Union Calendar No. 83

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1553

[Report No. 106–146]

A BILL

To authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2000

poses.mospheric Administration, and for other purService activities of the National Oceanic and Atvironmental Satellite, Data and InformationService, Atmospheric Research, and National Enand fiscal year 2001 for the National Weather

MAY 18, 1999

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union,
IB

Union Calendar No. 83

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1553

[Report No. 106–146]

To authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2000 and fiscal year 2001 for

the National Weather Service, Atmospheric Research, and National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service activities of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 26, 1999

Mr. CALVERT introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Science

MAY 18, 1999

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 April 26, 1999]

A BILL

To authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2000 and fiscal

year 2001 for the National Weather Service, Atmospheric

Research, and National Environmental Satellite, Data

and Information Service activities of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and for other purposes.
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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Weather Serv5 ice and Related Agencies Authorization Act of 1999’’.

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

7 For purposes of this Act, the term—

8 (1) ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Administrator of

9 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra10 tion; and

11 (2) ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of Com12 merce.

13 SEC. 3. NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

14 (a) OPERATIONS, RESEARCH, AND FACILITIES.—There

15 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to enable

16 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to

17 carry out the Operations, Research, and Facilities activities

18 of the National Weather Service $617,897,000 for fiscal year

19 2000 and $617,897,000 for fiscal year 2001, to remain

20 available until expended. Of such amounts—

21 (1) $449,441,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

22 $450,411,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for Local

23 Warnings and Forecasts;
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1 (2) $2,200,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

2 $2,200,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for Advanced

3 Hydrological Prediction System;

4 (3) $619,000 for fiscal year 2000 and $619,000

5 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for Susquehanna River

6 Basin Flood Systems;

7 (4) $35,596,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

8 $35,596,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for Aviation

9 Forecasts;

10 (5) $4,000,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

11 $4,000,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for Weather

12 Forecast Offices (WFO) Facilities Maintenance;

13 (6) $37,081,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

14 $37,081,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for Central

15 Forecast Guidance;

16 (7) $3,090,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

17 $3,090,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for Atmos18 pheric and Hydrological Research;

19 (8) $39,325,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

20 $39,325,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for Next

21 Generation Weather Radar (NEXRAD);

22 (9) $7,573,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

23 $7,573,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for Automated

24 Surface Observing System (ASOS);
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1 (10) $38,002,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

2 $38,002,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for Advanced

3 Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS); and

4 (11) $970,000 for fiscal year 2000 shall be for

5 two 1,000-watt National Oceanic and Atmospheric

6 Administration Weather Radio transmitters, to be lo7 cated in Jasper and Marion Counties, Illinois, and

8 nine 300-watt National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad9 ministration Weather Radio transmitters, to be in10 stalled in appropriate locations throughout the State

11 of Illinois, and for maintenance costs related thereto.

12 (b) PROCUREMENT, ACQUISITION, AND CONSTRUC13 TION.—There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec14 retary to enable the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad15 ministration to carry out the Procurement, Acquisition,

16 and Construction activities of the National Weather Service

17 $69,632,000 for fiscal year 2000 and $70,120,000 for fiscal

18 year 2001, to remain available until expended. Of such

19 amounts—

20 (1) $9,560,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

21 $9,060,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for Next Gen22 eration Weather Radar (NEXRAD);

23 (2) $4,180,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

24 $6,125,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for Automated

25 Surface Observing System (ASOS);
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1 (3) $22,575,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

2 $21,525,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for Advanced

3 Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS);

4 (4) $11,100,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

5 $12,835,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for Com6 puter Facilities Upgrades;

7 (5) $8,350,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

8 $8,350,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for Radio9 sonde Replacement;

10 (6) $500,000 for fiscal year 2000 shall be for Na11 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Op12 erations Center Rehabilitation; and

13 (7) $13,367,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

14 $12,225,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for Weather

15 Forecast Office (WFO) Construction.

16 (c) DUTIES OF THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.—

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—To protect life and property,

18 the Secretary, through the National Weather Service,

19 except as provided in paragraph (2), shall be respon20 sible for—

21 (A) forecasts and shall serve as the sole offi22 cial source of weather and flood warnings;

23 (B) the issuance of storm warnings;
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1 (C) the collection, exchange, and distribu2 tion of meteorological, hydrological, climatic,

3 and oceanographic data and information;

4 (D) the preparation of hydrometeorological

5 guidance and core forecast information; and

6 (E) the issuance of marine and aviation

7 forecasts and warnings.

