IB 
Union Calendar No. 376 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 906 
[Report No. 110–605, Part I] 
To promote and coordinate global change research, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 7, 2007 
Mr. UDALL of Colorado (for himself and Mr. INGLIS of South Carolina) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science 
and Technology, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, 
for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 
for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
committee concerned 
APRIL 24, 2008 
Additional sponsors: Ms. GIFFORDS, Mr. LANTOS, Mr. GILCHREST, Mr. INS-
LEE, Mr. JONES of North Carolina, Mr. GORDON of Tennessee, Mr. 
BARTLETT of Maryland, Mr. EHLERS, Mr. MILLER of North Carolina, 
Mr. WU, and Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas 
APRIL 24, 2008 
Reported from the Committee on Science and Technology with an amendment 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
APRIL 24, 2008 
Committee on Foreign Affairs discharged; committed to the Committee of the 
Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed 
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[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on February 7, 2007] 
A BILL 
To promote and coordinate global change research, and for 
other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Global Change Research 
and Data Management Act of 2007’’. 
TITLE I—GLOBAL CHANGE 
RESEARCH 
SEC. 101. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress makes the following 
findings: 
(1) Industrial, agricultural, and other human 
activities, coupled with an expanding world popu-
lation, are contributing to processes of global change 
that are significantly altering the Earth habitat. 
(2) Such human-induced changes, in conjunction 
with natural fluctuations, may lead to significant al-
terations of world climate patterns. Over the next cen-
tury, these changes could adversely affect world agri-
cultural and marine production, coastal habitability, 
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biological diversity, human health, global social and 
political stability, and global economic activity. 
(3) Developments in interdisciplinary Earth 
sciences, global observing systems, and satellite and 
computing technologies make possible significant sci-
entific understanding of global changes and their ef-
fects, and have resulted in the significant expansion 
of environmental data and information. 
(4) Development of effective policies to prevent, 
mitigate, and adapt to global change will rely on im-
provement in scientific understanding of global envi-
ronmental processes and on development of informa-
tion that is of use to decisionmakers at the local, re-
gional, and national levels. 
(5) Although the United States Global Change 
Research Program has made significant contributions 
to understanding Earth’s climate and the anthropo-
genic influences on Earth’s climate and its eco-
systems, the Program now needs to produce more in-
formation to meet the expressed needs of decision-
makers. 
(6) Predictions of future climate conditions for 
specific regions have considerable uncertainty and are 
unlikely to be confirmed in a time period necessary 
to inform decisions on land, water, and resource man-
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agement. However, improved understanding of global 
change should be used to assist decisionmakers in the 
development of policies to ensure that ecological, so-
cial, and economic systems are resilient under a vari-
ety of plausible climate futures. 
(7) In order to most effectively meet the needs of 
decisionmakers, both the research agenda of the 
United States Global Change Research Program and 
its implementation must be informed by continuous 
feedback from documented users of information gen-
erated by the Program. 
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this title is to provide 
for the continuation and coordination of a comprehensive 
and integrated United States observation, research, and 
outreach program which will assist the Nation and the 
world to understand, assess, predict, and respond to the ef-
fects of human-induced and natural processes of global 
change. 
SEC. 102. DEFINITIONS. 
For purposes of this title— 
(1) the term ‘‘global change’’ means human-in-
duced or natural changes in the global environment 
(including alterations in climate, land productivity, 
oceans or other water resources, atmospheric chem-
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istry, biodiversity, and ecological systems) that may 
alter the capacity of the Earth to sustain life; 
(2) the term ‘‘global change research’’ means 
study, monitoring, assessment, prediction, and infor-
mation management activities to describe and under-
stand— 
(A) the interactive physical, chemical, and 
biological processes that regulate the total Earth 
system; 
(B) the unique environment that the Earth 
provides for life; 
(C) changes that are occurring in the Earth 
system; and 
(D) the manner in which such system, envi-
ronment, and changes are influenced by human 
actions; 
(3) the term ‘‘interagency committee’’ means the 
interagency committee established under section 103; 
(4) the term ‘‘Plan’’ means the National Global 
Change Research and Assessment Plan developed 
under section 105; 
(5) the term ‘‘Program’’ means the United States 
Global Change Research Program established under 
section 104; and 
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(6) the term ‘‘regional climate change’’ means 
the natural or human-induced changes manifested in 
the local or regional environment (including alter-
ations in weather patterns, land productivity, water 
resources, sea level rise, atmospheric chemistry, bio-
diversity, and ecological systems) that may alter the 
capacity of a specific region to support current or fu-
ture social and economic activity or natural eco-
systems. 
