‘‘(b) INTEGRATED COASTAL AND OCEAN OBSERVATION

17 SYSTEM.—The collection of monitoring and observing data 

18 under this section shall comply with all data standards and 

19 protocols developed pursuant to the Integrated Coastal and 

20 Ocean Observation System Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3601 et 

21 seq.). Such data shall be made available through the system 

22 established under that Act.’’. 

23 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con24 tents in section 2 of the Coast Guard Authorization 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
64 

•HR 6093 RH

1 Act of 1998 is amended by amending the item relat2 ing to section 603B to read as follows: 

‘‘Sec. 603B. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration activities.’’. 

3 (e) ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY ACTIVI4 TIES.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Harmful Algal Bloom 

6 and Hypoxia Research and Control Act of 1998 is 

7 amended by inserting after section 603B, as amended 

8 by subsection (d), the following new section: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 603C. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY AC10 TIVITIES. 

11 ‘‘The Administrator shall— 

12 ‘‘(1) carry out research on the ecology and 

13 human health impacts of freshwater harmful algal 

14 blooms; 

15 ‘‘(2) develop and maintain forecasting and mon16 itoring of, and event response to, freshwater harmful 

17 algal blooms in lakes, reservoirs, rivers, and estuaries 

18 (including tributaries thereof); 

19 ‘‘(3) enhance communication and coordination 

20 among Federal agencies carrying out freshwater 

21 harmful algal bloom and hypoxia activities and re22 search; 

23 ‘‘(4) to the greatest extent practicable, leverage 

24 existing resources and expertise available from local 

25 research universities and institutions; and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
65 

•HR 6093 RH

1 ‘‘(5) use cost effective methods in carrying out 

2 this section.’’. 

3 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con4 tents in section 2 of the Coast Guard Authorization 

5 Act of 1998 is amended by inserting after the item re6 lating to section 603B, as amended by subsection (e), 

7 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 603C. Environmental Protection Agency activities.’’. 

8 (f) NATIONAL HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOM AND HYPOXIA

9 OBSERVING NETWORK.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Harmful Algal Bloom 

11 and Hypoxia Research and Control Act of 1998 is 

12 amended by amending section 606 (33 U.S.C. 4005) 

13 to read as follows: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 606. NATIONAL HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOM OBSERVING 

15 NETWORK. 

16 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary, acting 

17 through the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science 

18 (NCCOS) and the Integrated Ocean Observing System 

19 (IOOS) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis20 tration, shall integrate Federal, State, regional, and local 

21 observing capabilities to establish a national network of 

22 harmful algal bloom observing systems for the monitoring, 

23 detection, and forecasting of harmful algal blooms by 

24 leveraging the capacity of IOOS regional associations, in25 cluding through the incorporation of emerging technologies 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
66 

•HR 6093 RH

1 and new data integration methods, such as artificial intel2 ligence. 

3 ‘‘(b) COORDINATION.— In carrying out subsection (a), 

4 the IOOS Program Office shall— 

5 ‘‘(1) coordinate with NCCOS regarding observa6 tions, data integration, and information dissemina7 tion; and 

8 ‘‘(2) establish a Harmful Algal Bloom Data As9 sembly Center to integrate, disseminate, and provide 

10 a central architecture to support ecological fore11 casting.’’. 

12 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con13 tents in section 2 of the Coast Guard Authorization 

14 Act of 1998 is amended by amending the item relat15 ing to section 606 to read as follows: 

‘‘Sec. 606. National harmful algal bloom observing network.’’. 

16 (g) DEFINITIONS.—Section 609 of the Harmful Algal 

17 Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Act of 1998 (33 

18 U.S.C. 4008) is amended— 

19 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘means the 

20 comprehensive research plan and action strategy es21 tablished under section 603B’’ and inserting ‘‘means 

22 the action strategy, including scientific assessment, 

23 for marine and freshwater harmful algal blooms es24 tablished under section 603(c)’’; 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
67 

•HR 6093 RH

1 (2) by amending paragraph (3) to read as fol2 lows: 

3 ‘‘(3) APPROPRIATE FEDERAL OFFICIAL.—The 

4 term ‘appropriate Federal official’ means— 

5 ‘‘(A) in the case of marine systems or Great 

6 Lakes hypoxia or harmful algal bloom event, in7 cluding those in estuarine areas, the Under Sec8 retary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(B) in the case of a freshwater hypoxia or 

11 harmful algal bloom event, the Administrator of 

12 the Environmental Protection Agency, in con13 sultation with the Under Secretary of Commerce 

14 for Oceans and Atmosphere.’’. 

15 (3) by striking paragraph (9); 

16 (4) by redesignating paragraphs (4), (5), (6), 

17 (7), and (8) as paragraphs (6), (7), (9), (10), and 

18 (11); 

19 (5) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol20 lowing new paragraphs: 

21 ‘‘(4) HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOM; HARMFUL ALGAL

22 BLOOM AND HYPOXIA EVENT.— 

23 ‘‘(A) HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOM.—The term 

24 ‘harmful algal bloom’ means marine or fresh25 water algae or macroalgae, including 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
68 

•HR 6093 RH

1 Sargassum, that proliferate to high concentra2 tions, resulting in nuisance conditions or harm3 ful impacts on marine and freshwater eco4 systems, communities, or human health through 

5 the production of toxic compounds or other bio6 logical, chemical, or physical impacts of the 

7 algae outbreak. 

8 ‘‘(B) HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOM AND HYPOXIA

9 EVENT.—The term ‘harmful algal bloom and hy10 poxia event’ means the occurrence of a harmful 

11 algal bloom or hypoxia as a result of a natural, 

12 anthropogenic, or undetermined cause. 

13 ‘‘(5) HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOM OR HYPOXIA

14 EVENT OF SIGNIFICANCE.—The term ‘harmful algal 

15 bloom or hypoxia event of significance’ means a 

16 harmful algal bloom or hypoxia event that has had or 

17 will likely have significant detrimental environ18 mental, economic, social, subsistence use, or public 

19 health impacts.’’; 

20 (6) in paragraph (6), as so redesignated— 

21 (A) by striking ‘‘aquatic’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘marine or freshwater’’; and 

23 (B) by striking ‘‘resident’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘marine or freshwater’’; and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
69 

•HR 6093 RH

1 (7) by inserting after paragraph (7), as so redes2 ignated, the following new paragraph: 

3 ‘‘(8) SUBSISTENCE USE.—The term ‘subsistence 

4 use’ means the customary and traditional use of fish, 

5 wildlife, or other freshwater, coastal, or marine re6 sources by any individual or community to meet per7 sonal or family needs, including essential economic, 

8 nutritional, or cultural applications.’’. 

9 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

10 610 of the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research 

11 and Control Act of 1998 (33 U.S.C. 4009) is amended— 

12 (1) by amending subsection (a) to read as fol13 lows: 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro15 priated to the Under Secretary to carry out this title 

16 $27,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028.’’; 

17 and 

18 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub19 section: 

20 ‘‘(c) TRANSFER AUTHORITY.—The Under Secretary is 

21 authorized to make a direct non-expenditure transfer of 

22 funds authorized to be appropriated pursuant to subsection 

23 (a) to the head of any Federal department or agency, with 

24 the concurrence of such head, to carry out, as appropriate, 

25 relevant provisions of this title.’’. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
70 

•HR 6093 RH

1 (i) NATIONAL LEVEL INCUBATOR PROGRAM.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Harmful Algal Bloom 

3 and Hypoxia Research and Control Act of 1998 is 

4 amended by adding at the end the following new sec5 tion: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 611. NATIONAL LEVEL INCUBATOR PROGRAM. 

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary, in collabo8 ration with research universities and institutions, shall es9 tablish a national level incubator program to increase the 

10 number of available control strategies and technologies re11 lating to harmful algal blooms. Such incubator shall estab12 lish a framework for preliminary assessments of novel 

13 harmful algal bloom prevention, mitigation, and control 

14 technologies in order to determine the potential for effective15 ness and scalability. 

16 ‘‘(b) OPERATION.—The incubator under subsection (a) 

17 shall provide merit-based funding for harmful algal bloom 

18 control strategies and technologies that eliminate or reduce 

19 through biological, chemical, or physical means the levels 

20 of harmful algae and associated toxins. 

21 ‘‘(c) DATABASE.—The incubator under subsection (a) 

22 shall include a database to catalog the licensing and permit23 ting requirements, economic costs, feasibility, effectiveness, 

24 and scalability of both novel and established prevention, 

25 control, and mitigation measures. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
71 

•HR 6093 RH

1 ‘‘(d) PRIORITIZATION.—In carrying out the incubator 

2 under subsection (a), the Under Secretary shall prioritize 

3 proposed activities that would, to the maximum extent 

4 practicable— 

5 ‘‘(1) protect key habitats for fish and wildlife; 

6 ‘‘(2) maintain biodiversity; 

7 ‘‘(3) protect public health; 

8 ‘‘(4) protect coastal resources of national, histor9 ical, and cultural significance; or 

10 ‘‘(5) seek to partially or fully benefit commu11 nities of color, low-income communities, Indian 

12 Tribes or Indigenous communities, and rural commu13 nities.’’. 

14 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The table of con15 tents in section 2 of the Coast Guard Authorization 

16 Act of 1998 is amended by inserting after the item re17 lating to section 610 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 611. National level incubator program.’’. 

18 (j) HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOM OR HYPOXIA EVENT OF

19 SIGNIFICANCE.—Subsection (g) of section 9 of the National 

20 Integrated Drought Information System Reauthorization 

21 Act of 2018 (33 U.S.C. 4010) is amended— 

22 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

23 (A) in subparagraph (B), by adding at the 

24 end the following new sentence: ‘‘The appropriate 

25 Federal official may waive the non-Federal share 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
72 

•HR 6093 RH

1 requirements of this subsection if such official de2 termines no reasonable means are available 

3 through which the recipient of the Federal share 

4 can meet the non-Federal share requirement.’’; 

5 and 

6 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

7 subparagraph: 

8 ‘‘(D) CONTRACT, GRANT, AND COOPERATIVE

9 AGREEMENT AUTHORITY.—The Under Secretary 

10 may enter into agreements and grants with 

11 States, Indian Tribes, local governments, or 

12 other entities to pay for or reimburse costs in13 curred for the purposes of supporting the deter14 mination of and assessing the environmental, 

15 economic, social, subsistence use, and public 

16 health effects of a harmful algal bloom or hy17 poxia event of significance.’’; 

18 (2) in paragraph (2)(A), by inserting ‘‘, leader19 ship official of an affected Indian Tribe, the executive 

20 official of the District of Columbia, or a territory or 

21 possession of the United States, including Puerto 

22 Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, the Commonwealth of 

23 the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Trust Terri24 tories of the Pacific Islands, and American Samoa, if 

25 affected’’ after ‘‘State’’; and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
73 

•HR 6093 RH

1 (3) by adding at the end the following new para2 graph: 

3 ‘‘(4) FUNDING AUTHORITY.—To carry out this 

4 subsection, notwithstanding any other provision of 

5 law, there is authorized to be appropriated from the 

6 amounts made available to the Under Secretary 

7 $2,000,000, to remain available until expended.’’. 

8 (k) PROTECT FAMILIES FROM TOXIC ALGAL

9 BLOOMS.—Section 128 of the Water Resources Development 

10 Act of 2020 (33 U.S.C. 610 note) is amended— 

11 (1) by redesignating subsection (e) as subsection 

12 (f); and 

13 (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the following 

14 new subsection: 

15 ‘‘(e) HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOM TECHNOLOGIES.—In 

16 carrying out the demonstration program under subsection 

17 (a), the Secretary may enter into agreements with water 

18 and irrigation districts located in the focus areas described 

19 in subsections (c) and (d) for the use or sale of any new 

20 technologies developed under the program to expedite the re21 moval of harmful algal blooms in such areas.’’. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
74 

•HR 6093 RH

1 TITLE II—ENHANCING FEDERAL 

2 WEATHER FORECASTING AND 

3 INNOVATION 

4 SEC. 201. WEATHER INNOVATION FOR THE NEXT GENERA5 TION. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

7 date of the enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary shall 

8 establish a Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation 

9 Program (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Program’’) to 

10 ensure the continued performance of weather radar capa11 bilities, including systems currently being developed, with 

12 interferences in the line of sight of such radar. 

13 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out the Program, 

14 the Under Secretary, in consultation with the Interagency 

15 Council for Advancing Meteorological Services, shall— 

16 (1) partner with the private sector, academia, 

17 Federal, State, and local government entities, and 

18 any other entity the Under Secretary considers appro19 priate; 

20 (2) identify, evaluate, and test existing or near21 commercial technologies and solutions that improve 

22 radar coverage and performance, including by miti23 gating the potential impact of interferences on weath24 er radar; 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
75 

•HR 6093 RH

1 (3) to the maximum extent practicable, research 

2 additional solutions that could mitigate the effects of 

3 interferences on weather radar, such as— 

4 (A) signal processing algorithms; 

5 (B) short-term forecasting algorithms to re6 place contaminated data; 

7 (C) the use of dual polarization characteris8 tics in mitigating the effects of wind turbines on 

9 weather radar; and 

10 (D) gap filling radars to provide supple11 mental or replacement observations in impacted 

12 areas; and 

13 (4) develop, support, or partner with developers 

14 to provide commercially viable technical mitigation 

15 solutions for interferences to weather radar capabili16 ties that are compatible with the operational require17 ments of the weather radar systems. 

18 (c) PRIORITY.—In carrying out subsection (b), the 

19 Under Secretary shall prioritize consideration of the fol20 lowing technology-based mitigation solutions: 

21 (1) Phased array weather radar systems. 

22 (2) Supplementing or replacing contaminated 

23 data with commercial radar data. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
76 

•HR 6093 RH

1 (3) The utilization of data from private sector 

2 associated meteorological towers or similar capabili3 ties. 

