I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5994 
To require the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere 
to identify a consistent, Federal set of best available forward-looking 
meteorological information and to require the Director of the National 
Institute of Standards and Technology to convene an effort to make 
such set available, with advice and technical assistance, to standards- 
developing organizations, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 27, 2020 
Mr. CARTWRIGHT (for himself, Mrs. FLETCHER, Mr. BACON, Mr. GAETZ, Mr. 
LYNCH, Mr. SOTO, Ms. DELBENE, Mr. KILMER, Mr. LIPINSKI, and Mr. 
FITZPATRICK) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 
A BILL 
To require the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans 
and Atmosphere to identify a consistent, Federal set 
of best available forward-looking meteorological informa-
tion and to require the Director of the National Institute 
of Standards and Technology to convene an effort to 
make such set available, with advice and technical assist-
ance, to standards-developing organizations, and for 
other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Built to Last Act of 
2020’’. 
SEC. 2. IDENTIFICATION AND DISSEMINATION OF CON-
SISTENT, FEDERAL SET OF BEST AVAILABLE 
FORWARD-LOOKING 
METEOROLOGICAL 
IN-
FORMATION. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 
the Director of the National Institute of Standards 
and Technology. 
(2) UNDER
SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Under 
Secretary’’ means the Under Secretary of Commerce 
for Oceans and Atmosphere. 
(3) EXTREME WEATHER.—The term ‘‘extreme 
weather’’ includes observed or anticipated severe and 
unseasonable 
atmospheric 
conditions, 
including 
drought, heavy precipitation, hurricanes, tornadoes 
and other windstorms (including derechos), extreme 
heat, extreme cold, flooding, sustained temperatures 
or precipitation that deviate substantially from his-
torical averages, and any other weather event that 
the Under Secretary determines qualifies as extreme 
weather. 
(4) OTHER
ENVIRONMENTAL
TRENDS.—The 
term ‘‘other environmental trends’’ means wildfires, 
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coastal flooding, inland flooding, land subsidence, 
rising sea levels, and any other challenges relating to 
changes in environmental systems over time that the 
Under Secretary determines qualify as environ-
mental challenges other than extreme weather. 
(5) 
MITIGATION
FRAMEWORK
LEADERSHIP 
GROUP.—The term ‘‘Mitigation Framework Leader-
ship Group’’ means the Mitigation Framework Lead-
ership Group established pursuant to the Post- 
Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 
2006 (Public Law 109–295; 6 U.S.C. 701 note), or 
successor group. 
(6) UNITED
STATES
GLOBAL
CHANGE
RE-
SEARCH PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘United States Glob-
al Change Research Program’’ means the United 
States Global Change Research Program established 
under section 103 of the Global Change Research 
Act of 1990 (15 U.S.C. 2933). 
(7) LONG-TERM.—The term ‘‘long-term’’ shall 
have such meaning as the Director, in consultation 
with the Under Secretary, considers appropriate for 
purposes of this section. 
(b) IDENTIFICATION OF CONSISTENT, FEDERAL SET 
OF BEST AVAILABLE METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall 
identify and support research that enables, a con-
sistent, Federal set of forward-looking long-term me-
teorological information that— 
(A) models future extreme weather events, 
other environmental trends, projections, and 
up-to-date observations; and 
(B) is suitable for use under subsection 
(c). 
(2) MESOSCALE
METEOROLOGICAL
INFORMA-
TION.—When the Under Secretary determines ap-
propriate or upon request of the Director, the Under 
Secretary shall provide the Director with mesoscale 
meteorological information that is suitable for use 
under subsection (c). 
(c) ADVICE, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, AND DISSEMI-
NATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall, in con-
sultation with the Under Secretary— 
(A) make available to the public informa-
tion identified under subsection (b); 
(B) identify Federal and non-Federal ef-
forts to develop and adopt standards, building 
codes, and voluntary certifications; and 
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(C) using the best available, consistent, 
Federal set of forward-looking long-term mete-
orological information identified under sub-
section (b)— 
(i) advise and provide technical assist-
ance to organizations that develop stand-
ards, model building codes, or voluntary 
certifications in order for such organiza-
tions to appropriately incorporate forward- 
looking long-term meteorological informa-
tion into such standards, building codes, 
and voluntary certifications; and 
(ii) take appropriate steps to make in-
formation identified under subsection (b) 
available to the entities described in clause 
(i) developing such standards, model build-
ing codes, and voluntary certifications. 
(2) REQUIREMENT.—The Director shall carry 
out paragraph (1) through each of the following: 
(A) The Fire Research Center, established 
under section 16 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to 
establish the National Bureau of Standards’’, 
approved March 3, 1901 (15 U.S.C. 278f). 
(B) The National Windstorm Impact Re-
duction Program, established under section 204 
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of the National Windstorm Impact Reduction 
Act of 2004 (42 U.S.C. 15703). 
(C) Such other authorizations as the Di-
rector considers appropriate. 
(d) WORKING GROUP.—In order to identify and sup-
port research that enable information as required under 
subsection (b), the Director of the Office of Science and 
Technology Policy, in coordination with the United States 
Global Change Research Program and the Mitigation 
Framework Leadership Group, shall designate a working 
group consisting of representatives from such Federal 
agencies as the Director of the Office of Science and Tech-
nology Policy considers appropriate. 
Æ 
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