SEC. 103. INTERAGENCY COOPERATION AND COORDINA-
TION. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The President shall establish or 
designate an interagency committee to ensure cooperation 
and coordination of all Federal research activities per-
taining to processes of global change for the purpose of in-
creasing the overall effectiveness and productivity of Federal 
global change research efforts. The interagency committee 
shall include representatives of both agencies conducting 
global change research and agencies with authority over re-
sources likely to be affected by global change. 
(b) FUNCTIONS OF THE INTERAGENCY COMMITTEE.— 
The interagency committee shall— 
(1) serve as the forum for developing the Plan 
and for overseeing its implementation; 
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(2) serve as the forum for developing the vulner-
ability assessment under section 107; 
(3) ensure cooperation among Federal agencies 
with respect to global change research activities; 
(4) work with academic, State, industry, and 
other groups conducting global change research, to 
provide for periodic public and peer review of the 
Program; 
(5) cooperate with the Secretary of State in— 
(A) providing representation at inter-
national meetings and conferences on global 
change research in which the United States par-
ticipates; and 
(B) coordinating the Federal activities of 
the United States with programs of other nations 
and with international global change research 
activities; 
(6) work with appropriate Federal, State, re-
gional, and local authorities to ensure that the Pro-
gram is designed to produce information needed to 
develop policies to reduce the vulnerability of the 
United States and other regions to global change; 
(7) facilitate ongoing dialog and information ex-
change with regional, State, and local governments 
and other user communities; and 
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(8) identify additional decisionmaking groups 
that may use information generated through the Pro-
gram. 
SEC. 104. UNITED STATES GLOBAL CHANGE RESEARCH 
PROGRAM. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The President shall establish 
an interagency United States Global Change Research Pro-
gram to improve understanding of global change, to respond 
to the information needs of communities and decision-
makers, and to provide periodic assessments of the vulner-
ability of the United States and other regions to global and 
regional climate change. The Program shall be implemented 
in accordance with the Plan. 
(b) LEAD AGENCY.—The lead agency for the United 
States Global Change Research Program shall be the Office 
of Science and Technology Policy. 
(c) INTERAGENCY PROGRAM ACTIVITIES.—The Direc-
tor of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, in con-
sultation with the interagency committee, shall identify ac-
tivities included in the Plan that involve participation by 
2 or more agencies in the Program, and that do not fall 
within the current fiscal year budget allocations of those 
participating agencies, to fulfill the requirements of this 
Act. The Director of the Office of Science and Technology 
Policy shall allocate funds to the agencies to conduct the 
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identified interagency activities. Such activities may in-
clude— 
(1) development of scenarios for climate, land- 
cover change, population growth, and socioeconomic 
development; 
(2) calibration and testing of alternative re-
gional and global climate models; 
(3) identification of economic sectors and re-
gional climatic zones; and 
(4) convening regional workshops to facilitate in-
formation exchange and involvement of regional, 
State, and local decisionmakers, non-Federal experts, 
and other stakeholder groups in the activities of the 
Program. 
(d) WORKSHOPS.—The Director shall ensure that at 
least one workshop is held per year in each region identified 
by the Plan under section 105(b)(11) to facilitate informa-
tion exchange and outreach to regional, State, and local 
stakeholders as required by this Act. 
(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are 
authorized to be appropriated to the Office of Science and 
Technology Policy for carrying out this section $10,000,000 
for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2013. 