4 (4) The display on local forecasting equipment of 

5 wind farm boundaries and consolidated wind farm 

6 areas. 

7 (5) The installation and provision of access to 

8 rain gauges. 

9 (6) Any other technology-based mitigation solu10 tion the Under Secretary determines could improve 

11 radar coverage by overcoming interferences, beam 

12 blockage, or ghost echoes. 

13 (d) REPORT; RECOMMENDATION.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than two years after 

15 the date of the enactment of this section and annually 

16 thereafter until the Program terminates pursuant to 

17 subsection (e), the Under Secretary shall submit to 

18 Congress a report on the implementation of the Pro19 gram, including an evaluation of each technology20 based mitigation solution identified for priority con21 sideration pursuant to subsection (c), and a rec22 ommendation regarding additional identification and 

23 testing of new technologies based on such consider24 ation. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
77 

•HR 6093 RH

1 (2) FINAL RECOMMENDATION.—Not later than 

2 five years after the date of the enactment of this sec3 tion, the Under Secretary shall provide to Congress a 

4 recommendation on whether additional research, test5 ing, and development through the Program established 

6 under subsection (a) is needed, and a determination 

7 of whether a cessation of field research, testing, devel8 opment and evaluation is appropriate. 

9 (e) TERMINATION.—The authority of the Under Sec10 retary to carry out the Program shall terminate on the ear11 lier of— 

12 (1) September 30, 2029; or 

13 (2) one year after the date on which the final 

14 recommendation required under subsection (d)(2) is 

15 submitted by the Under Secretary. 

16 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

17 (1) BEAM BLOCKAGE.—The term ‘‘beam block18 age’’ means a signal that is partially or fully blocked 

19 due to an interference. 

20 (2) GHOST ECHO.—The term ‘‘ghost echo’’ means 

21 radar signal reflectivity or velocity return errors in 

22 radar data due to the proximity of an interference. 

23 (3) INTERFERENCE.—The term ‘‘interference’’ 

24 includes the following: 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
78 

•HR 6093 RH

1 (A) a wind turbine that could limit the ef2 fectiveness of a weather radar system; 

3 (B) any building that disrupts or limits the 

4 effectiveness of a weather radar system; or 

5 (C) any other natural or human built struc6 ture that affects a weather radar system. 

7 SEC. 202. NEXT GENERATION RADAR. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall develop 

9 a plan to replace the Next Generation Weather Radar of 

10 the National Weather Service (‘‘NEXRAD’’) system in ex11 istence as of the date of the enactment of this section. 

12 (b) PROCUREMENT DEADLINE.—The Under Secretary 

13 shall take such actions as may be necessary to ensure the 

14 replacement described in subsection (a) is completed by not 

15 later than September 30, 2040. 

16 (c) ELEMENTS.—The plan developed pursuant to sub17 section (a) shall include the following: 

18 (1) Estimates of quantifiable improvements in 

19 radar performance and service delivery, including 

20 coverage and accuracy, to be made from replacement 

21 of the NEXRAD system referred to in such subsection. 

22 (2) Development of a digital phased array radar 

23 test article designed to test and determine the speci24 fications and requirements for such replacement. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
79 

•HR 6093 RH

1 (3) Establishment of a weather surveillance 

2 radar testbed for the following: 

3 (A) Evaluation of commercial radars with 

4 the potential to replace or supplement the 

5 NEXRAD system. 

6 (B) Providing technical assistance for com7 mercial replacement or supplemental radars, in8 cluding data void filling radars in regions where 

9 geographical topography prevents full utilization 

10 of conventional systems. 

11 (4) Consultation and input solicited from mete12 orologists, emergency managers, and public safety of13 ficials regarding the specifications and requirements 

14 for the replacement of the NEXRAD system referred 

15 in such subsection. 

16 (5) Prioritized locations for initial deployment 

17 of the replacement system described in subsection (a) 

18 that will replace the NEXRAD system. 

19 (6) Expected locations of such replacement sys20 tem described in subsection (a), including sites located 

21 more than 75 miles away from an existing NEXRAD 

22 station and additional appropriate locations. 

23 (d) RADAR-AS-A-SERVICE.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—In order to supplement data 

25 voids in radar coverage in existence as of the date of 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
80 

•HR 6093 RH

1 the enactment of this section and ensure the continued 

2 performance of weather radar capabilities, the Under 

3 Secretary may utilize and contract with third party 

4 entities to fill such low-level and wide-area radar 

5 data voids using diverse weather radars and data as6 similation technologies to better detect significant pre7 cipitation and severe weather over a greater area 

8 across the population. 

9 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In carrying out the ac10 tivities under paragraph (1), the Under Secretary 

11 may consider— 

12 (A) utilizing and contracting with third13 party entities that have participated in the 

14 testbed established in accordance with subsection 

15 (c)(3), the National Mesonet Program, or Cooper16 ative Research and Development Agreements; 

17 and 

18 (B) weather camera systems and services, 

19 including systems and services in consultation 

20 with the Federal Aviation Administration, as 

21 viable technologies to supplement weather fore22 casting and prediction needs. 

23 (e) UPDATES TO CONGRESS.—The Under Secretary 

24 shall provide to the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech25 nology of the House of Representatives and the Committee 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
81 

•HR 6093 RH

1 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 

2 periodic updates on the implementation of this section. 

3 SEC. 203. DATA VOIDS IN HIGHLY VULNERABLE AREAS OF 

4 THE UNITED STATES. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary, in coordina6 tion with the Director of the National Weather Service and 

7 the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management 

8 Agency, in consultation with the United States weather in9 dustry, academic partners, and in accordance with activi10 ties implemented through existing regional atmospheric, 

11 coastal, ocean, and Great Lakes observing systems, shall 

12 carry out activities to ensure equitable and comprehensive 

13 weather observation coverage and emergency information 

14 sharing in the United States, including relating to the fol15 lowing: 

16 (1) Reviewing areas in the continental United 

17 States and the territories that are considered under18 observed, underserved, or highly vulnerable for weath19 er phenomenon, including urban and offshore regions, 

20 and identifying associated challenges to providing 

21 such coverage. 

22 (2) Increasing weather observations and devel23 oping new weather observational capabilities, such as 

24 urban heat island mapping campaigns, with respect 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
82 

•HR 6093 RH

1 to under-observed, underserved, or highly vulnerable 

2 regions. 

3 (3) Establishing or supporting testbeds to develop 

4 and integrate new weather, water, and climate obser5 vation or emergency information sharing tools, such 

6 as next generational or supplemental radars for 

7 weather observations, in under-observed, underserved, 

8 or highly vulnerable regions. 

9 (4) To the maximum extent practicable, advanc10 ing weather and water forecasting and climate mod11 eling capabilities for under-observed, underserved, or 

12 highly vulnerable regions. 

13 (5) Undertaking workforce development efforts 

14 for emergency management officials and meteorolo15 gists in under-observed, underserved, or highly vulner16 able areas, including urban regions, of the United 

17 States. 

18 (6) Using data void filling observations to better 

19 resolve extreme rainfall in complex topography. 

20 (7) Contributing to a national integrated heat 

21 health information systems. 

22 (b) PILOT PROGRAM.—In carrying out this section, the 

23 Under Secretary, acting through the Director of the Na24 tional Weather Service and the Administrator of the Fed25 eral Emergency Management Agency, shall establish an 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
83 

•HR 6093 RH

1 interagency partnership to support pilot projects that accel2 erate coordination and use of localized weather, water, and 

3 climate data and impact-based communications in infra4 structure and emergency management decisions by Federal, 

5 State, and local officials. 

6 (c) PRIORITY.—At least one pilot project under sub7 section (b) shall address key science challenges to using 

8 mesonet data in local decision making and development of 

9 new tools and training for owners and operators of critical 

10 infrastructure (as such term is defined in section 1016(e) 

11 of Public Law 107–56 (42 U.S.C. 5195c(e))), such as dams, 

12 energy generation and distribution facilities, nuclear power 

13 plants, and transportation networks. 

14 SEC. 204. ATMOSPHERIC RIVERS FORECAST IMPROVEMENT 

15 PROGRAM. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary, in collabora17 tion with the United States weather industry and academic 

18 partners, shall establish an atmospheric river forecast im19 provement program (in this section referred to as the ‘‘pro20 gram’’). 

21 (b) GOAL.—The goal of the program shall be to reduce 

22 through the development and extension of accurate, effective, 

23 and actionable forecasts and warnings the loss of life or 

24 property from atmospheric rivers, including by— 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
84 

•HR 6093 RH

1 (1) establishing quantitative atmospheric river 

2 forecast skill metrics that include quantifying the ben3 efits of dynamical modeling, data assimilation, and 

4 machine learning improvements in the probabilistic 

5 forecasts of landfall location, extreme wind and pre6 cipitation, and cascading impacts; 

7 (2) developing an atmospheric river forecast sys8 tem within the unified forecast system, and advanc9 ing next-generation coupled modeling systems, with 

10 the capability of providing seasonal to short-range at11 mospheric river forecasts that include forecast of snow 

12 accumulation and other hydrologic components; 

13 (3) advancing scientific understanding of the 

14 roles of atmospheric rivers in subseasonal to seasonal 

15 precipitation and probabilistic predictions at subsea16 sonal and seasonal scales; 

17 (4) developing tools and improved forecast prod18 ucts to predict periods of active or inactive atmos19 pheric river landfalls and inland penetration over the 

20 western United States with a focus on addressing 

21 stakeholder and public needs related to perceiving, 

22 comprehending, and responding to atmospheric river 

23 forecast improvements; and 

24 (5) enhancing research transition to operations 

25 through the Administration’s testbeds, including the 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
85 

•HR 6093 RH

1 evaluation of physical and social science, technology, 

2 and other research to develop products and services 

3 for implementation and use by relevant stakeholders. 

4 (c) INNOVATIVE OBSERVATIONS AND MODELING.—The 

5 Under Secretary shall ensure the program periodically ex6 amines, tests, and evaluates the value of incorporating in7 novative observations, such as novel sensor technologies, ob8 servation networks, soil moisture monitoring systems, res9 ervoir storage data, observations from crewed or uncrewed 

10 systems, and hosted instruments on commercial aircrafts, 

11 vessels, and satellites, and data assimilation tools, with re12 spect to the improvement of atmospheric river forecasts, pre13 dictions, and warnings. 

14 (d) PROGRAM PLAN.—Not later than 180 days after 

15 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary 

16 shall develop a plan that details the specific research, devel17 opment, data acquisition, and technology transfer activi18 ties, as well as corresponding resources, limitations, and 

19 timelines, necessary to achieve the goal of the program 

20 under subsection (b). 

21 (e) ANNUAL BUDGET FOR PLAN SUBMITTAL.—After 

22 the development of the plan pursuant to subsection (d), the 

23 Under Secretary shall, not less frequently than annually, 

24 submit to Congress a proposed budget corresponding with 

25 the activities identified in such plan. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
86 

•HR 6093 RH

1 SEC. 205. COASTAL FLOODING AND STORM SURGE FORE2 CAST IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary, in collabora4 tion with the Integrated Ocean Observing System, the 

5 United States weather industry, and academic partners, 

6 shall establish a coastal flooding and storm surge forecast 

7 improvement program (in this section referred to as the 

8 ‘‘program’’). 

9 (b) GOAL.—The goal of the program shall be to reduce 

10 through the development and extension of accurate, effective, 

11 actionable, and probable forecasts and warnings the loss of 

12 life or property from coastal flooding, including high tide 

13 flooding, and storm surge events. 

14 (c) PRIORITY.—In implementing the program, the 

15 Under Secretary shall prioritize activities that carry out 

16 the following: 

17 (1) Improving understanding and capacity for 

18 real-time operational prediction of the ocean’s role in 

19 coastal flooding, including high tide flooding, and 

20 storm surge events. 

21 (2) Improving the capacity to mitigate or pre22 vent the impacts of coastal flooding, including high 

23 tide flooding, and storm surge events, including by 

24 improving the understanding and capacity of coastal 

25 communities to perceive, comprehend, and respond to 

26 forecast information. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
87 

•HR 6093 RH

1 (3) Incorporating data from in situ distributed 

2 sensors into models. 

3 (4) Developing probabilistic coastal flooding, in4 cluding high tide flooding, and storm surge estimates 

5 to complement worst-case scenario estimates, includ6 ing for use in long-term planning and risk manage7 ment by States, Tribal governments, localities, and 

8 emergency managers in coordination with the Federal 

9 Emergency Management Agency, as appropriate. 

10 (5) Establishing skill metrics for coastal inunda11 tion forecasting that quantify the benefits of dynam12 ical modeling, data assimilation, and machine learn13 ing improvements in the probabilistic forecast of 

14 coastal flooding, including high tide flooding, and 

15 storm surge risk and impacts. 

16 (6) Improving operational regional storm surge 

17 and wave prediction models to enhance probabilistic 

18 guidance and messaging. 

19 (d) INNOVATIVE OBSERVATIONS AND MODELING.—The 

20 Under Secretary shall ensure the program periodically ex21 amines, tests, and evaluates the value of incorporating en22 hanced model physics, hybrid dynamical or machine learn23 ing based prediction systems, and innovative observations, 

24 such as novel sensor technologies, observation networks, 

25 crewed or uncrewed systems, and hosted instruments on 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
88 

•HR 6093 RH

1 commercial aircrafts, vessels, and satellites, with respect to 

2 the improvement of coastal flooding, including high tide 

3 flooding, and storm surge forecasts, predictions, and warn4 ings. 

5 (e) PROGRAM PLAN.—Not later than 180 days after 

6 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary 

7 shall develop a plan that details the specific research, devel8 opment, data acquisition, and technology transfer activi9 ties, as well as corresponding resources and timelines, nec10 essary to achieve the goal of the program under subsection 

11 (b). 

