113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 376 

AN ACT 

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, 
2 

†S 376 ES

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

3 Act of 2013’’. 

4 SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION OF NATIONAL INTEGRATED 

5 DROUGHT INFORMATION SYSTEM. 

6 (a) SYSTEM AMENDMENTS.—Section 3 of the Na7 tional Integrated Drought Information System Act of 

8 2006 (15 U.S.C. 313d) is amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (a)— 

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

11 after ‘‘establish’’; and 

12 (B) by inserting before the period at the 

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

14 for more timely decisionmaking to reduce 

15 drought related impacts and costs’’; and 

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

17 following: 

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

19 Drought Information System shall— 

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

21 system that— 

22 ‘‘(A) collects and integrates information on 

23 the key indicators of drought and drought im24 pacts, including water supplies and soil mois25 ture, in order to make usable, reliable, and 

26 timely forecasts of drought, including assess-
3 

†S 376 ES

1 ments of the severity of drought conditions and 

2 impacts; and 

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

4 and assessments on both national and regional 

5 levels; 

6 ‘‘(2) communicate drought forecasts, drought 

7 conditions, and drought impacts on an ongoing basis 

8 to stakeholders and entities engaged in drought 

9 planning, preparedness, and management, includ10 ing— 

11 ‘‘(A) decisionmakers at the Federal, re12 gional, State, tribal, and local levels of govern13 ment; 

14 ‘‘(B) the private sector; and 

15 ‘‘(C) the public; 

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

17 products that reflect local, regional, and State dif18 ferences in drought conditions; 

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

20 Federal research and monitoring in support of a 

21 drought early warning system; 

22 ‘‘(5) build upon existing Federal, State, re23 gional, private, public, and academic forecasting and 

24 assessment programs and partnerships; and 
4 

†S 376 ES

1 ‘‘(6) continue ongoing research and monitoring 

2 activities related to drought, including research ac3 tivities relating to length, severity, and impacts of 

4 drought and the role of extreme weather events and 

5 climate variability in drought.’’. 

6 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

7 4 of such Act (15 U.S.C. 313d note) is amended— 

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

9 end; 

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

11 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

13 ‘‘(7) $12,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2014 

14 through 2018.’’. 

15 (c) REPORT.— 

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

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

18 Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and At19 mosphere shall submit to the Committee on Com20 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 

21 and the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech22 nology of the House of Representatives a report on 

23 the National Integrated Drought Information Sys24 tem. 
5 

†S 376 ES

1 (2) CONTENTS.—The report required by para2 graph (1) shall include the following: 

3 (A) An assessment of the implementation 

4 of the National Integrated Drought Information 

5 System, including an assessment of how the in6 formation, forecasts, and assessments produced 

7 by such system are utilized in drought policy 

8 planning and response activities. 

9 (B) Specific plans for continued develop10 ment of the system, including future milestones. 

11 (C) An identification of research, moni12 toring, and forecasting needs to enhance the 

13 predictive capability of drought early warnings 

14 that include— 

15 (i) the length and severity of 

16 droughts; 

17 (ii) the contribution of weather events 

18 to reducing the severity or ending drought 

19 conditions; and 

20 (iii) regionally-specific drought im21 pacts. 

22 (D) A list of partners with whom the 

23 Under Secretary collaborates to implement the 

24 National Integrated Drought Information Sys25 tem. 
6 

†S 376 ES

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. 

Passed the Senate February 3, 2014. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 376 

AN ACT 

To reauthorize the National Integrated Drought 

Information System, and for other purposes.