8 (2) COMPETITION WITH PRIVATE SECTOR.—The

9 National Weather Service shall not provide, or assist

10 other entities to provide, a service (other than a serv11 ice described in paragraph (1)(A) or (B)) if that serv12 ice is currently provided or can be provided by com13 mercial enterprise, unless—

14 (A) the Secretary finds that the private sec15 tor is unwilling or unable to provide the service;

16 or

17 (B) the service provides vital weather warn18 ings and forecasts for the protection of lives and

19 property of the general public.

20 (3) AMENDMENTS.—The Act of October 1, 1890

21 (26 Stat. 653) is amended—

22 (A) by striking section 3 (15 U.S.C. 313);

23 and
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1 (B) in section 9 (15 U.S.C. 317), by strik2 ing ‘‘, and it shall be’’ and all that follows, and

3 inserting a period.

4 (4) REPORT.—Not later than 60 days after the

5 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall

6 submit to the Committee on Science of the House of

7 Representatives and the Committee on Commerce,

8 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report

9 detailing all National Weather Service activities

10 which do not conform to the requirements of this sub11 section and outlining a timetable for their termi12 nation.

13 SEC. 4. ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH.

14 (a) OPERATIONS, RESEARCH, AND FACILITIES.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be ap16 propriated to the Secretary to enable the National

17 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to carry

18 out the Atmospheric Research Operations, Research,

19 and Facilities environmental research and develop20 ment activities of the Office of Oceanic and Atmos21 pheric Research $173,250,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

22 $173,250,000 for fiscal year 2001, to remain available

23 until expended.

24 (2) CLIMATE AND AIR QUALITY RESEARCH.—Of

25 the amounts authorized under paragraph (1),
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1 $126,200,000 for fiscal year 2000 and $126,200,000

2 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for Climate and Air

3 Quality Research, of which—

4 (A) $16,900,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

5 $16,900,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for

6 Interannual and Seasonal Climate Research;

7 (B) $34,600,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

8 $34,600,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for

9 Long-Term Climate and Air Quality Research;

10 (C) $69,700,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

11 $69,700,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for Cli12 mate and Global Change; and

13 (D) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

14 $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for Glob15 al Learning and Observations to Benefit the En16 vironment (GLOBE).

17 (3) ATMOSPHERIC PROGRAMS.—Of the amounts

18 authorized under paragraph (1), $47,050,000 for fis19 cal year 2000 and $47,050,000 for fiscal year 2001

20 shall be for Atmospheric Programs, of which—

21 (A) $36,600,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

22 $36,600,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for

23 Weather Research;
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1 (B) $4,350,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

2 $4,350,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for Wind

3 Profiler; and

4 (C) $6,100,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

5 $6,100,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for

6 Solar-Terrestrial Services and Research.

7 (b) PROCUREMENT, ACQUISITION, AND CONSTRUC8 TION.—There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec9 retary to enable the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad10 ministration to carry out the Atmospheric Research Pro11 curement, Acquisition, and Construction environmental re12 search and development activities of the Office of Oceanic

13 and Atmospheric Research $10,040,000 for fiscal year 2000

14 and $14,160,000 for fiscal year 2001, to remain available

15 until expended. Of such amounts—

16 (1) $5,700,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

17 $8,000,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for the Geo18 physical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory Supercomputer;

19 and

20 (2) $4,340,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

21 $6,160,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for the Ad22 vanced Composition Explorer (ACE) Follow-On Sat23 ellite/GEOSTORM.
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1 SEC. 5. NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL SATELLITE, DATA AND

2 INFORMATION SERVICE.

3 (a) OPERATIONS, RESEARCH, AND FACILITIES.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be ap5 propriated to the Secretary to enable the National

6 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to carry

7 out the Operations, Research, and Facilities environ8 mental research and development and related activi9 ties of the National Environmental Satellite, Data

10 and Information Service $103,092,000 for fiscal year

11 2000 and $103,092,000 for fiscal year 2001, to re12 main available until expended.