12 (f) ANNUAL BUDGET FOR PLAN SUBMITTAL.—After 

13 the development of the plan pursuant to subsection (e), the 

14 Under Secretary shall, not less frequently than annually, 

15 submit to Congress a proposed budget corresponding with 

16 the activities identified in such plan. 

17 SEC. 206. AVIATION WEATHER AND DATA INNOVATION. 

18 (a) PROGRAM.—The Under Secretary shall maintain 

19 an airborne observation program (in this section referred 

20 to as the ‘‘program’’) for the acquisition of atmospheric sen21 sor data and the deployment of critical atmospheric sensors, 

22 including in partnership with the weather enterprise. 

23 (b) ACTIVITIES.—The program shall include activities 

24 that carry out the following: 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
89 

•HR 6093 RH

1 (1) Procurement of weather data available from 

2 commercial aircraft, as determined by the Under Sec3 retary. 

4 (2) Acquisition of additional vertical profile ob5 servations that provide spatial and temporal density, 

6 as determined by the Under Secretary. 

7 (3) Analysis of procured data when incorporated 

8 into the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis9 tration’s unified forecast system in order to provide 

10 improved forecast information for aircraft. 

11 (c) BUDGET.—The Under Secretary shall, not less fre12 quently than annually, submit to Congress a proposed 

13 budget corresponding with the activities described in sub14 section (b), including and analysis of activities that can 

15 be complemented by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad16 ministration aircraft. 

17 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—From 

18 amounts made available to the Commercial Data Program 

19 under section 302 of the Weather Research and Forecasting 

20 Innovation Act of 2017, there is authorized to be appro21 priated up to $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 

22 through 2028 to carry out the program. 

23 (e) AVIATION WEATHER AND TURBULENCE FORE24 CASTING.—The Director of the National Weather Service 

25 shall include turbulence events, icing conditions, or other 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
90 

•HR 6093 RH

1 phenomena in the forecasting capabilities of the National 

2 Weather Service’s Aviation Weather Center, and deliver 

3 operational forecasts with consistent, timely, and accurate 

4 weather and turbulence information for the airspace system 

5 and the protection of lives and property. 

6 (f) COORDINATION.—In carrying out subsection (e), 

7 the Director of the National Weather Service shall give con8 sideration to recommendations from the Administrator of 

9 the Federal Aviation Administration in furtherance of sec10 tion 44720 of title 49, United States Code, and improve 

11 weather and turbulence forecasting capabilities by— 

12 (1) designating or establishing within the Fed13 eral Government an interagency working group to de14 termine weather and environmental data or observa15 tion requirements, needs, and potential solutions re16 lated to aviation weather and turbulence modeling or 

17 forecasting; 

18 (2) identifying current and future potential data 

19 gaps related to turbulence events or phenomena that 

20 can— 

21 (A) identify or inform route specific flight 

22 planning; and 

23 (B) be supplemented or filled by commercial 

24 aviation tools; 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
91 

•HR 6093 RH

1 (3) transitioning research initiatives and pilot 

2 programs, including a pilot program of instrumenta3 tion for observing greenhouse gases and other atmos4 pheric factors deployed on commercial aircraft and 

5 supporting the evaluation of a sustained observing 

6 network using such platforms, into operations that 

7 improve the forecasting missions of the Aviation 

8 Weather Center; 

9 (4) developing and deploying improved prob10 abilistic aviation weather forecast guidance tech11 nology; and 

12 (5) updating interagency agreements as appro13 priate, including to address reimbursable agreements. 

14 (g) NEXT GENERATION AVIATION RESEARCH.—Para15 graph (3) of section 102(b) of the Weather Research and 

16 Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8512(b)), 

17 is amended— 

18 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (F) and (G) 

19 as subparagraphs (G) and (H), respectively; and 

20 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (E) the fol21 lowing new subparagraph: 

22 ‘‘(F) aviation weather phenomena, includ23 ing atmospheric composition and turbulence, to 

24 improve scientific understanding and forecast 

25 capabilities for the airspace system;’’. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
92 

•HR 6093 RH

1 (h) AVIATION INFORMATION DISSEMINATION.—The 

2 Under Secretary shall ensure the Aviation Weather Center 

3 is able, to the maximum extent possible, to disseminate in 

4 a timely manner full resolution aviation weather data, fore5 casts, and information to meet the needs of aviation users. 

6 SEC. 207. NESDIS JOINT VENTURE PARTNERSHIP TRANSI7 TION PROGRAM. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Administrator of the 

9 National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information 

10 Service, in consultation with the Administrator of the Na11 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration, shall admin12 ister broad agency announcements and other transactional 

13 authority or contracting mechanisms, on an annual or 

14 more frequent basis, to support a joint venture partnership 

15 program that allows the Service to prioritize engagement 

16 with the private sector, academia, and other Federal de17 partments and agencies. 

18 (b) TRANSITION PROGRAM.—To support the develop19 ment of next-generation technologies, missions, data sys20 tems, spacecraft, and instrument design, the Assistant Ad21 ministrator of the National Environmental Satellite, Data, 

22 and Information Service, in consultation with the Adminis23 trator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administra24 tion, shall maintain a program to transition selected 

25 awards from research and study phases into demonstration. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
93 

•HR 6093 RH

1 In selecting awardees for demonstrations, the Assistant Ad2 ministrator shall consider technologies, missions, data sys3 tems, spacecraft, and instrument design that— 

4 (1) improve upon the National Oceanic and At5 mospheric Administration’s satellite architecture; 

6 (2) have a direct impact on implementing the 

7 recommendations of the Administration’s 2018 Sat8 ellite Observing System Architecture Study, ‘‘Build9 ing a Plan for NOAA’s 21st Century Satellite Observ10 ing System’’; and 

11 (3) meet current or future mission requirements. 

12 (c) OPERATIONAL PLANNING.—In carrying out the 

13 transition program under subsection (b), the Assistant Ad14 ministrator of the National Environmental Satellite, Data, 

15 and Information Service shall monitor demonstration phase 

16 progress and plan for promising results that meet mission 

17 requirements to be transitioned into National Oceanic and 

18 Atmospheric Administration’s operational satellite archi19 tecture. 

20 (d) ANNUAL PLAN.—The Assistant Administrator of 

21 the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Informa22 tion Service shall submit to the Committee on Science, 

23 Space, and Technology, and the Committee on Commerce, 

24 Science, and Transportation an annual plan that outlines 

25 the progress made in the joint venture partnership program 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
94 

•HR 6093 RH

1 under subsection (a), the transition program for demonstra2 tions under section (b), and transition to operational archi3 tecture planning under subsection (c). 

4 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—From 

5 amounts authorized to be appropriated to the National En6 vironmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service, there 

7 is authorized to be appropriated $20,000,000 for fiscal 

8 years 2024 through 2028 to carry out to this section. 

9 SEC. 208. ADVANCED WEATHER INTERACTIVE PROCESSING 

10 SYSTEM. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary, acting 

12 through the Director of the National Weather Service, shall 

13 develop a strategy to transition operations of the Advanced 

14 Weather Interactive Processing System to an operational 

15 cloud-based environment in order to enable a more nimble, 

16 flexible, and mobile workforce. 

17 (b) SERVICES.—The Under Secretary shall ensure that 

18 the Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System in an 

19 operational cloud-based environment referred to in sub20 section (a) provides impact-based decision support services 

21 to emergency managers at the Federal, State, local, and 

22 Tribal levels, and continues to provide the following serv23 ices: 

24 (1) Integrating and displaying forecast data, in25 cluding meteorological, hydrological, climate, ocean, 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
95 

•HR 6093 RH

1 satellite, and radar data, for National Weather Serv2 ice field offices and national centers. 

3 (2) Acquiring and processing observational data 

4 from sensors and local sources. 

5 (3) Providing an interactive communications 

6 system, including the satellite broadcast network, to 

7 connect relevant National Weather Service employees 

8 and sites. 

9 (4) Initiating the dissemination of weather, 

10 water, marine, ecological, climate, aviation, and 

11 space warnings and forecasts in a rapid and highly 

12 reliable manner. 

13 (c) ELEMENTS.—The transition strategy developed 

14 pursuant to subsection (a) may include the following: 

15 (1) Establishment or support of testbeds, pilot 

16 projects, and functional testing activities to facilitate 

17 remote evaluation and automated testing. 

18 (2) Coordinated training efforts needed for Fed19 eral and non-Federal users and operators of the Ad20 vanced Weather Interactive Processing System in an 

21 operational cloud-based environment referred to in 

22 subsection (a). 

23 (3) Evaluation of bandwidth requirements to 

24 achieve a quality user experience. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
96 

•HR 6093 RH

1 (4) Installation of circuits to reduce lapses in 

2 network operations and support backup functions. 

3 (5) Establishment of a cloud-based, remotely ac4 cessible repository for data referred to in subsection 

5 (b)(2). 

6 (6) Development and deployment of virtualized 

7 systems to replace physical hardware at operational 

8 sites. 

9 (7) Evaluation of commercial cloud providers, 

10 including hybrid approaches, to meet mission needs. 

11 (8) Development, testing, demonstration, evalua12 tion, and operationalization of forecast and warning 

13 products, consistent with the mission and scientific 

14 expertise of the Administration. 

15 (d) TRANSITION DEADLINE.—The Under Secretary 

16 shall take such actions as may be necessary to ensure the 

17 transition strategy described in subsection (a) is completed 

18 by not later than September 30, 2030. 

19 (e) UPDATES TO CONGRESS.—The Under Secretary 

20 shall submit to the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech21 nology of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

22 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 

23 periodic updates on the implementation of this section. 

24 (f) CONTINUED INNOVATION.—Nothing in this section 

25 may be construed as prohibiting the development of new 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
97 

•HR 6093 RH

1 forecast capabilities, sub-systems, or implementing mod2 eling advancements on the operational computing systems 

3 of the Administration. 

4 SEC. 209. REANALYSIS AND REFORECASTING. 

5 The Under Secretary may support reanalysis and re6 forecasting activities within the National Oceanic and At7 mospheric Administration, including through the hazardous 

8 weather testbed of the Administration, for improving weath9 er forecasts, extreme weather predictions, and weather and 

10 climate datasets. 

11 SEC. 210. NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WORKFORCE. 

12 (a) HIRING.—The Director of the National Weather 

13 Service shall annually submit to the Under Secretary and 

14 Congress an assessment of the milestones, timelines, and 

15 service level expectations required for the expeditious hiring 

16 and timely on-boarding of employees of the National Weath17 er Service. Each such assessment may include the following: 

18 (1) Recommendations to outsource hiring to any 

19 entity other than the National Weather Service in 

20 order to meet such milestones, timelines, and service 

21 level expectations. 

22 (2) Determinations of the number of staff and 

23 designated positions required at each forecasting office 

24 to provide services to protect lives and property in the 

25 geographic region of responsibility. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
98 

•HR 6093 RH

1 (b) HEALTH AND MORALE ASSESSMENT.—The Direc2 tor of the National Weather Service shall contract or con3 tinue to partner with an entity other than the National 

4 Weather Service to conduct an assessment of medical im5 pacts, including stress and long-term health impacts, on 

6 National Weather Service employees related to required ro7 tating shift work. Such assessment may include options for 

8 mitigating such impacts on employees and recommenda9 tions for improving benefits related to required rotating 

10 shift work. 

11 (c) DESIGNATION OF SERVICE HYDROLOGIST.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National 

13 Weather Service may designate at least one service 

14 hydrologist at each Weather Forecast Office of the Na15 tional Weather Service. 

16 (2) LIMITATION.—Nothing in this section may be 

17 construed to authorize or require a change in the au18 thorized number of full time equivalent employees of 

19 the National Weather Service or otherwise result in 

20 the employment of any additional employees. 

21 (3) PERFORMANCE BY OTHER EMPLOYEES.—Not22 withstanding paragraphs (4) and (5), the Director of 

23 the National Weather Service may assign the per24 formance of the responsibilities described in this subVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:59 Dec 12, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00098 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H6093.RH H6093

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
99 

•HR 6093 RH

1 section to such other staff of the National Weather 

2 Service as the Director considers appropriate 

3 (4) RESPONSIBILITIES.—In order to increase im4 pact-based decision support services, each service co5 ordination hydrologist designated under paragraph 

6 (1) shall, with respect to hydrology, carry out the fol7 lowing: 

8 (A) Be responsible for providing service to 

9 the geographic area of responsibility covered by 

10 the Weather Forecast Office at which the service 

11 coordination hydrologist is employed to help en12 sure that users of products and services of the 

13 National Weather Service can respond effectively 

14 to improve outcomes from flood events. 

15 (B) Liaise with users of products and serv16 ices of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

17 Administration, such as emergency managers, 

18 the public, academia, media outlets, users in the 

19 hydropower, transportation, recreation, and ag20 ricultural communities, and forestry, land, fish21 eries, and water management interests, to evalu22 ate the adequacy and usefulness of the products 

23 and services referred to in subparagraph (A), in24 cluding extended range streamflow forecasts, 

25 water supply forecasts, drought outlooks, flood 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
100 

•HR 6093 RH

1 inundation mapping, coastal inundation, and 

2 flood warnings. 

3 (C) Collaborate with the National Water 

4 Center, River Forecast Centers, other Weather 

5 Forecast Offices, the National Integrate Drought 

6 Information System, Administration offices, and 

7 Federal, State, local, and Tribal government 

8 agencies, as the Director considers appropriate, 

9 in developing, proposing, and implementing 

10 plans to develop, modify, or tailor such products 

11 and services to improve the usefulness of such 

12 products and services. 

13 (D) Engage in interagency partnerships 

14 with Federal, State, local, and Tribal govern15 ment agencies to explore the use of forecast-in16 formed reservoir operations to reduce flood risk 

17 and inform decisions related to water resources 

18 management. 

