(11) Any other topic or activity the Adminis-
trator determines relevant. 
(e) NOVEL TOOLS
FOR MONITORING
AND PRE-
DICTION.—The Administrator of the National Oceanic 
and Atmospheric Administration, in consultation with the 
heads of the agencies specified in section 3, or other ap-
propriate stakeholders, including commercial partners, 
shall develop novel tools and technologies to support the 
activities of the Program and which may be applied to 
broader wildland fire research, monitoring, and mitigation 
activities, as practicable and appropriate. 
(f) EXTRAMURAL RESEARCH.—The Administrator of 
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
shall collaborate with and support the non-Federal 
wildland fire research community, which includes institu-
tions of higher education, private sector entities, non-
governmental organizations, and other relevant stake-
holders, by making funds available through competitive 
grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements. 
(g) COMMERCIAL DATA.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than one year 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Ad-
ministrator of the National Oceanic and Atmos-
pheric Administration, in consultation with the 
heads of other Federal agencies and relevant stake-
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holders, may enter into contracts with one or more 
private sector entities to obtain additional airborne 
and space-based data and observations that may en-
hance or supplement the understanding, monitoring, 
and prediction, of fire weather and fire environ-
ments, and the relevant Program activities under 
this section. 
(2) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out activities 
under paragraph (1), the Administrator of the Na-
tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall 
consult with private sector entities through the Na-
tional Advisory Committee on Wildfires under sec-
tion 4 to identify needed tools and data that can be 
best provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration satellites and are most beneficial to 
wildfire and smoke detection and monitoring. 
(h) NONDUPLICATION.—To the maximum extent 
practicable, the Administrator of the National Oceanic 
and Atmospheric Administration shall consult with the 
National Interagency Fire Center, including the Joint Fire 
Science Program, to avoid duplication of activities under 
this section and ensure the Administration’s focus on 
unique research activities best suited for transition to op-
erations. 
(i) UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS.— 
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(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Administrator of the 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
shall— 
(A) assess the role and potential benefits 
of unmanned aircraft systems to improve data 
collection in support of fire weather and fire en-
vironment modeling, meteorological observa-
tions, predictions, and forecasts; 
(B) identify objectives for testing such sys-
tems’ use for obtaining fire weather and fire en-
vironment observations, and other relevant ac-
tivities; and 
(C) transition unmanned aircraft systems 
technologies from research to operations as the 
Administrator considers appropriate. 
(2) BRIEFING.—Not later than 270 days after 
the date of enactment of the Act, the Administrator 
of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis-
tration shall brief the appropriate committees of 
Congress on the activities under paragraph (1). 
(3) PILOT
PROGRAMS.—Not later than 18 
months after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Administrator of the National Oceanic and At-
mospheric Administration may conduct pilot pro-
grams of unmanned aircraft systems for fire weather 
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and fire environment observations, including relating 
to the following: 
(A) Testing of unmanned aircraft systems 
in approximations of real-world scenarios. 
(B) Assessment of the utility of meteoro-
logical data collected from fire response and as-
sessment aircraft. 
(C) Input into appropriate models of col-
lected data to predict fire behavior, including 
coupled atmosphere and fire models. 
(D) Collection of best management prac-
tices for deployment of unmanned aircraft sys-
tems for fire weather and fire environment ob-
servations. 
(4) PROHIBITION.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—Except as provided 
under subparagraphs (B) and (C), the Adminis-
trator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration may not procure any unmanned 
aircraft system that is manufactured or assem-
bled by an entity in a foreign country of con-
cern. 
(B) EXEMPTION.—The prohibition under 
subparagraph (A) shall not apply to the Admin-
istrator of the National Oceanic and Atmos-
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pheric Administration if the Administrator de-
termines, in consultation with the Secretary of 
Homeland Security, that the procurement of an 
unmanned aircraft system is necessary for the 
sole purpose of marine or atmospheric science 
or management. 
(C) WAIVER.—The Administrator of the 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra-
tion may waive the prohibition under subpara-
graph (A) on a case-by-case basis— 
(i) with the approval of the Secretary 
of Homeland Security; and 
(ii) upon written or electronic notifica-
tion to appropriate committees of Congress 
not later than 30 days after any such waiv-
er. 
(5) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
From amounts made available for Procurement, Ac-
quisition, and Construction of the National Oceanic 
and Atmospheric Administration, there is authorized 
to be appropriated $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2024 
to carry out this section. 
(j) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) 
APPROPRIATE
COMMITTEES
OF
CON-
GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con-
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gress’’ means the Committee on Science, Space, and 
Technology and the Committee on Homeland Secu-
rity of the House of Representatives and the Com-
mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 
and the Committee on Homeland Security and Gov-
ernmental Affairs of the Senate. 