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SEC. 105. NATIONAL GLOBAL CHANGE RESEARCH AND AS-
SESSMENT PLAN. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall develop a Na-
tional Global Change Research and Assessment Plan for im-
plementation of the Program. The Plan shall contain rec-
ommendations for global change research and assessment. 
The President shall submit an outline for the development 
of the Plan to the Congress within 1 year after the date 
of enactment of this Act, and shall submit a completed Plan 
to the Congress within 3 years after the date of enactment 
of this Act. Revised Plans shall be submitted to the Congress 
at least once every 5 years thereafter. In the development 
of each Plan, the President shall conduct a formal assess-
ment process under this section to determine the needs of 
appropriate Federal, State, regional, and local authorities 
and other interested parties regarding the types of informa-
tion needed by them in developing policies to reduce soci-
ety’s vulnerability to global change and shall utilize these 
assessments, including the reviews by the National Academy 
of Sciences and the National Governors Association under 
subsections (e) and (f), in developing the Plan. 
(b) CONTENTS OF THE PLAN.—The Plan shall— 
(1) establish, for the 10-year period beginning in 
the year the Plan is submitted, the goals and prior-
ities for Federal global change research which most ef-
fectively advance scientific understanding of global 
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change and provide information of use to Federal, 
State, regional, and local authorities in the develop-
ment of policies relating to global change; 
(2) describe specific activities, including efforts 
to determine user information needs, research activi-
ties, data collection, database development, and data 
analysis requirements, development of regional sce-
narios, assessment of model predictability, assessment 
of climate change impacts, participation in inter-
national research efforts, and information manage-
ment, required to achieve such goals and priorities; 
(3) identify relevant programs and activities of 
the Federal agencies that contribute to the Program 
directly and indirectly; 
(4) set forth the role of each Federal agency in 
implementing the Plan; 
(5) consider and utilize, as appropriate, reports 
and studies conducted by Federal agencies, the Na-
tional Research Council, or other entities; 
(6) make recommendations for the coordination 
of the global change research and assessment activities 
of the United States with such activities of other na-
tions and international organizations, including— 
(A) a description of the extent and nature 
of international cooperative activities; 
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(B) bilateral and multilateral efforts to pro-
vide worldwide access to scientific data and in-
formation; and 
(C) improving participation by developing 
nations in international global change research 
and environmental data collection; 
(7) detail budget requirements for Federal global 
change research and assessment activities to be con-
ducted under the Plan; 
(8) catalog the type of information identified by 
appropriate Federal, State, regional, and local deci-
sionmakers needed to develop policies to reduce soci-
ety’s vulnerability to global change and indicate how 
the planned research will meet these decisionmakers’ 
information needs; 
(9) identify the observing systems currently em-
ployed in collecting data relevant to global and re-
gional climate change research and prioritize addi-
tional observation systems that may be needed to en-
sure adequate data collection and monitoring of glob-
al change; 
(10) describe specific activities designed to facili-
tate outreach and data and information exchange 
with regional, State, and local governments and other 
user communities; and 
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(11) identify and describe regions of the United 
States that are likely to experience similar impacts of 
global change or are likely to share similar 
vulnerabilities to global change. 
(c) RESEARCH ELEMENTS.—The Plan shall include at 
a minimum the following research elements: 
(1) Global measurements, establishing worldwide 
to regional scale observations prioritized to under-
stand global change and to meet the information 
needs of decisionmakers on all relevant spatial and 
time scales. 
(2) Information on economic, demographic, and 
technological trends that contribute to changes in the 
Earth system and that influence society’s vulner-
ability to global and regional climate change. 
(3) Development of indicators and baseline data-
bases to document global change, including changes in 
species distribution and behavior, extent of glacia-
tions, and changes in sea level. 
(4) Studies of historical changes in the Earth 
system, using evidence from the geological and fossil 
record. 
(5) Assessments of predictability using quan-
titative models of the Earth system to simulate global 
and regional environmental processes and trends. 