19 (E) Ensure the maintenance and accuracy 

20 of flooding and water resource management part21 ner call lists, appropriate office hydrologic serv22 ice policy or procedures, and other hydrologic in23 formation or dissemination methodologies or 

24 strategies. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
101 

•HR 6093 RH

1 (F) Work closely with Federal, State, local, 

2 and Tribal emergency and floodplain manage3 ment agencies, and other agencies relating to dis4 aster management, to ensure a planned, coordi5 nated, and effective preparedness and response 

6 effort. 

7 (5) ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES.—A service 

8 coordination hydrologist designated under this sub9 section may, with respect to hydrology— 

10 (A) work with a State agency to develop 

11 plans for promoting more effective use of prod12 ucts and services of the National Weather Service 

13 throughout the State concerned; 

14 (B) identify priority community prepared15 ness objectives; 

16 (C) develop plans to carry out the respon17 sibilities described in paragraph (4); and 

18 (D) conduct flooding event preparedness 

19 planning and citizen education efforts with and 

20 through various State, local, and Tribal govern21 ment agencies and other disaster management22 related organizations. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
102 

•HR 6093 RH

1 TITLE III—COMMERCIAL WEATH2 ER AND ENVIRONMENTAL OB3 SERVATIONS 

4 SEC. 301. COMMERCIAL DATA PROGRAM. 

5 The Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act 

6 of 2017 is amended by striking section 302 (15 U.S.C. 

7 8532) and inserting the following new section: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 302. COMMERCIAL DATA PROGRAM. 

9 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM ESTABLISHMENT.—The Under Sec10 retary, in coordination with the heads of appropriate offices 

11 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 

12 shall maintain a Commercial Data Program to coordinate 

13 and execute acquisition of weather and environmental data 

14 and services from private sector entities for operational use. 

15 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM ELEMENTS.—The Under Secretary 

16 shall acquire satellite, ground-based, airborne, or marine17 based in situ, remote sensing, or crowd-sourced data and 

18 services for operational use relating to weather and environ19 mental forecasting and modeling. The Under Secretary 

20 shall ensure the Commercial Data Program coordinates, 

21 collaborates, and ensures access to data across the Adminis22 tration, including among the following: 

23 ‘‘(1) The National Mesonet Program. 

24 ‘‘(2) The Aircraft Based Observation Program. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
103 

•HR 6093 RH

1 ‘‘(3) The U.S. Integrated Ocean Observation 

2 Program, including existing regional associations. 

3 ‘‘(4) The National Integrated Drought Informa4 tion System, including the National Coordinated Soil 

5 Moisture Monitoring Network. 

6 ‘‘(5) The Global Ocean Monitoring and Observ7 ing Program. 

8 ‘‘(6) The National Data Buoy Center. 

9 ‘‘(7) The Uncrewed Systems Operation Center. 

10 ‘‘(8) The Ocean Exploration Program. 

11 ‘‘(9) Any other program or office the Under Sec12 retary determines appropriate. 

13 ‘‘(c) STANDARDS AND SPECIFICATIONS.—Not later 

14 than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this section 

15 and on a continuous basis thereafter, the Under Secretary 

16 shall publish data, metadata, and service standards and 

17 specifications required for acquired observation services and 

18 data for use, licensing, and attribution to ensure quality, 

19 impact, and compatibility of such services and data with 

20 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration mod21 eling capabilities, meteorological situational awareness, 

22 and forecasting. 

23 ‘‘(d) PRIORITIZATION.—In acquiring commercial data 

24 and services, the Under Secretary shall prioritize obtaining 

25 surface-based, airborne-based, space-based, and coastal- and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
104 

•HR 6093 RH

1 ocean-based data, metadata, and services for operational 

2 use that participate in the Commercial Data Pilot Program 

3 or other programs of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

4 Administration that acquire commercial data or observa5 tions. 

6 ‘‘(e) NOAA OBSERVING SYSTEMS AND FLEET COUN7 CILS.— 

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

9 maintain the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad10 ministration Observing Systems Council and the 

11 NOAA Fleet Council (in this subsection referred to as 

12 the ‘Councils’) to provide strategic recommendations 

13 and guidance regarding the prioritization, design, de14 velopment, acquisition, upgrading, lifecycle, perform15 ance monitoring, and retiring of major observing sys16 tems portfolio components, including related to the 

17 acquisition of commercial weather and environmental 

18 data and services. 

19 ‘‘(2) LINE OFFICE COORDINATION.—The Councils 

20 shall ensure coordination and adherence to uniform 

21 policies by providing guidance to all line offices of the 

22 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

23 engaged in observing systems portfolio design, tech24 nology, development, execution, and operation. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
105 

•HR 6093 RH

1 ‘‘(3) COMMITTEE.—The Under Secretary shall 

2 maintain a Committee within the Councils to develop 

3 and approve procedural directives, guides, or hand4 books relevant to management of data and informa5 tion, including commercial data, and coordinate data 

6 governance and management practices across the Na7 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to 

8 promote consistent processes. 

9 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 

11 appropriated $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

12 2024 through 2028 to carry out this section. 

13 ‘‘(2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 

14 Congress that the Under Secretary should seek to 

15 enter into contracts or other appropriate agreements 

16 that enable the expenditure, to the maximum extent 

17 practicable, of amounts authorized to be appropriated 

18 or otherwise made available in a fiscal year to carry 

19 out this section. 

20 ‘‘(g) DATA AND HOSTED PAYLOADS.—Notwith21 standing any other provision of law, the Secretary of Com22 merce may enter into agreements relating to the following: 

23 ‘‘(1) The purchase of weather and environmental 

24 data and services through contracts with commercial 

25 data and service providers. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
106 

•HR 6093 RH

1 ‘‘(2) The placement of weather instruments on 

2 co-hosted Federal, international, or private space, air3 borne, maritime, or ground platforms. 

4 ‘‘(h) OMBUDSMAN.—The Under Secretary shall estab5 lish or designate at least one Ombudsman position within 

6 the Commercial Data Program to implement the rec7 ommendations of the Observing System Council under sub8 section (e) related to commercial weather and environ9 mental data and services acquisitions. Such an Ombuds10 man shall act as the liaison between commercial data and 

11 service providers and the National Oceanic and Atmos12 pheric Administration with respect to receiving rec13 ommendations and resolving issues related to engagement, 

14 testing, contracting, or other areas related to the Adminis15 tration’s efforts to acquire commercial weather and environ16 mental data and services. 

17 ‘‘(i) REPORT.—Not later than two years after the date 

18 of the enactment of this section, the Under Secretary shall 

19 submit to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 

20 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Com21 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 

22 evaluating the activities and needed authorities related to 

23 data governance and management practices, including ac24 quisition, collection, documentation, quality control, vali25 dation, reprocessing, storage, retrieval, dissemination, and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
107 

•HR 6093 RH

1 long-term preservation activities across all National Oce2 anic and Atmospheric Administration line, staff, and cor3 porate offices.’’. 

4 SEC. 302. COMMERCIAL DATA PILOT PROGRAM. 

5 The Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act 

6 of 2017 is amended by striking section 303 (15 U.S.C. 

7 8533) and inserting the following new section: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 303. COMMERCIAL DATA PILOT PROGRAM. 

9 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM ESTABLISHMENT.—Within the Com10 mercial Data Program under section 302, there shall be a 

11 Commercial Data Pilot Program to engage with external 

12 partners and providers to test and develop shared standards 

13 and methodologies for quality, use, licensing, and attribu14 tion of observation services and data, and to ensure quality, 

15 impact, and compatibility of such services and data with 

16 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration mod17 eling capabilities, meteorological situational awareness, 

18 and forecasting. The Program is authorized to test and 

19 evaluate all sources and types of observation services, im20 agery, products, and data from private sector entities, in21 cluding new and innovative surface-based, airborne-based, 

22 space-based, and coastal- and ocean-based data, metadata, 

23 and model components. 

24 ‘‘(b) CRITERIA.—The Under Secretary shall ensure 

25 that data acquired through the Commercial Data Pilot ProVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:59 Dec 12, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00107 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H6093.RH H6093

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
108 

•HR 6093 RH

1 gram described in subsection (a) meets the most recent 

2 standards and specifications required for observation serv3 ices and data as published pursuant to section 302(c). 

4 ‘‘(c) PILOT CONTRACTS.—The Under Secretary shall, 

5 through an open competition, regularly enter into pilot con6 tracts with private sector entities capable of providing ob7 servation services and data referred to in subsection (a) that 

8 meet the standards and specifications published pursuant 

9 to section 302(c) for so providing such services and data 

10 in a manner that allows the Under Secretary to calibrate 

11 and evaluate such services and data for use in National 

12 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration activities. 

13 ‘‘(d) ASSESSMENT OF VIABILITY.—The Under Sec14 retary shall annually assess and submit to the Committee 

15 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 

16 and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of 

17 the House of Representatives a summary of the pilot con18 tracts entered into pursuant to subsection (c), the extent to 

19 which such contracts meet the standards and specifications 

20 published pursuant to section 302(c), and any additional 

21 information determined necessary related to the following: 

22 ‘‘(1) The viability of assimilating observation 

23 services and data from private sector entities into Na24 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration fore25 casts and models. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
109 

•HR 6093 RH

1 ‘‘(2) The expected value added or improvements 

2 from such services and data so assimilated into Na3 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration fore4 casts and models. 

5 ‘‘(3) The accuracy, quality, timeliness, validity, 

6 reliability, usability, information technology security, 

7 and cost-effectiveness of obtaining observation services 

8 and data from private sector entities. 

9 ‘‘(4) Steps to integrate within one year such 

10 services and data into operational use by the Na11 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or 

12 any associated challenges in doing so. 

13 ‘‘(e) OBTAINING FUTURE DATA.—If an assessment 

14 under subsection (d) demonstrates the ability of commercial 

15 services and data to meet the standards and specifications 

16 published pursuant to section 302(c), the Under Secretary 

17 shall— 

18 ‘‘(1) when cost-effective and feasible, obtain ob19 servation services and data from private sector enti20 ties through the Commercial Data Program under 

21 section 302; 

22 ‘‘(2) as early as possible in the acquisition proc23 ess for any future National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

24 Administration satellite system, determine whether 

25 there is a suitable, cost-effective, commercial capaVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:59 Dec 12, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00109 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H6093.RH H6093

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
110 

•HR 6093 RH

1 bility available or that will be available to meet ap2 plicable instrument, spacecraft, or system require3 ments before completion of the critical design phase of 

4 such planned satellite system; 

5 ‘‘(3) if a suitable, cost-effective, commercial capa6 bility is or will be available as described in para7 graph (2), determine whether and how such capability 

8 is in the national interest if developed as a solely gov9 ernmental system; and 

10 ‘‘(4) submit to the Committee on Commerce, 

11 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the 

12 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

13 House of Representatives a report detailing any deter14 minations made under paragraphs (2) and (3). 

15 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—From 

16 amounts authorized to be appropriated pursuant to section 

17 302 to carry out such section, not less than 15 percent of 

18 such amounts each fiscal year are authorized to be appro19 priated to carry out this section.’’. 

20 SEC. 303. CONTRACTING AUTHORITY AND AVOIDANCE OF 

21 DUPLICATION. 

22 Title III of the Weather Research and Forecasting In23 novation Act of 2017 is amended by adding at the end the 

24 following new section: 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
111 

•HR 6093 RH

1 ‘‘SEC. 304. CONTRACTING AUTHORITY AND AVOIDANCE OF 

2 DUPLICATION. 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Consistent with other Federal 

4 agencies that contract and partner with private sector enti5 ties, the Under Secretary is authorized to use contracting 

6 mechanisms and enter into agreements that utilize 

7 multiyear contract options. In carrying out sections 302 

8 and 303, the Under Secretary shall, to the greatest extent 

9 possible— 

10 ‘‘(1) enter into year-long or multiyear contract 

11 options using contracting mechanisms that foster re12 siliency of datatypes purchased; 

13 ‘‘(2) partner and contract with multiple observa14 tion service and data providers simultaneously to re15 duce risks of data gaps and improve mission 

16 robustness; and 

17 ‘‘(3) utilize authorities, such as additional forms 

18 of transaction agreements under section 301, that 

19 allow for innovative partnerships with private sector 

20 entities. 

21 ‘‘(b) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this title may be 

22 construed as infringing on the acquisition authority or 

23 strategy of Federal entities authorized under title 10, 

24 United States Code. 

25 ‘‘(c) UNNECESSARY DUPLICATION.—In meeting the re26 quirements under this title, the Under Secretary shall avoid 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
112 

•HR 6093 RH

1 unnecessary duplication between the National Oceanic and 

2 Atmospheric Administration, the National Aeronautics and 

3 Space Administration, other Federal departments and 

4 agencies, and private sector entities, including relating to 

5 corresponding expenditures of funds and employment of 

6 personnel by— 

7 ‘‘(1) coordinating existing activities with other 

8 civilian Federal departments and agencies which pro9 vide, contract, or partner with private sector entities 

10 to acquire, weather and environmental observations 

11 and data; and 

12 ‘‘(2) coordinating and soliciting weather and en13 vironmental observations and data requirements and 

14 needs from other civilian Federal departments and 

15 agencies to be acquired by the Commercial Data Pro16 gram under section 302. 

17 ‘‘(d) FAIR COMPENSATION FOR INTERAGENCY

18 NEEDS.—The Under Secretary, to the maximum extent 

19 practicable, shall ensure that Federal departments and 

20 agencies utilizing services and data under sections 302 and 

21 303 fairly compensate the National Oceanic and Atmos22 pheric Administration, or the non-Federal entities pro23 viding such services or data, as appropriate, for use.’’. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
113 

•HR 6093 RH

1 SEC. 304. DATA ASSIMILATION, MANAGEMENT, AND SHAR2 ING PRACTICES. 

3 Title III of the Weather Research and Forecasting In4 novation Act of 2017, as amended by section 303 of this 

5 Act, is further amended by adding at the end the following 

6 new section: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 305. DATA ASSIMILATION, MANAGEMENT, AND SHAR8 ING PRACTICES. 

