II 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3584 

To reauthorize the National Integrated Drought Information System, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 20, 2012 

Mr. PRYOR (for himself and Mr. MORAN) introduced the following bill; which 

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

Transportation 

A BILL 

To reauthorize the National Integrated Drought Information 

System, and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Drought Information 

5 Act of 2012’’. 

6 SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION OF NATIONAL INTEGRATED 

7 DROUGHT INFORMATION SYSTEM. 

8 (a) SYSTEM AMENDMENTS.—Section 3 of the Na9 tional Integrated Drought Information System Act of 

10 2006 (15 U.S.C. 313d) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (a)— 

2 (A) by inserting ‘‘and continue to support’’ 

3 after ‘‘establish’’; and 

4 (B) by inserting before the period at the 

5 end the following: ‘‘to better inform and provide 

6 for more timely decisionmaking to reduce 

7 drought related impacts and costs’’; and 

8 (2) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the 

9 following: 

10 ‘‘(b) SYSTEM FUNCTIONS.—The National Integrated 

11 Drought Information System shall— 

12 ‘‘(1) provide an effective drought early warning 

13 system that— 

14 ‘‘(A) collects and integrates information on 

15 the key indicators of drought in order to make 

16 usable, reliable, and timely forecasts of drought, 

17 including assessments of the severity of drought 

18 conditions and impacts; and 

19 ‘‘(B) provides such information, forecasts, 

20 and assessments on both national and regional 

21 levels; 

22 ‘‘(2) communicate drought forecasts, drought 

23 conditions, and drought impacts on an ongoing basis 

24 to— 


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1 ‘‘(A) decisionmakers at the Federal, re2 gional, State, tribal, and local levels of govern3 ment; 

4 ‘‘(B) the private sector; and 

5 ‘‘(C) the public; 

6 ‘‘(3) provide timely data, information, and 

7 products that reflect local, regional, and State dif8 ferences in drought conditions; 

9 ‘‘(4) coordinate, and integrate as practicable, 

10 Federal research in support of a drought early warn11 ing system; 

12 ‘‘(5) build upon existing forecasting and assess13 ment programs and partnerships, such as partner14 ships with— 

15 ‘‘(A) the Regional Integrated Sciences and 

16 Assessments program of the National Oceanic 

17 and Atmospheric Administration; 

18 ‘‘(B) Cooperative Extension System offices 

19 of the Department of Agriculture; 

20 ‘‘(C) the National Institute of Food and 

21 Agriculture; 

22 ‘‘(D) the Office of the Chief Economist of 

23 the Department of Agriculture; 

24 ‘‘(E) the Farm Service Agency; and 


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1 ‘‘(F) other Federal agencies or depart2 ments that monitor and disseminate weather 

3 and climate information; and 

4 ‘‘(6) continue ongoing research activities related 

5 to drought, including research activities relating to 

6 length, severity, and impacts of drought and the role 

7 of extreme weather events and climate variability in 

8 drought.’’. 

9 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

10 4 of such Act (15 U.S.C. 313d note) is amended— 

11 (1) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

12 end; 

13 (2) in paragraph (6), by striking the period at 

14 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

15 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(7) $14,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2013 

17 through 2017.’’. 

18 (c) REPORT.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 540 days 

20 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

21 Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and At22 mosphere shall submit to the Committee on Com23 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 

24 and the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech25 nology of the House of Representatives a report on 


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1 the National Integrated Drought Information Sys2 tem. 

3 (2) CONTENTS.—The report required by para4 graph (1) shall include the following: 

5 (A) An assessment of the implementation 

6 of the National Integrated Drought Information 

7 System, including an assessment of how the in8 formation, forecasts, and assessments produced 

9 by such system are utilized in drought policy 

10 planning and response activities. 

11 (B) Specific plans for continued develop12 ment of the system, including future milestones. 

13 (C) An identification of research, moni14 toring, and forecasting needs to enhance the 

15 predictive capability of— 

16 (i) drought early warnings; 

17 (ii) the length and severity of 

18 droughts; and 

19 (iii) the contribution of weather events 

20 to reducing the severity or ending drought 

21 conditions. 

22 (D) A list of persons in the private sector 

23 with whom the Under Secretary collaborates to 

24 implement the National Integrated Drought In25 formation System. 


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1 (E) A description of the outreach activities 

2 conducted by the Under Secretary regarding 

3 the National Integrated Drought Information 

4 System. 

5 (3) CONSULTATION.—In developing the report 

6 required by paragraph (1), the Under Secretary 

7 shall consult with relevant Federal, regional, State, 

8 tribal, and local government agencies, research insti9 tutions, and the private sector. 

Æ 


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