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(6) Focused research initiatives to understand 
the nature of and interaction among physical, chem-
ical, biological, land use, and social processes related 
to global and regional climate change. 
(7) Focused research initiatives to determine and 
then meet the information needs of appropriate Fed-
eral, State, and regional decisionmakers. 
(d) INFORMATION MANAGEMENT.—The Plan shall in-
corporate, to the extent practicable, the recommendations 
relating to data acquisition, management, integration, and 
archiving made by the interagency climate and other global 
change data management working group established under 
section 203. 
(e) NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES EVALUATION.— 
The President shall enter into an agreement with the Na-
tional Academy of Sciences under which the Academy 
shall— 
(1) evaluate the scientific content of the Plan; 
and 
(2) recommend priorities for future global and 
regional climate change research and assessment. 
(f) NATIONAL
GOVERNORS
ASSOCIATION
EVALUA-
TION.—The President shall enter into an agreement with 
the National Governors Association Center for Best Prac-
tices under which that Center shall— 
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(1) evaluate the utility to State, local, and re-
gional decisionmakers of each Plan and of the antici-
pated and actual information outputs of the Program 
for development of State, local, and regional policies 
to reduce vulnerability to global change; and 
(2) recommend priorities for future global and 
regional climate change research and assessment. 
(g) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—In developing the Plan, 
the President shall consult with representatives of academic, 
State, industry, and environmental groups. Not later than 
90 days before the President submits the Plan, or any revi-
sion thereof, to the Congress, a summary of the proposed 
Plan shall be published in the Federal Register for a public 
comment period of not less than 60 days. 
SEC. 106. BUDGET COORDINATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall provide general 
guidance to each Federal agency participating in the Pro-
gram with respect to the preparation of requests for appro-
priations for activities related to the Program. 
(b) CONSIDERATION IN PRESIDENT’S BUDGET.—The 
President shall submit, at the time of his annual budget 
request to Congress, a description of those items in each 
agency’s annual budget which are elements of the Program. 
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SEC. 107. VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT. 
(a) REQUIREMENT.—Within 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, and at least once every 5 years there-
after, the President shall submit to the Congress an assess-
ment which— 
(1) integrates, evaluates, and interprets the find-
ings of the Program and discusses the scientific uncer-
tainties associated with such findings; 
(2) analyzes current trends in global change, 
both human-induced and natural, and projects major 
trends for the subsequent 25 to 100 years; 
(3) based on indicators and baselines developed 
under section 105(c)(3), as well as other measure-
ments, analyzes changes to the natural environment, 
land and water resources, and biological diversity 
in— 
(A) major geographic regions of the United 
States; and 
(B) other continents; 
(4) analyzes the effects of global change, includ-
ing the changes described in paragraph (3), on food 
and fiber production, energy production and use, 
transportation, human health and welfare, water 
availability and coastal infrastructure, and human 
social and economic systems, including providing in-
formation about the differential impacts on specific 
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geographic regions within the United States, on peo-
ple of different income levels within those regions, and 
for rural and urban areas within those regions; and 
(5) summarizes the vulnerability of different geo-
graphic regions of the world to global change and 
analyzes the implications of global change for the 
United States, including international assistance, 
population displacement, food and resource avail-
ability, and national security. 
(b) USE OF RELATED REPORTS.—To the extent appro-
priate, the assessment produced pursuant to this section 
may coordinate with, consider, incorporate, or otherwise 
make use of related reports, assessments, or information 
produced by the United States Global Change Research Pro-
gram, regional, State, and local entities, and international 
organizations, including the World Meteorological Organi-
zation and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate 
Change. 
SEC. 108. POLICY ASSESSMENT. 