9 ‘‘(a) DATA STANDARDS.—The Under Secretary, in col10 laboration with the weather enterprise, shall seek to estab11 lish consistent and open data and metadata standards to 

12 support open science, including simple cloud-optimized 

13 data formats and application programming interfaces that 

14 support findability, accessibility, usability, and 

15 preservability. 

16 ‘‘(b) DATA INFRASTRUCTURE.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary, in 

18 consultation with the Chief Information Officer and 

19 appropriate program heads, shall consolidate and ar20 range data infrastructure needs to ensure efficient 

21 and effective data transfer between National Oceanic 

22 and Atmospheric Administration offices by consid23 ering the use of commercial cloud technologies, or 

24 similar hybrid structures, to host and transmit data 

25 and metadata. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
114 

•HR 6093 RH

1 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL PARTNERSHIPS.—In carrying out 

2 paragraph (1), the Under Secretary may partner 

3 with the heads of other Federal departments and 

4 agencies, including the National Aeronautics and 

5 Space Administration, the Department of Energy, the 

6 United States Space Force, the United States Coast 

7 Guard, the United States Navy, the Federal Aviation 

8 Administration, the United States Forest Service, the 

9 Environmental Protection Agency, the National 

10 Science Foundation, and the United States Geological 

11 Survey, to collocate data with joint utility and sup12 port a transition to cloud architectures, including 

13 commercial cloud networks. 

14 ‘‘(3) LONG TERM DATA ARCHIVE.—The Under 

15 Secretary shall ensure the long-term management, 

16 maintenance, and stewardship of archival data and 

17 metadata acquired through the Commercial Data Pro18 gram under section 302 is conducted within the Na19 tional Centers for Environmental Information. 

20 ‘‘(c) DATA SHARING WITH THE WEATHER ENTER21 PRISE.—To the greatest extent practicable, the Under Sec22 retary shall make accessible to members of the weather en23 terprise that are United States persons data not subject to 

24 redistribution contract permissions and purchased through 

25 the Commercial Data Program under section 302 or shared 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
115 

•HR 6093 RH

1 through international government partners. If purchased 

2 data must be assimilated into numerical weather prediction 

3 models or automated forecast guidance to satisfy redistribu4 tion contract permissions, the Under Secretary shall make 

5 accessible without delay to members of the weather enter6 prise that are United States persons the numerical weather 

7 prediction model or automated forecast guidance output, as 

8 the case may be. 

9 ‘‘(d) DATA ASSIMILATION.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary, in co11 ordination with the Commercial Data Program under 

12 section 302, the National Centers for Environmental 

13 Information, and any other offices within the Admin14 istration, shall establish a program to test, advance, 

15 and implement data assimilation methods, which 

16 may include artificial intelligence, machine learning, 

17 data pre- and post-processing, efficient input and 

18 output, and next-generation algorithms. 

19 ‘‘(2) DATA ASSIMILATION UNIVERSITY CONSOR20 TIUM.—Through the program established pursuant to 

21 paragraph (1), the Under Secretary shall establish a 

22 consortium consisting of institutions of higher edu23 cation (as such term is defined in section 101 of the 

24 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)) to 

25 address critical research challenges for data assimilaVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:59 Dec 12, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00115 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H6093.RH H6093

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
116 

•HR 6093 RH

1 tion and foster a growing data assimilation work2 force. The consortium shall seek to— 

3 ‘‘(A) solve critical research issues for data 

4 assimilation through innovative research; 

5 ‘‘(B) increase significantly the number of 

6 students, including graduate level and Ph.D. 

7 candidates, in data assimilation; 

8 ‘‘(C) utilize modern software and frame9 works, such as the Joint Effort for Data Assimi10 lation Integration, to conduct data assimilation 

11 research and development and facilitate research 

12 to operations efforts; 

13 ‘‘(D) identify and prioritize critical re14 search areas in data assimilation and facilitate 

15 operations to research efforts; 

16 ‘‘(E) establish and enable an effective col17 laboration infrastructure between National Oce18 anic and Atmospheric Administration facilities, 

19 such as labs, centers, or joint agency institutes, 

20 and the research community, including a mecha21 nism for external partners to host Administra22 tion employees; and 

23 ‘‘(F) establish mechanisms to enable all 

24 members of the consortium to archive and access 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
117 

•HR 6093 RH

1 data required to support the work under this 

2 subsection. 

3 ‘‘(3) COORDINATION.—In carrying out this sub4 section, the Under Secretary shall ensure the National 

5 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and its as6 sociated activities focus on research to operations and 

7 operations to research, including by coordinating and 

8 collaborating with the Joint Center for Satellite Data 

9 Assimilation. 

10 ‘‘(4) DATA ASSIMILATION, MANAGEMENT, AND

11 SHARING PRACTICES SECURITY.—The activities au12 thorized under this subsection shall be applied in a 

13 manner consistent with subtitle D of title VI of the 

14 Research and Development, Competition, and Innova15 tion Act (enacted as division B of Public Law 117– 

16 167; 42 U.S.C. 19231 et seq.). 

17 ‘‘(e) STUDY ON DATA MANAGEMENT.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

19 the data of the enactment of this section, the Under 

20 Secretary shall seek to enter into an agreement with 

21 a non-Federal entity to conduct a study on matters 

22 concerning data practices and management needs at 

23 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra24 tion. In conducting the study, the outside entity 

25 shall— 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
118 

•HR 6093 RH

1 ‘‘(A) assess the costs and benefits of current 

2 data management needs for observational and 

3 operational mission requirements; 

4 ‘‘(B) develop recommendations regarding 

5 how to make more robust and cost-effective the 

6 data portfolio of the Administration; 

7 ‘‘(C) identify data infrastructure tech8 nologies and needs that are essential to the per9 formance of modeling systems of the Administra10 tion; 

11 ‘‘(D) assess the sharing needs and practices 

12 of the Administration for both internal and ex13 ternal sharing dissemination; and 

14 ‘‘(E) develop recommendations for methods 

15 of data infrastructure sharing, including data 

16 purchased from the commercial sector. 

17 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

18 From amounts authorized to be appropriated to the 

19 Commercial Data Program under section 302, there 

20 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out the 

21 study under paragraph (1) $1,000,000, to remain 

22 available until expended.’’. 

23 SEC. 305. CLERICAL AMENDMENT. 

24 The table of contents in section 1(b) of the Weather 

25 Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 is amendVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:59 Dec 12, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00118 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H6093.RH H6093

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
119 

•HR 6093 RH

1 ed by striking the items relating to sections 302 and 303 

2 and inserting the following new items: 

‘‘Sec. 302. Commercial Data Program. 

‘‘Sec. 303. Commercial Data Pilot Program. 

‘‘Sec. 304. Contracting authority and avoidance of duplication. 

‘‘Sec. 305. Data assimilation, management, and sharing practices.’’. 

3 TITLE IV—COMMUNICATING 

4 WEATHER TO THE PUBLIC 

5 SEC. 401. DEFINITIONS. 

6 In this title: 

7 (1) HAZARDOUS WEATHER OR WATER EVENTS.— 

8 The term ‘‘hazardous weather or water events’’ has the 

9 meaning given such term in section 406 of the Weath10 er Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 

11 (Public Law 115–25; 131 Stat. 109), as amended by 

12 section 402 of this Act. 

13 (2) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

14 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the mean15 ing given such term in section 101 of the Higher Edu16 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

17 (3) NOAA WEATHER RADIO.—The term ‘‘NOAA 

18 Weather Radio’’ means the National Oceanic and At19 mospheric Administration Weather Radio All Haz20 ards network. 

21 (4) PUBLIC CLOUD.—The term ‘‘public cloud’’ 

22 means an information technology model in which 

23 service providers make computing services, including 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
120 

•HR 6093 RH

1 compute and storage and develop-and-deploy environ2 ments and applications, available on-demand to orga3 nizations and individuals over the public internet or 

4 other means that allows for the widest dissemination 

5 of information. 

6 (5) WATCH; WARNING.—The terms ‘‘watch’’ and 

7 ‘‘warning’’ have the meanings given such terms in 

8 section 406 of the Weather Research and Forecasting 

9 Innovation Act of 2017 (Public Law 115–25; 131 

10 Stat. 109), as amended by section 402 of this Act. 

11 SEC. 402. HAZARDOUS WEATHER OR WATER EVENT RISK 

12 COMMUNICATION. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 406 of the Weather Re14 search and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (Public Law 

15 115–25; 131 Stat. 109) is amended to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘SEC. 406. HAZARDOUS WEATHER OR WATER EVENT RISK 

17 COMMUNICATION. 

18 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

19 ‘‘(1) HAZARDOUS WEATHER OR WATER

20 EVENTS.—The term ‘hazardous weather or water 

21 events’ means weather or water events that have a 

22 high risk of loss of life or property, including the fol23 lowing: 

24 ‘‘(A) Severe storms, such as hurricanes and 

25 short-fused, small-scale hazardous weather or hyVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:59 Dec 12, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00120 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H6093.RH H6093

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
121 

•HR 6093 RH

1 drologic events produced by thunderstorms, in2 cluding large hail, damaging winds, tornadoes, 

3 and flash floods. 

4 ‘‘(B) Winter storms, such as freezing or fro5 zen precipitation (including freezing rain, sleet, 

6 and snow), or combined effects of freezing or fro7 zen precipitation and strong winds. 

8 ‘‘(C) Other weather hazards, such as ex9 treme heat or cold, wildfire, drought, dense fog, 

10 high winds, and river, coastal, or lakeshore flood11 ing. 

12 ‘‘(2) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

13 term ‘institution of higher education’ has the meaning 

14 given such term in section 101 of the Higher Edu15 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

16 ‘‘(3) WATCH; WARNING.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The terms ‘watch’ and 

18 ‘warning’, with respect to a hazardous weather 

19 or water event, mean products issued by the Na20 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 

21 intended for consumption by the general public, 

22 to alert the general public to the potential for or 

23 presence of such event and to inform action to 

24 prevent loss of life or property. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
122 

•HR 6093 RH

1 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—The terms ‘watch’ and 

2 ‘warning’ do not include technical or specialized 

3 meteorological or hydrological forecasts, outlooks, 

4 or model guidance products. 

5 ‘‘(b) SYSTEM COMMUNICATIONS.—The Under Sec6 retary shall maintain and improve the system of the Na7 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration by which 

8 the risks of hazardous weather or water events are commu9 nicated to the general public, with the goal of informing 

10 response to prevent loss of life or property. 

11 ‘‘(c) HAZARD RISK COMMUNICATION IMPROVEMENT

12 AND SIMPLIFICATION.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To carry out subsection (b), 

14 the Under Secretary shall maintain a social, behav15 ioral, risk, communication, and economic sciences 

16 program (in this section referred to as the ‘Program’), 

17 for the purpose of simplifying and improving the 

18 communication of hazardous weather or water events. 

19 ‘‘(2) TERMINOLOGY.—The Program, in coordina20 tion with social, behavioral, risk, communication, and 

21 economic science community and user feedback, shall 

22 identify, eliminate, or modify unnecessary, redun23 dant, or confusing terms for communications regard24 ing hazardous weather or water events and add new 

25 terminology, as appropriate. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
123 

•HR 6093 RH

1 ‘‘(3) COMMUNICATIONS IMPROVEMENT.—The 

2 Program shall improve the form, content, and meth3 ods of communications regarding hazardous weather 

4 or water events and associated risks to more clearly 

5 inform response to prevent the loss of life or property. 

6 ‘‘(4) EVALUATIONS.—The Program, in coordina7 tion with the performance and evaluation branches of 

8 the National Weather Service and Oceanic and At9 mospheric Research, shall develop metrics for such 

10 branches to track and evaluate the degree to which 

11 communications regarding hazardous weather or 

12 water events inform response. 

13 ‘‘(5) SUPPORT PLAN.—The Program shall de14 velop a plan for the purpose of carrying out para15 graph (3). Such plan shall be periodically updated 

16 and informed by internal and extramural research 

17 and the results of the evaluation of communications 

18 regarding hazardous weather or water events and as19 sociated risks under paragraph (4). 

20 ‘‘(6) METHODS.—In carrying out this section, 

21 the Program shall develop and implement rec22 ommendations that— 

23 ‘‘(A) are based on the best and most recent 

24 understanding from social, behavioral, economic, 

25 risk, and communications science research; 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
124 

•HR 6093 RH

1 ‘‘(B) are validated by social, behavioral, 

2 risk, and communications science, taking into 

3 account the importance of methods that support 

4 reproduction and replication of scientific studies, 

5 use of rigorous statistical analyses, and, as ap6 plicable, data analysis supported by artificial 

7 intelligence and machine learning technologies; 

8 ‘‘(C) account for the needs of various demo9 graphics, vulnerable populations, and geographic 

10 regions; 

11 ‘‘(D) account for the differences between 

12 various types of hazardous weather or water 

13 events; 

14 ‘‘(E) respond to the needs of Federal, State, 

15 and local government partners and media part16 ners; and 

17 ‘‘(F) account for necessary changes in the 

18 infrastructure, technology, and protocols for de19 veloping and disseminating watches and warn20 ings. 

21 ‘‘(7) COORDINATION.—In carrying out this sec22 tion, the Program shall coordinate with the following: 

23 ‘‘(A) Federal partners, including National 

24 Laboratories, cooperative institutes, and regional 

25 integrated sciences and assessments programs. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
125 

•HR 6093 RH

1 ‘‘(B) State and local government partners. 

2 ‘‘(C) Tribal governments. 

3 ‘‘(D) Institutions of higher education or a 

4 consortia thereof. 

5 ‘‘(E) Media partners. 

