II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 376 

To reauthorize the National Integrated Drought Information System, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 25, 2013 

Mr. PRYOR (for himself, Mr. MORAN, Mr. THUNE, Mr. UDALL of New Mexico, 

and Mr. UDALL of Colorado) 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 2013’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION OF NATIONAL INTEGRATED 

2 DROUGHT INFORMATION SYSTEM. 

3 (a) SYSTEM AMENDMENTS.—Section 3 of the Na4 tional Integrated Drought Information System Act of 

5 2006 (15 U.S.C. 313d) is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (a)— 

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

8 after ‘‘establish’’; and 

9 (B) by inserting before the period at the 

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

11 for more timely decisionmaking to reduce 

12 drought related impacts and costs’’; and 

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

14 following: 

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

16 Drought Information System shall— 

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

18 system that— 

19 ‘‘(A) collects and integrates information on 

20 the key indicators of drought in order to make 

21 usable, reliable, and timely forecasts of drought, 

22 including assessments of the severity of drought 

23 conditions and impacts; and 

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

25 and assessments on both national and regional 

26 levels; 


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1 ‘‘(2) communicate drought forecasts, drought 

2 conditions, and drought impacts on an ongoing basis 

3 to— 

4 ‘‘(A) decisionmakers at the Federal, re5 gional, State, tribal, and local levels of govern6 ment; 

7 ‘‘(B) the private sector; and 

8 ‘‘(C) the public; 

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

10 products that reflect local, regional, and State dif11 ferences in drought conditions; 

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

13 Federal research in support of a drought early warn14 ing system; 

15 ‘‘(5) build upon existing forecasting and assess16 ment programs and partnerships, such as partner17 ships with— 

18 ‘‘(A) the Regional Integrated Sciences and 

19 Assessments program of the National Oceanic 

20 and Atmospheric Administration; 

21 ‘‘(B) Cooperative Extension System offices 

22 of the Department of Agriculture; 

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

24 Agriculture; 


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

2 the Department of Agriculture; 

3 ‘‘(E) the Farm Service Agency; and 

4 ‘‘(F) other Federal agencies or depart5 ments that monitor and disseminate weather 

6 and climate information; and 

7 ‘‘(6) continue ongoing research activities related 

8 to drought, including research activities relating to 

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

10 of extreme weather events and climate variability in 

11 drought.’’. 

12 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

13 4 of such Act (15 U.S.C. 313d note) is amended— 

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

15 end; 

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

17 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

19 ‘‘(7) $14,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2014 

20 through 2018.’’. 

21 (c) REPORT.— 

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

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

24 Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and At25 mosphere shall submit to the Committee on ComVerDate Mar 15 2010 06:29 Feb 28, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S376.IS S376

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1 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 

2 and the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech3 nology of the House of Representatives a report on 

4 the National Integrated Drought Information Sys5 tem. 

6 (2) CONTENTS.—The report required by para7 graph (1) shall include the following: 

8 (A) An assessment of the implementation 

9 of the National Integrated Drought Information 

10 System, including an assessment of how the in11 formation, forecasts, and assessments produced 

12 by such system are utilized in drought policy 

13 planning and response activities. 

14 (B) Specific plans for continued develop15 ment of the system, including future milestones. 

16 (C) An identification of research, moni17 toring, and forecasting needs to enhance the 

18 predictive capability of— 

19 (i) drought early warnings; 

20 (ii) the length and severity of 

21 droughts; and 

22 (iii) the contribution of weather events 

23 to reducing the severity or ending drought 

24 conditions. 


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

2 with whom the Under Secretary collaborates to 

3 implement the National Integrated Drought In4 formation System. 

5 (E) A description of the outreach activities 

6 conducted by the Under Secretary regarding 

7 the National Integrated Drought Information 

8 System. 

9 (3) CONSULTATION.—In developing the report 

10 required by paragraph (1), the Under Secretary 

11 shall consult with relevant Federal, regional, State, 

12 tribal, and local government agencies, research insti13 tutions, and the private sector. 

Æ 


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