(2) CRITICAL
INFRASTRUCTURE.—The term 
‘‘critical infrastructure’’ has the meaning given such 
term in section 1016(e) of Public Law 107–56 (42 
U.S.C. 5195c(e)). 
(3) FOREIGN
COUNTRY
OF
CONCERN.—The 
term ‘‘foreign country of concern’’ has the meaning 
given such term in section 9901 of the William M. 
(Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization 
Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (15 U.S.C. 4651). 
(4) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 
term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 
meaning given such term in section 101 of the High-
er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 
(5) UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEM.—The term 
‘‘unmanned aircraft system’’ has the meaning given 
such term in section 44801 of title 49, United 
States Code. 
(6) WEATHER INDUSTRY.—The term ‘‘weather 
industry’’ has the meaning given such term in sec-
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tion 2 of the Weather Research and Forecasting In-
novation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8501). 
SEC. 3. INTERAGENCY COORDINATING COMMITTEE ON 
WILDFIRES. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the 
Office of Science and Technology Policy shall establish an 
interagency coordinating committee to be known as the 
‘‘Interagency Coordinating Committee on Wildfires’’ (in 
this section referred to as the ‘‘Committee’’). The chair 
of the Committee shall be the Administrator of the Na-
tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 
(b) PURPOSE.—The Committee shall coordinate the 
development of accurate and timely wildfire forecasting, 
detection, monitoring, and delivery of related products or 
services that best assist State and local emergency officials 
while avoiding duplication of activities. 
(c) MEMBERSHIP.—In addition to the chair, the 
Committee shall be composed of the heads or appropriate 
designees of the following program agencies: 
(1) The Federal Emergency Management Agen-
cy. 
(2) The United States Fire Administration. 
(3) The United States Forest Service. 
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(4) The National Aeronautics and Space Ad-
ministration. 
(5) The Department of the Interior. 
(6) The Department of Agriculture. 
(7) The United States Geological Survey. 
(8) The Office of Science and Technology Pol-
icy. 
(9) Any other Federal department or agency 
the Director of the Office of Science and Technology 
Policy considers appropriate. 
(d) STRATEGIC PLAN.—Not later than one year after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Committee shall 
submit to Congress a strategic plan for the Program that 
includes the following: 
(1) A description of short-term, mid-term, and 
long-term objectives to achieve the purpose specified 
in subsection (b). 
(2) A description of how agencies specified in 
subsection (c) will collaborate with stakeholders and 
take into account stakeholder needs and rec-
ommendations in developing such objectives. 
(3) A description of existing and new observa-
tional and data infrastructure needed to accomplish 
such objectives. 
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(4) A description of the role of each such agen-
cy in achieving such objectives. 
(5) Guidance regarding how the Committee’s 
recommendations are best used in climate adapta-
tion planning for Federal, State, local, Tribal, and 
territorial entities. 
(e) INTERAGENCY
AGREEMENTS.—The heads of 
agencies specified in subsection (c) may enter into one or 
more interagency agreements providing for cooperation 
and collaboration in the development of wildfire fore-
casting, detection, and monitoring tools, instruments, 
technologies, and research to accomplish the purpose de-
scribed in subsection (b). 
(f) COLLABORATION.—The head of each agency spec-
ified in subsection (c) shall, to the extent practicable, in-
crease engagement and cooperation with international, 
academic, State, and local communities regarding the in-
frastructure, data, and scientific research necessary to 
best advance the forecasting, detection, and monitoring of 
and preparation for wildfires. 
SEC. 4. NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON WILDFIRES. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 
the submission of the strategic plan required by sec-
tion 3(d), the Director of the Office of Science and 
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Technology Policy shall establish a national advisory 
committee to be known as the ‘‘National Advisory 
Committee on Wildfires’’ (in this section referred to 
as the ‘‘Advisory Committee’’). The Advisory Com-
mittee shall consist of not fewer than seven and not 
more than 15 members who are qualified to provide 
advice regarding wildfire forecasting, detection, mon-
itoring, and delivery of related products or services, 
including from the following entities: 
(A) Research and academic institutions. 
(B) Public communication or broadcast en-
tities. 
(C) Emergency management agencies. 
(D) State, local, or Tribal governments. 
(E) The National Association of State For-
esters. 
(F) Business communities. 
(G) Other entities as designated by the Di-
rector of the Office of Science and Technology 
Policy. 
(2) PROHIBITION.—Members of the Advisory 
Committee may not be employees of the Federal 
Government. 
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