6 ‘‘(8) TIMELINESS AND CONSISTENCY.—The Pro7 gram shall develop best practices and guidance for en8 suring timely and consistent communications across 

9 public facing platforms that disseminate information 

10 related to hazardous weather or water events.’’. 

11 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—Section 1(b) of the Weather 

12 Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 is amend13 ed by amending the item relating to section 406 to read 

14 as follows: 

‘‘Sec. 406. Hazardous Weather or Water Event Risk Communication.’’. 

15 SEC. 403. HAZARD COMMUNICATION RESEARCH AND EN16 GAGEMENT. 

17 Section 406 of the Weather Research and Forecasting 

18 Innovation Act of 2017 (Public Law 115–25; 131 Stat. 

19 109), as amended by section 402 of this Act, is further 

20 amended by adding at the end the following new sub21 sections: 

22 ‘‘(d) HAZARD COMMUNICATION RESEARCH AND EN23 GAGEMENT.— 

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

25 maintain, as appropriate, a program to— 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
126 

•HR 6093 RH

1 ‘‘(A) modernize the development and com2 munication of risk-based, statistically reliable, 

3 probabilistic hazard information, with the goal 

4 of informing appropriate responses to hazardous 

5 weather or water events; and 

6 ‘‘(B) improve the fundamental social, be7 havioral, economic, risk, and communication 

8 science relating to communications, including by 

9 means of collecting voluntary data, regarding 

10 hazardous weather or water events. 

11 ‘‘(2) COORDINATION.—In carrying out the pro12 gram under paragraph (1), the Under Secretary shall 

13 coordinate and communicate with States, Tribal gov14 ernments, localities, and emergency managers regard15 ing research priorities and results. 

16 ‘‘(3) PILOT PROGRAM FOR TORNADO HAZARD

17 COMMUNICATION REQUIRED.—To further research into 

18 communications regarding hazardous weather or 

19 water events, the Under Secretary, in coordination 

20 with the VORTEX program under section 103 and in 

21 collaboration with one or more eligible institutions 

22 (or a consortia thereof), shall establish a pilot pro23 gram for tornado hazard communication to test the 

24 effectiveness of implementing research into operations 

25 with respect to tornadoes. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
127 

•HR 6093 RH

1 ‘‘(4) PILOT STUDY FOR HURRICANE HAZARD

2 COMMUNICATION.— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To further research into 

4 communications regarding hazardous weather or 

5 water events, the Under Secretary, in coordina6 tion with the hurricane forecast improvement 

7 program under section 104, shall seek to enter 

8 into an agreement with an appropriate entity, 

9 as determined by the Under Secretary, to con10 duct a pilot study using a mixed methods ap11 proach, such as surveys, focus groups, and inter12 views, to gather information from hurricane 

13 prone population areas regarding the levels of 

14 preparedness of such areas for hurricanes or in 

15 response to the National Oceanic and Atmos16 pheric Administration’s early forecasts and 

17 warnings. Such study shall evaluate the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(i) Possession of disaster supplies. 

20 ‘‘(ii) Evacuation decisions. 

21 ‘‘(iii) Levels of trust of tropical cyclone 

22 information and hurricane path prediction 

23 from various sources. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
128 

•HR 6093 RH

1 ‘‘(iv) Access to tropical cyclone and 

2 hurricane warnings in such study partici3 pant’s first language. 

4 ‘‘(v) Determination regarding such 

5 study participant’s reasoning that may 

6 hinder the ability of such a participant to 

7 evacuate or willingness to evacuate. 

8 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL CRITERIA.—The pilot 

9 study described in subparagraph (A) shall define 

10 its methodology and be made publicly available 

11 on a website of the National Oceanic and Atmos12 pheric Administration. 

13 ‘‘(5) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION DEFINED.—In this 

14 subsection, the term ‘eligible institution’ means any of 

15 the following: 

16 ‘‘(A) An institution of higher education, 

17 nonprofit organization, or other institution lo18 cated in a jurisdiction eligible to participate in 

19 the program under section 113 of the National 

20 Science Foundation Authorization Act of 1988 

21 (42 U.S.C. 1862g). 

22 ‘‘(B) An institution of higher education, 

23 nonprofit organization, or other institution lo24 cated in proximity to a Weather Forecast Office 

25 of the National Weather Service. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
129 

•HR 6093 RH

1 ‘‘(e) HURRICANE SOCIAL, BEHAVIORAL, AND ECO2 NOMIC SCIENCES.—As part of the program carried out 

3 under subsection (d), the Under Secretary shall carry out 

4 research and development activities to improve how the 

5 public receives, interprets, responds to, and values hurri6 cane forecasts and warnings. In conducting such activities, 

7 the Under Secretary shall— 

8 ‘‘(1) conduct a comprehensive review of what is 

9 known about how the public receives, interprets, re10 sponds to, and makes decisions regarding hurricane 

11 forecasts and warnings, including— 

12 ‘‘(A) how the connections between weather 

13 observations, downstream models, and processes 

14 affect the decision tools or products derived from 

15 such hurricane forecasts and warnings; 

16 ‘‘(B) how such hurricane forecasts and 

17 warnings generated by decision tools and prod18 ucts are used by emergency managers, govern19 ments, and other users to benefit the public and 

20 stakeholder groups; 

21 ‘‘(C) how past experiences with hurricanes 

22 impacts decision making; 

23 ‘‘(D) how the source of such hurricane fore24 casts and warnings affects interpretation; 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
130 

•HR 6093 RH

1 ‘‘(E) how tropical cyclone warnings and 

2 watches are received and interpreted; 

3 ‘‘(F) how understanding of and response to 

4 such hurricane forecasts and warnings vary 

5 across demographic groups, including the elderly, 

6 people with disabilities, and other vulnerable 

7 populations; 

8 ‘‘(G) language barriers; and 

9 ‘‘(H) how understanding and response to 

10 such hurricane forecasts and warnings varies 

11 across geographic areas, including rural, urban, 

12 and suburban areas; 

13 ‘‘(2) identify communication data gaps based on 

14 the review conducted pursuant to paragraph (1); 

15 ‘‘(3) carry out research, including data collection 

16 and baseline assessments, in coordination with the 

17 hurricane forecast improvement program under sec18 tion 104 to evaluate and quantify the economic value 

19 of extending lead times of tropical cyclone and hurri20 cane warnings and watches, including identifying the 

21 most effected or vulnerable populations and potential 

22 impacts to those populations; 

23 ‘‘(4) as part of post-storm surveys and assess24 ments conducted under section 406 of the Weather Act 

25 Reauthorization Act of 2023, conduct retrospective or 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
131 

•HR 6093 RH

1 ex ante assessments of previous hurricane forecasts 

2 and warnings with improvements to better under3 stand the key components, including expected actions 

4 or behavior changes, of the value of the forecasts and 

5 warnings provided; 

6 ‘‘(5) conduct cost benefit analysis of forecasts 

7 and warnings improvement alternatives developed 

8 through the hurricane forecast improvement program 

9 under section 104; and 

10 ‘‘(6) conduct risk assessments for pre-, during, 

11 and post-storm periods in regions and communities 

12 with significant elderly populations, including retire13 ment communities.’’. 

14 SEC. 404. NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COMMUNICATIONS 

15 IMPROVEMENT. 

16 (a) IMPROVEMENT OF NWS INSTANT MESSAGING

17 SERVICE.—The Director of the National Weather Service 

18 shall improve the instant messaging service used by per19 sonnel of the National Weather Service by implementing, 

20 not later than October 1, 2027, a commercial off-the-shelf 

21 communications solution that replaces the instant mes22 saging service commonly referred to as ‘‘NWSChat’’. 

23 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The communications solution 

24 implemented under this section shall— 

25 (1) be hosted on the public cloud; and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
132 

•HR 6093 RH

1 (2) satisfy requirements set forth by the Director 

2 to ensure such solution— 

3 (A) best accommodates future growth; 

4 (B) performs successfully with increased 

5 numbers of users; 

6 (C) is easy to use for the majority of users; 

7 and 

8 (D) is similar to systems already in com9 mercial use. 

10 (c) FUNDING.—From amounts made available for Op11 erations, Research, and Facilities, the Director of the Na12 tional Weather Service shall allocate up to $3,000,000 for 

13 each of fiscal years 2024 through 2027 to carry out this 

14 section. 

15 SEC. 405. NOAA WEATHER RADIO MODERNIZATION. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall, to the 

17 maximum extent practicable, expand coverage of the NOAA 

18 Weather Radio and ensure its reliability. In carrying out 

19 this subsection, the Under Secretary shall— 

20 (1) maintain support for existing systems serv21 ing areas not covered by or having poor quality cel22 lular service; 

23 (2) ensure consistent maintenance and oper24 ations monitoring, with timely repairs to broadcast 

25 transmitter site equipment and antennas; 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
133 

•HR 6093 RH

1 (3) enhance the ability to amplify Non-Weather 

2 Emergency Messages via NOAA Weather Radio as 

3 necessary; and 

4 (4) acquire additional transmitters as required 

5 to expand coverage to rural and underserved commu6 nities, units of the National Park System, and Na7 tional Recreation Areas. 

8 (b) MODERNIZATION INITIATIVE.—To the maximum 

9 extent practicable, the Under Secretary shall enhance 

10 NOAA Weather Radio to ensure its capabilities and cov11 erage remain valuable to the public. In carrying out this 

12 section, the Under Secretary shall— 

13 (1) upgrade telecommunications infrastructure of 

14 NOAA Weather Radio to accelerate the transition of 

15 broadcasts to internet protocol-based communications 

16 over non-copper media; 

17 (2) accelerate software upgrades to the Advanced 

18 Weather Interactive Processing System, or the rel19 evant system successors, to implement partial county 

20 notifications and alerts; 

21 (3) consult with relevant stakeholders, including 

22 the private sector, to enhance accessibility and 

23 usability of NOAA Weather Radio data and feeds; 

24 (4) develop options, including satellite backup 

25 capability and commercial provider partnerships, for 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
134 

•HR 6093 RH

1 NOAA Weather Radio continuity in the event of 

2 Weather Forecast Office outages; 

3 (5) research and develop alternative options, in4 cluding microwave capabilities, to transmit NOAA 

5 Weather Radio signals to transmitters that are remote 

6 or do not have internet protocol capability; and 

7 (6) transition critical applications to the Inte8 grated Dissemination Program, or the relevant pro9 gram successors. 

10 (c) PRIORITY.—In carrying out subsection (b), the 

11 Under Secretary shall prioritize practices, capabilities, and 

12 technologies recommended in accordance with the assess13 ment under subsection (d) to maximize accessibility, par14 ticularly in remote and underserved areas of the United 

15 States. 

16 (d) ASSESSMENT FOR MANAGEMENT AND DISTRIBU17 TION.—Not later than one year after the date of the enact18 ment of this Act, the Under Secretary shall complete an 

19 assessment of access to NOAA Weather Radio. In con20 ducting such assessment, the Under Secretary shall take 

21 into consideration and provide recommendations regarding 

22 the following: 

23 (1) The need for continuous, adequate, and oper24 ational real-time broadcasts of the NOAA Weather 

25 Radio in both urban and rural areas. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
135 

•HR 6093 RH

1 (2) Solicited inputs from relevant stakeholders 

2 on the compatibility of NOAA Weather Radio data 

3 for third party platforms that provide online services, 

4 such as websites and mobile device applications, or 

5 deliver NOAA Weather Radio access. 

6 (3) Existing or new management systems that 

7 promote consistent, efficient, and compatible access to 

8 NOAA Weather Radio. 

9 (4) The ability of NOAA to aggregate real time 

10 broadcast feeds at one or more central locations. 

11 (5) Effective interagency coordination. 

12 (6) The potential effects of an electromagnetic 

13 pulse or geomagnetic disturbance on NOAA Weather 

14 Radio. 

15 (7) Any other function the Under Secretary de16 termines necessary. 

17 SEC. 406. POST-STORM SURVEYS AND ASSESSMENTS. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall continue 

19 to perform one or more post-storm surveys and assessments 

20 following every hazardous weather or water event deter21 mined by the Under Secretary to be of sufficient societal 

22 importance to warrant a post-event survey and assessment. 

23 (b) COORDINATION.—The Under Secretary shall co24 ordinate with Federal, State, local and Tribal governments, 

25 private entities, and relevant institutions of higher eduVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:59 Dec 12, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00135 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H6093.RH H6093

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
136 

•HR 6093 RH

1 cation (or a consortia thereof) when conducting post-storm 

2 surveys and assessments under this section to optimize data 

3 collection, sharing, integration, archiving, and access, as 

4 appropriate for research needs. 

5 (c) DATA AVAILABILITY.—The Under Secretary shall 

6 make the appropriate data obtained from each post-storm 

7 survey and assessment conducted under this section avail8 able to the public as soon as practicable after conducting 

9 each such survey and assessment. 

10 (d) IMPROVEMENT.—In carrying out this section, the 

11 Under Secretary shall— 

12 (1) examine the role of uncrewed aerial and ma13 rine systems in data collection during post-storm sur14 veys and assessments conducted under this section; 

15 (2) identify gaps in and update tactics and pro16 cedures to enhance the efficiency and reliability of 

17 data obtained from post-storm surveys and assess18 ments; 

19 (3) to the maximum extent practicable, increase 

20 the number of post-storm community impact studies, 

21 particularly among under-observed, underserved, or 

22 highly vulnerable populations, including— 

23 (A) surveying-individual responses; 

24 (B) conducting review of the accuracy of 

25 prior risk evaluations; 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
137 

•HR 6093 RH

1 (C) evaluating the efficacy of prior mitiga2 tion activity; and 

3 (D) gathering survivability statistics; and 

4 (4) as appropriate, integrate community-based, 

5 social, behavioral, risk, communication, and economic 

6 sciences elements into existing post-storm surveys and 

7 assessments, including relating to efficacy of forecast 

8 and warning information, barriers to action, and 

9 messaging challenges. 