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 
this Act, and at least once every 4 years thereafter, the 
President shall enter into a joint agreement with the Na-
tional Academy of Public Administration and the National 
Academy of Sciences under which the Academies shall— 
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(1) document current policy options being imple-
mented by Federal, State, and local governments to 
mitigate or adapt to the effects of global and regional 
climate change; 
(2) evaluate the realized and anticipated effec-
tiveness of those current policy options in meeting 
mitigation and adaptation goals; 
(3) identify and evaluate a range of additional 
policy options and infrastructure for mitigating or 
adapting to the effects of global and regional climate 
change; 
(4) analyze the adoption rates of policies and 
technologies available to reduce the vulnerability of 
society to global change with an evaluation of the 
market and policy obstacles to their adoption in the 
United States; and 
(5) evaluate the distribution of economic costs 
and benefits of these policy options across different 
United States economic sectors. 
SEC. 109. ANNUAL REPORT. 
Each year at the time of submission to the Congress 
of the President’s budget request, the President shall submit 
to the Congress a report on the activities conducted pursu-
ant to this title, including— 
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(1) a description of the activities of the Program 
during the past fiscal year; 
(2) a description of the activities planned in the 
next fiscal year toward achieving the goals of the 
Plan; and 
(3) a description of the groups or categories of 
State, local, and regional decisionmakers identified as 
potential users of the information generated through 
the Program and a description of the activities used 
to facilitate consultations with and outreach to these 
groups, coordinated through the work of the inter-
agency committee. 
SEC. 110. RELATION TO OTHER AUTHORITIES. 
The President shall— 
(1) ensure that relevant research, assessment, 
and outreach activities of the National Climate Pro-
gram, established by the National Climate Program 
Act (15 U.S.C. 2901 et seq.), are considered in devel-
oping national global and regional climate change re-
search and assessment efforts; and 
(2) facilitate ongoing dialog and information ex-
change with regional, State, and local governments 
and other user communities through programs au-
thorized in the National Climate Program Act (15 
U.S.C. 2901 et seq.). 
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SEC. 111. REPEAL. 
The Global Change Research Act of 1990 (15 U.S.C. 
2921 et seq.) is repealed. 
SEC. 112. GLOBAL CHANGE RESEARCH INFORMATION. 
The President shall establish or designate a Global 
Change Research Information Exchange to make scientific 
research and other information produced through or utilized 
by the Program which would be useful in preventing, miti-
gating, or adapting to the effects of global change accessible 
through electronic means. 
SEC. 113. ICE SHEET STUDY AND REPORT. 
(a) STUDY.— 
(1) REQUIREMENT.—The Director of the Na-
tional Science Foundation and the Administrator of 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
shall enter into an arrangement with the National 
Academy of Sciences to complete a study of the cur-
rent status of ice sheet melt, as caused by climate 
change, with implications for global sea level rise. 
(2) CONTENTS.—The study shall take into con-
sideration— 
(A) the past research completed related to 
ice sheet melt as reviewed by Working Group I 
of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate 
Change; 
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(B) additional research completed since the 
fall of 2005 that was not included in the Work-
ing Group I report due to time constraints; and 
(C) the need for an accurate assessment of 
changes in ice sheet spreading, changes in ice 
sheet flow, self-lubrication, the corresponding ef-
fect on ice sheets, and current modeling capabili-
ties. 
(3) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the National Academy 
of Sciences shall transmit to the Committee on 
Science and Technology of the House of Representa-
tives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation of the Senate a report on the key find-
ings of the study conducted under subsection (a), 
along with recommendations for additional research 
related to ice sheet melt and corresponding sea level 
rise. 
SEC. 114. HURRICANE FREQUENCY AND INTENSITY STUDY 
AND REPORT. 
(a) STUDY.— 
(1) REQUIREMENT.—The Administrator of the 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
and the Director of the National Science Foundation 
shall enter into an arrangement with the National 
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Academy of Sciences to complete a study of the cur-
rent state of the science on the potential impacts of 
climate change on patterns of hurricane and typhoon 
development, including storm intensity, track, and 
frequency, and the implications for hurricane-prone 
and typhoon-prone coastal regions. 