13 (2) SATELLITE OBSERVING SYSTEMS.—Of the

14 amounts authorized under paragraph (1),

15 $59,236,000 for fiscal year 2000 and $59,236,000 for

16 fiscal year 2001 shall be for Satellite Observing Sys17 tems, of which—

18 (A) $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

19 $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for Glob20 al Disaster Information Network (GDIN);

21 (B) $4,000,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

22 $4,000,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for

23 Ocean Remote Sensing; and

24 (C) $53,236,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

25 $53,236,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for En26 vironmental Observing Services.
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1 (3) ENVIRONMENTAL DATA MANAGEMENT SYS2 TEMS.—Of the amounts authorized under paragraph

3 (1), $43,856,000 for fiscal year 2000 and $43,856,000

4 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for Environmental Data

5 Management Systems, of which—

6 (A) $31,521,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

7 $31,521,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for

8 Data and Information Services; and

9 (B) $12,335,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

10 $12,335,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for En11 vironmental Data Systems Modernization.

12 (b) PROCUREMENT, ACQUISITION, AND CONSTRUC13 TION.—

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be ap15 propriated to the Secretary to enable the National

16 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to carry

17 out the Procurement, Acquisition, and Construction

18 environmental research and development and related

19 activities of the National Environmental Satellite,

20 Data and Information Service $413,657,000 for fiscal

21 year 2000 and $476,183,000 for fiscal year 2001, to

22 remain available until expended.

23 (2) SYSTEMS ACQUISITION.—Of the amounts au24 thorized under paragraph (1), $410,612,000 for fiscal
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1 year 2000 and $473,803,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall

2 be for Systems Acquisition, of which—

3 (A) $140,979,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

4 $114,594,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for the

5 procurement and launch of, and supporting

6 ground systems for, Polar Orbiting Environ7 mental Satellites (POES), K, L, M, N, and N′;

8 (B) $80,100,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

9 $113,600,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for the

10 procurement and launch of, and supporting

11 ground systems for, the National Polar-Orbiting

12 Operational Environmental Satellite System

13 (NPOESS); and

14 (C) $189,533,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

15 $245,609,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for the

16 procurement and launch of, and supporting

17 ground systems for, Geostationary Operational

18 Environmental NEXT follow-on Satellites

19 (GOES N–Q).

20 (3) CONSTRUCTION.—Of the amounts authorized

21 under paragraph (1), $3,045,000 for fiscal year 2000

22 and $2,380,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for Na23 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Op24 erations Center Rehabilitation Construction.
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1 SEC. 6. FACILITIES.

2 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec3 retary to enable the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad4 ministration to carry out the Operations, Research, and

5 Facilities environmental research and development and re6 lated activities required to meet recurring facilities oper7 ations costs associated with the David Skaggs Research

8 Center in Boulder, Colorado, $3,850,000 for fiscal year

9 2000 and $3,850,000 for fiscal year 2001.

10 SEC. 7. ELIGIBILITY FOR AWARDS.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall exclude

12 from consideration for grant agreements made after fiscal

13 year 1999 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad14 ministration, under the activities for which funds are au15 thorized under this Act, any person who received funds,

16 other than those described in subsection (b), appropriated

17 for a fiscal year after fiscal year 1999, under a grant agree18 ment from any Federal funding source for a project that

19 was not subjected to a competitive, merit-based award proc20 ess, except as specifically authorized by this Act. Any exclu21 sion from consideration pursuant to this section shall be

22 effective for a period of 5 years after the person receives

23 such Federal funds.

24 (b) EXCEPTION.—Subsection (a) shall not apply to the

25 receipt of Federal funds by a person due to the membership

26 of that person in a class specified by law for which assist-
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1 ance is awarded to members of the class according to a for2 mula provided by law.

3 (c) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the

4 term ‘‘grant agreement’’ means a legal instrument whose

5 principal purpose is to transfer a thing of value to the re6 cipient to carry out a public purpose of support or stimula7 tion authorized by a law of the United States, and does

8 not include the acquisition (by purchase, lease, or barter)

9 of property or services for the direct benefit or use of the

10 United States Government. Such term does not include a

11 cooperative agreement (as such term is used in section 6305

12 of title 31, United States Code) or a cooperative research

13 and development agreement (as such term is defined in sec14 tion 12(d)(1) of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innova15 tion Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3710a(d)(1))).

16 SEC. 8. INTERNET AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION.

17 The Administrator shall make available through the

18 Internet home page of the National Oceanic and Atmos19 pheric Administration the abstracts relating to all research

20 grants and awards made with funds authorized by this Act.

21 Nothing in this section shall be construed to require or per22 mit the release of any information prohibited by law or reg23 ulation from being released to the public.