10 (e) SUPPORT FOR EMPLOYEES.—The Under Secretary 

11 shall provide training, resources, and access to professional 

12 counseling to support the emotional and mental health and 

13 well-being of employees conducting post-storm surveys and 

14 assessments under this section. 

15 (f) EXEMPTION.—Subchapter I of chapter 35 of title 

16 44, United States Code, shall not apply to the collection 

17 of information during the conduct of a survey or assessment 

18 authorized under subsection (a). 

19 SEC. 407. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE REPORT 

20 ON ALERT DISSEMINATION FOR HAZARDOUS 

21 WEATHER OR WATER EVENTS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 540 days after the 

23 date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

24 of the United States shall submit to the Committee on Com25 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
138 

•HR 6093 RH

1 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House 

2 of Representatives a report that examines the information 

3 technology infrastructure of the National Weather Service 

4 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 

5 specifically regarding the system for timely public notifica6 tion via alerts and updates regarding hazardous weather 

7 or water events. 

8 (b) ELEMENTS.—The report required by subsection (a) 

9 shall include the following: 

10 (1) An analysis of the information technology in11 frastructure of the National Weather Service, includ12 ing software and hardware capabilities and limita13 tions, including an examination of server and data 

14 storage methods, broadband, data management, and 

15 data sharing. 

16 (2) An identification of secondary and tertiary 

17 fail-safes for the timely distribution to the public of 

18 notifications via alerts and updates regarding haz19 ardous weather or water events. 

20 (3) A process analysis to determine the source 

21 and extent to which public notifications via alerts 

22 and updates regarding hazardous weather or water 

23 events have been delayed and an identification of pos24 sible improvements or corrective measures to address 

25 latency in the notification process. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
139 

•HR 6093 RH

1 (4) An assessment of whether collaboration with 

2 other Federal offices, States, or private entities could 

3 reduce delays in notifications to the public. 

4 (5) A description of actions being undertaken to 

5 better identify critical steps in public notification via 

6 alerts and updates for hazardous weather or water 

7 events that may be vulnerable to disruption or failure 

8 in the event of communication, technologic, or com9 putational failure. 

10 (6) The geographical differences in availability 

11 and effectiveness of rural systems, including an esti12 mated number of rural areas affected by unreliable or 

13 unavailable accurate systems and barriers to obtain 

14 or upgrade such systems. 

15 SEC. 408. DATA COLLECTION MANAGEMENT AND PROTEC16 TION. 

17 (a) DATA COLLECTION.—The Under Secretary may 

18 collect social, behavioral, and economic data, including 

19 Federal communication and related public response to haz20 ardous weather or water events. Where appropriate, the 

21 Under Secretary shall encourage use of secondary data, 

22 purchase data, or partner with the private sector. 

23 (b) DATA MANAGEMENT.—The Under Secretary shall 

24 establish a central repository system for the National Oce25 anic and Atmospheric Administration for social, behavVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:59 Dec 12, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00139 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H6093.RH H6093

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
140 

•HR 6093 RH

1 ioral, and economic data related to the communication of 

2 and related public response to hazardous weather or water 

3 events, including data developed or received pursuant to 

4 this title. 

5 (c) PROTECTION OF DATA.—The Under Secretary shall 

6 ensure that all data collected and managed by the Adminis7 tration is done within with all legal, regulatory, and con8 tractual obligations and in accordance with chapter 31 of 

9 title 44, United States Code, and the Federal Evidence10 Based Policymaking Act of 2018 (Public Law 115–435). 

11 (d) DIGITAL WATERMARKING.—The Under Secretary 

12 shall develop methods to reduce the likelihood of unauthor13 ized tampering with online public notifications of haz14 ardous weather or water events, such as developing digital 

15 watermarks. 

16 (e) POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.—The Under Sec17 retary shall establish policies and procedures for the collec18 tion, archiving, and stewardship of data on community re19 sponse, including the response of effected or vulnerable pop20 ulations, to hazardous weather or water events. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
141 

•HR 6093 RH

1 TITLE V—IMPROVING WEATHER 

2 INFORMATION FOR AGRI3 CULTURE AND WATER MAN4 AGEMENT 

5 SEC. 501. WEATHER AND CLIMATE INFORMATION IN AGRI6 CULTURE AND WATER MANAGEMENT. 

7 Section 1762 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (15 

8 U.S.C. 8521) is amended— 

9 (1) by amending subsection (h) to read as fol10 lows: 

11 ‘‘(h) SUBSEASONAL TO SEASONAL FORECASTING

12 PILOT PROJECTS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Under Secretary 

14 shall establish not fewer than two pilot projects, in 

15 accordance with paragraph (2), within the U.S. 

16 Weather Research Program of the Oceanic and Atmos17 pheric Research office of the National Oceanic and 

18 Atmospheric Administration to support improved 

19 subseasonal to seasonal precipitation forecasts for the 

20 following: 

21 ‘‘(A) Water management in the western 

22 United States. 

23 ‘‘(B) Agriculture in the central United 

24 States. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
142 

•HR 6093 RH

1 ‘‘(2) OBJECTIVES.—In carrying out this sub2 section, the Under Secretary shall ensure the fol3 lowing: 

4 ‘‘(A) A pilot project under subparagraph 

5 (A) of paragraph (1) addresses key science chal6 lenges to improving forecasts and developing re7 lated products for water management in the 

8 western United States, including the following: 

9 ‘‘(i) Improving operational model reso10 lution, both horizontal and vertical, to re11 solve issues associated with mountainous 

12 terrain, such as intensity of precipitation 

13 and relative fraction of rain versus snow 

14 precipitation. 

15 ‘‘(ii) Improving fidelity in the oper16 ational modeling of the atmospheric bound17 ary layer in mountainous regions. 

18 ‘‘(iii) Resolving challenges in pre19 dicting winter atmospheric circulation and 

20 storm tracks, including periods of blocked 

21 versus unblocked flow over the eastern North 

22 Pacific Ocean and western United States. 

23 ‘‘(iv) Utilizing outcomes from the At24 mospheric Rivers Forecast Improvement 

25 Program as authorized in section 204 of the 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
143 

•HR 6093 RH

1 Weather Act Reauthorization Act of 2023 to 

2 produce operational tools and services. 

3 ‘‘(v) Improving the quality and tem4 poral and spatial resolution of observations 

5 and accurate operational modeling of air6 sea interactions, and the influence of oceans 

7 on subseasonal and seasonal forecasting. 

8 ‘‘(B) A pilot project under subparagraph 

9 (B) of paragraph (1) addresses key science chal10 lenges to improving forecasts and developing re11 lated products for agriculture in the central 

12 United States, including the following: 

13 ‘‘(i) Improving the quality and tem14 poral and spatial resolution of observations 

15 and accurate operational modeling of the 

16 land surface and hydrologic cycle, including 

17 soil moisture and flash drought processes. 

18 ‘‘(ii) Improving fidelity in the oper19 ational modeling of warm season precipita20 tion processes. 

21 ‘‘(iii) Understanding and predicting 

22 large-scale upper-level dynamical flow 

23 anomalies that occur in spring and sum24 mer. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
144 

•HR 6093 RH

1 ‘‘(3) ACTIVITIES.—A pilot project under this 

2 subsection shall include activities that carry out the 

3 following: 

4 ‘‘(A) Best implement recommendations of 

5 the National Weather Service’s 2020 Report, en6 titled ‘Subseasonal and Seasonal Forecasting In7 novation: Plans for the Twenty-First Century’. 

8 ‘‘(B) Achieve measurable objectives for oper9 ational forecast improvement. 

10 ‘‘(C) Engage with, and leverage the re11 sources of, institutions of higher education (as 

12 such term is defined in section 101 of the Higher 

13 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)), or a 

14 consortia thereof, and entities within the Na15 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

16 in existence as of the date of the enactment of 

17 this subsection, including Regional Climate Cen18 ters and the National Centers for Environmental 

19 Information. 

20 ‘‘(D) Are carried out in coordination with 

21 the Assistant Administrator for the Office of Oce22 anic and Atmospheric Research and the Director 

23 of the National Weather Service. 

24 ‘‘(4) SUNSET.—The authority under this sub25 section shall terminate on the date that is five years 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
145 

•HR 6093 RH

1 after the date of the enactment of this subsection.’’; 

2 and 

3 (2) by amending subsection (j) to read as follows: 

4 ‘‘(j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are 

5 authorized to be appropriated $45,000,000 for each of fiscal 

6 years 2024 through 2028 to carry out the activities under 

7 this section.’’. 

8 SEC. 502. NATIONAL INTEGRATED DROUGHT INFORMATION 

9 SYSTEM. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3 of the National Inte11 grated Drought Information System Act of 2006 (15 U.S.C. 

12 313d) is amended— 

13 (1) in subsection (b)— 

14 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

15 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

16 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; 

17 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by inserting 

18 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; and 

19 (iii) by adding at the end the following 

20 new subparagraph: 

21 ‘‘(C) incorporates flash drought research 

22 and tools to enhance timely response;’’; 

23 (B) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

24 after the semicolon; 

25 (C) in paragraph (6)— 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
146 

•HR 6093 RH

1 (i) by inserting ‘‘(including ecological 

2 drought)’’ after ‘‘drought’’ each place it ap3 pears; and 

4 (ii) by striking the period and insert5 ing a semicolon; and 

6 (D) by adding at the end the following new 

7 paragraphs: 

8 ‘‘(7) advance and deploy next generation tech9 nologies related to drought and related publicly avail10 able data, such as monitoring, preparedness, and fore11 casting capabilities utilizing artificial intelligence, 

12 machine learning, and cloud technologies; and 

13 ‘‘(8) utilize observational networks, including the 

14 National Weather Service cooperative observer pro15 gram and State or regional hydrological monitoring 

16 projects, and refine drought indicators across a vari17 ety of spatial and temporal scales for decision-support 

18 products by optimizing data and resources from 

19 across the Federal Government, including snowpack, 

20 soil moisture, groundwater, and rapid intensification 

21 data.’’; 

22 (2) in subsection (c)— 

23 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

24 after the semicolon; 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
147 

•HR 6093 RH

1 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking the period 

2 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

3 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

4 paragraph: 

5 ‘‘(4) in partnership with the National Mesonet 

6 Program, establish memoranda of understanding to 

7 provide coordinated, high-quality, nationwide drought 

8 information for the public good, including integrated 

9 soil moisture information in accordance with the 

10 2021 report, ‘A Strategy for the National Coordinated 

11 Soil Moisture Monitoring Network’.’’; and 

12 (3) by amending subsection (f) to read as follows: 

13 ‘‘(f) MODELING UPDATE.—The Under Secretary, in 

14 partnership with National Integrated Drought Information 

15 System and the Climate Prediction Center of the National 

16 Weather Service, shall undertake an effort to transition ex17 isting drought products to probabilistic forecasts and incor18 porate new and improved dynamical and statistical fore19 cast modeling tools.’’. 

20 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 4 

21 of the National Integrated Drought Information System Act 

22 of 2006 (15 U.S.C. 313d note) is amended to read as follows: 

23 ‘‘SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

24 ‘‘From amounts made available to Operations, Re25 search, and Facilities of the National Oceanic and AtmosVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:59 Dec 12, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00147 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H6093.RH H6093

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
148 

•HR 6093 RH

1 pheric Administration, there are authorized to be appro2 priated to carry out this section the following: 

3 ‘‘(1) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2024. 

4 ‘‘(2) $15,500,000 for fiscal year 2025. 

5 ‘‘(3) $16,000,000 for fiscal year 2026. 

6 ‘‘(4) $16,500,000 for fiscal year 2027. 

7 ‘‘(5) $17,000,000 for fiscal year 2028.’’. 

8 SEC. 503. NATIONAL MESONET PROGRAM. 

9 (a) PROGRAM.—The Under Secretary shall maintain 

10 the National Mesonet Program (in this section referred to 

11 as the ‘‘Program’’). The Program shall— 

12 (1) obtain observations in all geographic envi13 ronments to improve understanding of and forecast 

14 capabilities for atmospheric and water events, with a 

15 prioritization on leveraging available commercial, 

16 academic, and other non-Federal environmental data 

17 to enhance coordination across the private, public, 

18 and academic sectors of the United States weather en19 terprise; and 

20 (2) establish memoranda of understanding with 

21 networks outside of the scope of the Program. 

22 (b) PROGRAM ELEMENTS.—The Program shall carry 

23 out the following activities: 

24 (1) Improve environmental observations used by 

25 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministraVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:59 Dec 12, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00148 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H6093.RH H6093

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
149 

•HR 6093 RH

1 tion and the National Weather Service to support 

2 baseline forecasts, including nowcasts, and warnings 

3 that protect the Nation’s citizens, businesses, military, 

4 and government agencies, and enable such individuals 

5 and entities to operate in safe, efficient, and orderly 

6 manners. 

7 (2) When demonstrably cost effective and meeting 

8 or exceeding agency data quality standards, leverage 

9 existing networks of environmental monitoring sta10 tions, including supplemental radar systems, to in11 crease the quantity and density of environmental ob12 servations and data available to the Administration. 

13 (3) Establish means to integrate greater density 

14 and type of environmental observations into the Pro15 gram on an annual basis, including by encouraging 

16 local and regional networks of environmental moni17 toring stations, in situ sensor networks and satellite 

18 constellations to participate in the Program. 

19 (4) Yield increased quantities of boundary-layer 

20 data to improve numerical weather prediction per21 formance, including regarding subseasonal to seasonal 

22 timescales. 

23 (5) Provide the critical technical and adminis24 trative infrastructure needed to facilitate rapid inte25 gration and sustained use of new and emerging netVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:59 Dec 12, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00149 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H6093.RH H6093

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
150 

•HR 6093 RH

1 works of environmental monitoring stations antici2 pated in coming years from non-Federal sources. 