(2) CONTENTS.—The study shall take into con-
sideration— 
(A) the past research completed related to 
hurricane and typhoon development, track, and 
intensity as reviewed by Working Groups I and 
II of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate 
Change; 
(B) additional research completed since the 
fall of 2005 that was not included in the Work-
ing Group I and II reports due to time con-
straints; 
(C) the need for accurate assessment of po-
tential changes in hurricane and typhoon inten-
sity, track, and frequency and of the current 
modeling and forecasting capabilities and the 
need for improvements in forecasting of these pa-
rameters; and 
(D) the need for additional research and 
monitoring to improve forecasting of hurricanes 
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and typhoons and to understand the relationship 
between climate change and hurricane and ty-
phoon development. 
(3) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the National Academy 
of Sciences shall transmit to the Committee on 
Science and Technology of the House of Representa-
tives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation of the Senate a report on the key find-
ings of the study conducted under subsection (a). 
TITLE II—CLIMATE AND OTHER 
GLOBAL CHANGE DATA MAN-
AGEMENT 
SEC. 201. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress makes the following 
findings: 
(1) Federal agencies have a primary mission to 
manage and archive climate and other global change 
data obtained through their research, development, or 
operational activities. 
(2) Maintenance of climate and global change 
data records is essential to present and future studies 
of the Earth’s atmosphere, biogeochemical cycles, and 
climate. 
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(3) Federal capabilities for the management and 
archiving of these data have not kept pace with ad-
vances in satellite and other observational technologies 
that have vastly expanded the type and amount of in-
formation that can be collected. 
(4) Proposals and plans for expansion of global 
observing networks should include plans for the man-
agement of data to be collected and budgets reflecting 
the cost of support for management and archiving of 
data. 
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this title are to estab-
lish climate and other global change data management and 
archiving as Federal agency missions, and to establish Fed-
eral policies for managing and archiving climate and other 
global change data. 
SEC. 202. DEFINITIONS. 
For purposes of this title— 
(1) the term ‘‘metadata’’ means information de-
scribing the content, quality, condition, and other 
characteristics of climate and other global change 
data, compiled, to the maximum extent possible, con-
sistent with the requirements of the ‘‘Content Stand-
ard for Digital Geospatial Metadata’’ (FGDC–STD– 
001–1998) issued by the Federal Geographic Data 
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Committee, or any successor standard approved by 
the working group; and 
(2) the term ‘‘working group’’ means the inter-
agency climate and other global change data manage-
ment working group established under section 203. 
SEC. 203. INTERAGENCY CLIMATE AND OTHER GLOBAL 
CHANGE 
DATA 
MANAGEMENT 
WORKING 
GROUP. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The President shall establish or 
designate an interagency climate and other global change 
data management working group to make recommendations 
for coordinating Federal climate and other global change 
data management and archiving activities. 
(b) MEMBERSHIP.—The working group shall include 
the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration, the Administrator of the National Oceanic 
and Atmospheric Administration, the Secretary of Energy, 
the Secretary of Defense, the Director of the National 
Science Foundation, the Director of the United States Geo-
logical Survey, the Archivist of the United States, the Ad-
ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the 
Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, or their designees, 
and representatives of any other Federal agencies the Presi-
dent considers appropriate. 
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(c) REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the working group shall transmit 
a report to the Congress containing the elements described 
in subsection (d). Not later than 4 years after the initial 
report under this subsection, and at least once every 4 years 
thereafter, the working group shall transmit reports updat-
ing the previous report. In preparing reports under this 
subsection, the working group shall consult with expected 
users of the data collected and archived by the Program. 
(d) CONTENTS.—The reports and updates required 
under subsection (c) shall— 
(1) include recommendations for the establish-
ment, maintenance, and accessibility of a catalog 
identifying all available climate and other global 
change data sets; 
(2) identify climate and other global change data 
collections in danger of being lost and recommend ac-
tions to prevent such loss; 
(3) identify gaps in climate and other global 
change data and recommend actions to fill those gaps; 
(4) identify effective and compatible procedures 
for climate and other global change data collection, 
management, and retention and make recommenda-
tions for ensuring their use by Federal agencies and 
other appropriate entities; 
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(5) develop and propose a coordinated strategy 
for funding and allocating responsibilities among 
Federal agencies for climate and other global change 
data collection, management, and retention; 
(6) make recommendations for ensuring that 
particular attention is paid to the collection, manage-
ment, and archiving of metadata; 
(7) make recommendations for ensuring a uni-
fied and coordinated Federal capital investment strat-
egy with respect to climate and other global change 
data collection, management, and archiving; 
(8) evaluate the data record from each observing 
system and make recommendations to ensure that de-
livered data are free from time-dependent biases and 
random errors before they are transferred to long-term 
archives; and 
(9) evaluate optimal design of observation system 
components to ensure a cost-effective, adequate set of 
observations detecting and tracking global change. 
TITLE III—INTERNATIONAL CO-
OPERATION 
IN 
GLOBAL 
CHANGE RESEARCH 
SEC. 301. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress makes the following 
findings: 
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(1) Pooling of international resources and sci-
entific capabilities will be essential to a successful 
international global change program. 
(2) While international scientific planning is al-
ready underway, there is currently no comprehensive 
intergovernmental mechanism for planning, coordi-
nating, or implementing research to understand glob-
al change and to mitigate possible adverse effects. 
(3) An international global change research pro-
gram will be important in building future consensus 
on methods for reducing global environmental deg-
radation. 
(4) The United States, as a world leader in envi-
ronmental and Earth sciences, should help provide 
leadership in developing and implementing an inter-
national global change research program. 
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this title are to— 
(1) promote international, intergovernmental co-
operation on global change research; 
(2) involve scientists and policymakers from de-
veloping nations in such cooperative global change re-
search programs; and 
(3) promote international efforts to provide tech-
nical and other assistance to developing nations 
which will facilitate improvements in their domestic 
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standard of living while minimizing damage to the 
global or regional environment. 
SEC. 302. INTERNATIONAL DISCUSSIONS. 
(a) GLOBAL CHANGE RESEARCH.—The President shall 
direct the Secretary of State to initiate discussions with 
other nations leading toward international protocols and 
other agreements to coordinate global change research ac-
tivities. Such discussions should include the following 
issues: 
(1) Allocation of costs in global change research 
programs, especially with respect to major capital 
projects. 
(2) Coordination of global change research plans 
with those developed by international organizations 
such as the International Council on Scientific 
Unions, the World Meteorological Organization, and 
the United Nations Environment Program. 
(3) Establishment of global change research cen-
ters and training programs for scientists, especially 
those from developing nations. 
(4) Development of innovative methods for man-
agement of international global change research, in-
cluding the use of new or existing intergovernmental 
organizations for the coordination or funding of glob-
al change research. 
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(5) Establishment of international offices to dis-
seminate information useful in identifying, pre-
venting, mitigating, or adapting to the possible effects 
of global change. 
(b) ENERGY RESEARCH.—The President shall direct 
the Secretary of State (in cooperation with the Secretary 
of Energy, the Secretary of Commerce, the United States 
Trade Representative, and other appropriate Federal 
agents) to initiate discussions with other nations leading 
toward an international research protocol for cooperation 
on the development of energy technologies which have mini-
mally adverse effects on the environment. Such discussions 
should include the following issues: 
(1) Creation of an international cooperative pro-
gram to fund research related to energy efficiency and 
conservation, solar and other renewable energy 
sources, and passively safe and diversion-resistant nu-
clear reactors. 
(2) Creation of an international cooperative pro-
gram to develop low-cost energy technologies which 
are appropriate to the environmental, economic, and 
social needs of developing nations. 
(3) Exchange of information concerning environ-
mentally safe energy technologies and practices, in-
cluding those described in paragraphs (1) and (2). 
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Union Calendar No. 376 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 906 
[Report No. 110–605, Part I] 
A BILL 
To promote and coordinate global change research, 
and for other purposes. 
APRIL 24, 2008 
Reported from the Committee on Science and Technology 
with an amendment 
APRIL 24, 2008 
Committee on Foreign Affairs discharged; committed to 
the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the 
Union and ordered to be printed 
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