I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 268
To authorize appropriations for the United States Weather Research 
Program, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 8, 2003
Mr. EHLERS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Science 
A BILL 
To authorize appropriations for the United States Weather 
Research Program, 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 ‘‘United States Weather 
Research Program Act of 2003’’. 
SEC. 2. PROGRAM FOCUS. 
The focus of the United States Weather Research 
Program, an interagency program established under sec-
tion 108 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin-
istration Authorization Act of 1992 (15 U.S.C. 313 note), 
shall be on—
(1) hurricanes, floods, and heavy precipitation, 
including both snow and rain; 
(2) building on existing investments, including 
those of the National Weather Service modernization 
effort, to dramatically accelerate improvement in 
weather forecasts; 
(3) providing attention and resources in areas 
where progress can be made quickly and where the 
impact will be greatest; 
(4) establishing goals that can be attained by 
leveraging the resources of several agencies and 
through the collaborative scientific efforts of the 
operational and research communities in academia 
and government; and 
(5) making research grants to universities and 
other research institutions. 
SEC. 3. PROGRAM RESEARCH PRIORITIES. 
The research priorities of the United States Weather 
Research Program shall be in the areas of—
(1) hurricanes, to improve—
(A) landfall location forecasts; and 
(B) forecasts of hurricane strength;
(2) heavy precipitation, to improve forecasts of 
both winter storms and rain storms through better 
prediction of timing, location, and intensity; 
(3) floods, to improve—
(A) flood forecasting by coupling precipita-
tion forecasts with hydrologic prediction; and 
(B) forecasting and warning systems for 
inland flooding related to tropical cyclones; 
(4) two-to-fourteen day forecasting, to—
(A) improve short and medium range nu-
merical weather predictions and warnings of 
high-impact weather events; 
(B) conduct the Hemispheric Observing 
System Research and Predictability Experiment 
(THORpex) to fill observational gaps in the 
Northern Hemisphere; and 
(C) test and evaluate advanced data as-
similation techniques in global models; 
(5) societal and economic impacts, to—
(A) identify methods of delivering weather 
information effectively and recommend ways to 
improve weather communications; 
(B) assess social and economic impacts of 
adverse weather ranging from disastrous to rou-
tine;
(C) evaluate what weather information is 
most useful to public and private decision mak-
ers; and 
(D) perform research on societal and eco-
nomic impact to ensure a connection between 
weather research and improvement of the 
human condition; and 
(6) testing research concepts at United States 
Weather Research Program-sponsored test bed cen-
ters in an environment identical to those used by 
operational meteorologists, to enable technology 
transfer to those operational meteorologists. 
SEC. 4. INTERAGENCY PLANNING AND PROCESS. 
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra-
tion, as the lead agency of the United States Weather Re-
search Program, shall coordinate and consult with the Na-
tional Science Foundation, the National Aeronautics and 
Space Administration, other appropriate Federal agencies, 
and other appropriate entities to develop, and annually up-
date, a five-year plan—
(1) describing how Federal agencies can best 
team with universities and other research institu-
tions; 
(2) identifying social, economic, and military 
needs and requirements for weather information, as
well as defining the research required to meet these 
needs; 
(3) outlining methods for dissemination of 
weather information to user communities; and 
(4) describing best practices for transferring 
United States Weather Research Program research 
results to forecasting operations. 
SEC. 5. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 
Not later than one year after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Adminis-
trator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis-
tration shall transmit to the Committee on Science of the 
House of Representatives and the Committee on Com-
merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 
which shall include—
(1) the most recent five-year plan developed or 
updated under section 4, including the roles and 
funding to be provided by various Federal agencies 
in achieving the objectives of the plan; 
(2) a justification of any changes to the plan 
since the last transmittal under this section; and 
(3) a detailed assessment of the extent to which 
the objectives of the plan have been achieved.
SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Office 
of Atmospheric Research of the National Oceanic and At-
mospheric Administration for carrying out this Act—
(1) for fiscal year 2004, $15,000,000, of which 
at least 50 percent shall be for competitive, merit-
reviewed grants to, or contracts or cooperative 
agreements with, institutions of higher education (as 
defined in section 101 of the Higher Education Act 
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)); 
(2) for fiscal year 2005, $15,500,000, of which 
at least 50 percent shall be for competitive, merit-
reviewed grants to, or contracts or cooperative 
agreements with, institutions of higher education (as 
defined in section 101 of the Higher Education Act 
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)); and 
(3) for fiscal year 2006, $16,000,000, of which 
at least 50 percent shall be for competitive, merit-
reviewed grants to, or contracts or cooperative 
agreements with, institutions of higher education (as 
defined in section 101 of the Higher Education Act 
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)).
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