3 (6) Expand and enhance environmental observa4 tional networks in the roadway environment to pro5 vide real-time road weather and surface conditions for 

6 surface transportation and related economic sectors. 

7 (7) Identify available terrestrial or marine envi8 ronmental data, or quantifiable gaps in such data, to 

9 improve the understanding of air-sea interactions. 

10 (8) Support the National Weather Service in 

11 reaching its target of a 30-minute warning time for 

12 severe weather through better predictive model algo13 rithms driven by increasingly effective observations. 

14 (9) Coordinate with existing Administration 

15 data used for forecasts, including data from the Na16 tional Environmental Satellite, Data, and Informa17 tion Service, the Integrated Ocean Observing System, 

18 the Global Ocean Monitoring and Observing Program, 

19 the National Data Buoy Center, and the National 

20 Ocean Service. 

21 (10) Identify and communicate to the Office of 

22 Oceanic and Atmospheric Research and other part23 ners priorities of research and development needed to 

24 advance observations in the Program. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
151 

•HR 6093 RH

1 (11) Support the National Coordinated Soil 

2 Moisture Monitoring Network in acquiring soil mois3 ture and related data to support the development of 

4 decision-support products and other information serv5 ices. 

6 (c) FINANCIAL AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—In furtherance of the Pro8 gram, the Under Secretary may, to the extent 

9 amounts are made available, award up to 15 percent 

10 of the Program’s annual appropriations for financial 

11 assistance to State, Tribal, private, and academic en12 tities seeking to build, expand, or upgrade equipment 

13 and capacity of mesonet systems. Financial assistance 

14 under this subsection may be made in coordination 

15 with and in addition to awards from other Federal 

16 agencies. 

17 (2) AGREEMENTS.—Before receiving financial 

18 assistance under paragraph (1), the State, Tribal, 

19 private, or academic entity seeking financial assist20 ance under this subsection shall enter into an agree21 ment with the Under Secretary to provide data to the 

22 Program, subject to verification by the Program of the 

23 relative operational value and evaluation of the cost 

24 of such data, for use in weather prediction, severe 

25 weather warnings, and emergency response. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
152 

•HR 6093 RH

1 (3) ASSISTANCE AND OTHER SUPPORT.—The 

2 Under Secretary may provide technical assistance, 

3 project implementation support, and guidance to 

4 State, Tribal, private, and academic entities seeking 

5 financial assistance under this subsection. The Under 

6 Secretary may provide technical and financial assist7 ance for maintenance of monitoring stations in 

8 underrepresented or remote areas of the country where 

9 it is financially unfeasible for one entity to operate 

10 such stations without such assistance. 

11 (4) TERMS.—In providing financial assistance 

12 under this subsection, the Under Secretary shall es13 tablish terms to ensure that each State, Tribal, pri14 vate, or academic entity that receives financial assist15 ance under this subsection receives a level of Federal 

16 support commensurate with the quality and other 

17 characteristics of the data to be provided. 

18 (5) DETERMINATION.—A State, Tribal, private, 

19 or academic entity may receive financial assistance 

20 under this subsection only if the Under Secretary de21 termines such entity shall provide sufficient non-Fed22 eral financial support and full maintenance to main23 tain the quality of the mesonet system and associated 

24 data standards required by the Program for a period 

25 of not less than five years. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
153 

•HR 6093 RH

1 (6) PRIORITY.—The Under Secretary shall 

2 prioritize providing assistance under paragraph (1) 

3 to at least one entity in an underrepresented or re4 mote area. 

5 (d) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall en7 sure the Program has an active advisory committee of 

8 subject matter experts to make recommendations to 

9 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra10 tion on the identification, implementation, procure11 ment, and tracking of data needed to supplement the 

12 Program, and recommend improvements, expansions, 

13 and acquisitions of available data. The Under Sec14 retary may designate an existing Federal advisory 

15 committee, subcommittee, or working group, includ16 ing, if appropriate, the Science Advisory Board of the 

17 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 

18 to carry out this subsection. 

19 (2) ACADEMIC EXPERTISE.—The advisory com20 mittee under paragraph (1), in consultation with the 

21 Program, shall include expertise from one or more in22 stitutions of higher education (as such term is defined 

23 in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

24 (20 U.S.C. 1001)) to assist the advisory committee to 

25 identify, evaluate, and recommend potential partnerVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:59 Dec 12, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00153 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H6093.RH H6093

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
154 

•HR 6093 RH

1 ships, regional or subregional consortia, and collabo2 rative methods that would expand the number of par3 ticipants and volume of data in the Program. 

4 (e) REGULAR REPORTING.—The Under Secretary shall 

5 provide regular briefings, not less than twice annually, to 

6 the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

7 House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

8 Science, and Transportation of the Senate on all Program 

9 activities. Such briefings shall include information relating 

10 to the following: 

11 (1) Efforts to implement the activities described 

12 in subsection (b). 

13 (2) Any financial or technical assistance pro14 vided pursuant to subsection (c). 

15 (3) Efforts to address recommendations received 

16 from the advisory committee under subsection (d). 

17 (4) The potential need and associated benefits of 

18 a coastal and ocean mesonet, or other emerging areas 

19 of weather data needs. 

20 (5) Progress toward eliminating gaps in weather 

21 observation data by States and regions of the United 

22 States. 

23 (6) Any other topic the Under Secretary deter24 mines relevant. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
155 

•HR 6093 RH

1 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—From 

2 amounts made available to the National Weather Service, 

3 the Under Secretary, to carry out this section, shall allocate 

4 up to the following amounts for each specified fiscal year: 

5 (1) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2024. 

6 (2) $55,000,000 for fiscal year 2025. 

7 (3) $61,000,000 for fiscal year 2026. 

8 (4) $68,000,000 for fiscal year 2027. 

9 (5) $70,000,000 for fiscal year 2028. 

10 SEC. 504. NATIONAL COORDINATED SOIL MOISTURE MONI11 TORING NETWORK. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary, in collabora13 tion with the Secretary of Agriculture, the Director of the 

14 United States Geological Survey, the Administrator of the 

15 National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the 

16 heads of other relevant Federal agencies and departments, 

17 shall support the development, deployment, and mainte18 nance of soil moisture monitoring networks by managing 

19 the National Coordinated Soil Moisture Monitoring Net20 work (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Network’’) within 

21 the National Integrated Drought Information System. 

22 (b) ACTIVITIES.—The Under Secretary shall ensure the 

23 Network includes activities that carry out the following: 

24 (1) Establishing a visible, user-friendly website. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
156 

•HR 6093 RH

1 (2) Developing a set of criteria for high-quality 

2 data sources. 

3 (3) Supporting research necessary to develop or 

4 improve soil moisture monitoring products at a na5 tional scale. 

6 (4) Increasing the number of long-term, high7 quality, in situ and remote sensing soil moisture 

8 monitoring stations across the United States. 

9 (5) Sharing methodologies and validation proto10 cols with the private sector. 

11 (6) Engaging with the citizen science commu12 nity. 

13 (7) Developing, releasing, and promoting new, 

14 nationwide point-based and gridded soil moisture 

15 data products that meet the needs of diverse end-user 

16 groups. 

17 (8) Supporting community building and out18 reach to the network of individuals engaged with soil 

19 moisture information delivery, from data provision to 

20 end-user decision making. 

21 SEC. 505. NATIONAL WATER CENTER. 

22 Section 301 of the Coordinated Ocean Observations 

23 and Research Act of 2020 (42 U.S.C. 10371) is amended— 

24 (1) in subsection (a)— 

25 (A) in paragraph (1)(A)— 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
157 

•HR 6093 RH

1 (i) in the matter preceding clause (i), 

2 by inserting ‘‘as a component of the Na3 tional Centers for Environmental Pre4 diction’’ after ‘‘center’’; 

5 (ii) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

6 after the semicolon; 

7 (iii) in clause (ii), by striking the pe8 riod and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

9 (iv) by adding at the end the following 

10 new clause: 

11 ‘‘(iii) to provide service backup capa12 bilities and additional mission support 

13 services for River Forecast Centers.’’; and 

14 (B) in paragraph (2), by adding at the end 

15 the following new subparagraph: 

16 ‘‘(F) Serving as the primary Center for col17 laboration and coordination of the National Oce18 anic and Atmospheric Administration’s water 

19 research and operational activities with existing 

20 Federal centers and networks, including the De21 partment of Agriculture, the Army Corps of En22 gineers, the Bureau of Reclamation, the United 

23 States Geological Survey, and the Federal Emer24 gency Management Agency.’’; 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
158 

•HR 6093 RH

1 (2) by striking subsection (b) and redesignating 

2 subsections (c) through (e) as subsections (b) through 

3 (d) respectively; and 

4 (3) by amending subsection (c), as so redesig5 nated, to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

7 authorized to be appropriated $46,000,000 for each of fiscal 

8 years 2024 through 2028 to carry out this section.’’. 

9 SEC. 506. SATELLITE TRANSFERS REPORT. 

10 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment 

11 of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall submit to the 

12 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

13 the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech14 nology of the House of Representatives a report describing 

15 the Department of Commerce’s authorities, policies, and 

16 Federal Government-wide policies related to transferring 

17 any portion of the weather satellite systems operated by the 

18 Department of Commerce to any other Federal department 

19 or agency. The report shall also include the following: 

20 (1) A description of the process for decommis21 sioning a Department of Commerce operational 

22 weather satellite, any existing agreements related to 

23 transfers of weather satellites, whether decommis24 sioned or not, and any reimbursable agreements re25 lated to the transfer of physical property or the operVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:59 Dec 12, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00158 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H6093.RH H6093

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
159 

•HR 6093 RH

1 ation of Department of Commerce weather satellites 

2 on behalf of any other Federal department or agency. 

3 (2) A summary of any Department of Commerce 

4 plans for potential transfer of existing or future 

5 weather satellite systems to any other Federal depart6 ment or agency. 

7 SEC. 507. PRECIPITATION FORECAST IMPROVEMENT PRO8 GRAM. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title VI of the Weather Research 

10 and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8501 

11 et seq.) is amended— 

12 (1) by redesignating section 603 as section 604; 

13 and 

14 (2) by inserting after section 602 the following 

15 new section: 

16 ‘‘SEC. 603. PRECIPITATION FORECAST IMPROVEMENT PRO17 GRAM. 

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary, in collabo19 ration with the United States weather industry, other Fed20 eral agencies, and academic partners, shall maintain a pro21 gram to improve precipitation forecasting across timescales. 

22 ‘‘(b) GOAL.—The goal of the program under subsection 

23 (a) shall be to provide more accurate, reliable, and timely 

24 precipitation forecasts across timescales through the devel25 opment and application of a fully coupled Earth system 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
160 

•HR 6093 RH

1 prediction model in order to reduce the loss of life or prop2 erty related to precipitation extremes, with a focus on the 

3 following: 

4 ‘‘(1) Improving the understanding and pre5 diction of precipitation extremes from a variety of 

6 weather systems, including atmospheric rivers. 

7 ‘‘(2) Evaluating and incorporating, as appro8 priate, innovative observations into operational moni9 toring and forecast systems to improve precipitation 

10 forecasts. 

11 ‘‘(3) Improving earth system model predictions 

12 of precipitation extremes from atmospheric rivers, 

13 tropical cyclones, summer-time thunderstorms, winter 

14 storms, and other phenomena, in coordination with 

15 relevant programs. 

16 ‘‘(4) Enhancing research transition to operations 

17 through testbeds, including the evaluation of physical 

18 and social science, technology, and other research to 

19 develop products and services for implementation and 

20 use by relevant stakeholders. 

21 ‘‘(5) Incorporating social, behavioral, and eco22 nomic sciences best practices into operations for more 

23 effective and actionable watch and warning products 

24 that help drive public safety and damage mitigation 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
161 

•HR 6093 RH

1 decisions in coordination with the programs estab2 lished in accordance with this Act. 

3 ‘‘(6) Ensuring data and metadata management 

4 processes are in place to support data access and ar5 chive for long term research and operations among 

6 multiple partners. 

7 ‘‘(c) ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out the program under 

8 subsection (a), the Under Secretary shall support research9 to-operations work, including relating to the following: 

10 ‘‘(1) Implementing key strategies and following 

11 priorities and objectives outlined by the National Oce12 anic and Atmospheric Administration’s ‘Precipitation 

13 Prediction Grand Challenge Strategy’. 

14 ‘‘(2) Improving the physical science, operational 

15 modeling and tools, and technology related to better 

16 forecasting precipitation extremes across timescales. 

17 ‘‘(3) Improving the social, behavioral, risk, com18 munications, and economic sciences related to 

19 vulnerabilities, risk communication, and delivery of 

20 information critical for reducing the loss of life or 

21 property related to extreme precipitation. 

22 ‘‘(4) Conducting the research necessary to de23 velop and deploy probabilistic weather forecast guid24 ance technology relating to precipitation extremes in 

25 operational practice. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
162 

•HR 6093 RH

1 ‘‘(5) Enhancing the operational capacity of the 

2 National Weather Service to deliver decision support 

3 for increasing precipitation extremes. 

4 ‘‘(6) Expanding computational resources to im5 prove precipitation modeling. 

6 ‘‘(d) ANNUAL BUDGET.—The Under Secretary shall, 

7 not less frequently than annually, submit to Congress a pro8 posed budget corresponding with carrying out this section.’’. 

9 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents in 

10 section 1(b) of the Weather Research and Forecasting Inno11 vation Act of 2017 is amended by striking the item relating 

12 to section 603 and inserting the following new items: 

‘‘Sec. 603. Precipitation forecast improvement program. 

‘‘Sec. 604. Definitions.’’. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
Union Calendar No. 247 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 6093 

[Report No. 118–306] 

A BILL 

To improve the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

poses. provision of weather data, and for other purdiction, expand commercial opportunities for the provements in weather forecasting and preAdministration’s weather research, support imDECEMBER 11, 2023 

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


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB