II 

Calendar No. 259 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1416 

To provide guidance for and investment in the upgrade and modernization 

of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Weather Radio 

All Hazards network, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 3, 2023 

Ms. CANTWELL (for herself and Mr. CRUZ) introduced the following bill; 

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

Science, and Transportation 

DECEMBER 4, 2023 

Reported by Ms. CANTWELL, without amendment 

A BILL 

To provide guidance for and investment in the upgrade and 

modernization of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration Weather Radio All Hazards network, and 

for other purposes. 

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

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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘NOAA Weather Radio 

3 Modernization Act of 2023’’ or the ‘‘NWR Modernization 

4 Act of 2023’’. 

5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

6 (a) NOAA WEATHER RADIO.—The term ‘‘NOAA 

7 Weather Radio’’ means the National Oceanic and Atmos8 pheric Administration Weather Radio All Hazards net9 work. 

10 (b) UNDER SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Under Sec11 retary’’ means the Under Secretary of Commerce for 

12 Oceans and Atmosphere and the Administrator of the Na13 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

14 SEC. 3. UPGRADING EXISTING SYSTEMS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall, to the 

16 maximum extent practicable, upgrade systems of NOAA 

17 Weather Radio in use as of the date of the enactment of 

18 this Act in order to expand coverage and ensure the reli19 ability of NOAA Weather Radio. 

20 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out subsection (a), 

21 the Under Secretary shall— 

22 (1) maintain support for systems described in 

23 such subsection that serve areas not covered by or 

24 having poor quality cellular service; 

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1 (2) ensure consistent maintenance and oper2 ations monitoring, with timely repairs to equipment 

3 and antennas at broadcast transmitter sites; 

4 (3) enhance the ability to amplify non-weather 

5 emergency messages through NOAA Weather Radio 

6 as necessary; and 

7 (4) acquire additional transmitters as required 

8 to expand coverage to rural and underserved com9 munities, units of the National Park System, and 

10 National Recreation Areas. 

11 SEC. 4. MODERNIZATION INITIATIVE. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall, to the 

13 maximum extent practicable, modernize NOAA Weather 

14 Radio to ensure the capabilities and coverage of NOAA 

15 Weather Radio remain valuable to the public. 

16 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out subsection (a), 

17 the Under Secretary shall— 

18 (1) upgrade the telecommunications infrastruc19 ture of NOAA Weather Radio to accelerate the tran20 sition of broadcasts to media that provide an in21 crease in reliability and repairability over copper 

22 media; 

23 (2) accelerate software upgrades to the Ad24 vanced Weather Interactive Processing System of 

25 the National Weather Service, or any relevant sucVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:20 Dec 04, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1416.RS S1416
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1 cessors of the system, in order to implement partial 

2 county notifications and alerts; 

3 (3) enhance the accessibility and usability of 

4 data and feeds of NOAA Weather Radio, with the 

5 feedback of the public and user groups; 

6 (4) develop options, including satellite backup 

7 capability and commercial provider partnerships, for 

8 continuity of service provided by NOAA Weather 

9 Radio in the event of outages among Weather Fore10 cast Offices; 

11 (5) research and develop alternative options, in12 cluding microwave capabilities, to transmit signals 

13 from NOAA Weather Radio to transmitters that are 

14 remote or do not have Internet Protocol capability; 

15 and 

16 (6) transition critical applications to the Inte17 grated Dissemination Program of the National 

18 Weather Service, or any relevant successors of the 

19 program. 

20 (c) PRIORITIES.—In carrying out subsections (a) and 

21 (b), the Under Secretary shall prioritize practices, capa22 bilities, and technologies recommended in the assessment 

23 required by subsection (d) in order to maximize the acces24 sibility of NOAA Weather Radio, particularly in remote 

25 areas of the United States and areas that are at risk for 

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1 a lack of access to weather information in the event of 

2 an emergency weather event. 

3 (d) ASSESSMENT.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

5 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Under 

6 Secretary shall complete and submit to the Com7 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

8 the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, 

9 and Technology of the House of Representatives an 

10 assessment of access to NOAA Weather Radio. 

11 (2) CONSIDERATIONS AND RECOMMENDA12 TIONS.—In conducting the assessment required by 

13 paragraph (1), the Under Secretary shall take into 

14 consideration and provide recommendations on— 

15 (A) the need for continuous, adequate, and 

16 operational real-time broadcasts from NOAA 

17 Weather Radio; 

18 (B) solicited input on the compatibility of 

19 NOAA Weather Radio data with third-party 

20 platforms that provide online services, such as 

21 websites and mobile device applications, or de22 liver access to NOAA Weather Radio; 

23 (C) existing or new management systems, 

24 which promote consistent, efficient, and com25 patible access to NOAA Weather Radio; 

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1 (D) the ability of the National Oceanic and 

2 Atmospheric Administration to aggregate real3 time broadcast feeds at one or more central lo4 cations; 

5 (E) effective coordination between agencies 

6 with responsibilities relating to emergencies and 

7 natural disasters; 

8 (F) the potential effects of an electro9 magnetic pulse or geomagnetic disturbance on 

10 NOAA Weather Radio; and 

11 (G) improvements of hazardous weather 

12 and water event communications to more clear13 ly inform action and increase the likelihood that 

14 the public takes such action to prevent the loss 

15 of life or property. 

Calendar No. 259 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1416 

A BILL 

To provide guidance for and investment in the upAll Hazards network, and for other purposes. and Atmospheric Administration Weather Radio grade and modernization of the National Oceanic 

DECEMBER 4, 2023 

Reported without amendment