I 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2531 
To improve United States hurricane forecasting, monitoring, and warning 
capabilities, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 24, 2007 
Mr. MELANCON (for himself and Mr. KLEIN of Florida) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science and Technology 
A BILL 
To improve United States hurricane forecasting, monitoring, 
and warning capabilities, 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 ‘‘Improved Hurricane 
Tracking and Forecasting Act of 2007’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) Scatterometers on satellites are state-of-the- 
art radar instruments which operate by transmitting 
high-frequency microwave pulses to the ocean sur-
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face and measuring echoed radar pulses bounced 
back to the satellite. 
(2) Scatterometers can acquire hundreds of 
times more observations of surface wind velocity 
each day than can ships and buoys, and are the only 
remote-sensing systems able to provide continuous, 
accurate and high-resolution measurements of both 
wind speeds and direction regardless of weather con-
ditions. 
(3) 
The 
Quick 
Scatterometer 
satellite 
(QuikSCAT) is an ocean-observing satellite launched 
on June 19, 1999, to replace the capability of the 
National Aeronautics and Space Administration 
Scatterometer (NSCAT), an instrument which lost 
power in 1997, 9 months after launch in September 
1996. 
(4) The QuikSCAT satellite has the operational 
objective of improving weather forecasts near coast-
lines by using wind data in numerical weather-and- 
wave prediction, as well as improve hurricane warn-
ing and monitoring and acting as the next ‘‘El Nin˜o 
watcher’’ for the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration. 
(5) The QuikSCAT satellite was built in just 12 
months and was launched with a 3-year design life, 
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but continues to perform per specifications, with its 
backup transmitter, as it enters into its 8th year— 
5 years past its projected lifespan. 
(6) The QuikSCAT satellite provides daily cov-
erage of 90 percent of the world’s oceans, and its 
data has been a vital contribution to National 
Weather Service forecasts and warnings over water 
since 2000. 
(7) Despite its continuing performance, the 
QuikSCAT satellite is well beyond its expected de-
sign life and a replacement is urgently needed be-
cause, according to the National Hurricane Center. 
Without the QuikSCAT satellite— 
(A) hurricane forecasting would be— 
(i) 16 percent less accurate 72 hours 
before hurricane landfall, and therefore the 
area expected to be under hurricane dan-
ger would rise from 197 miles to 228 miles 
on average; and 
(ii) 10 percent less accurate 48 hours 
before hurricane landfall, and therefore the 
area expected to be under hurricane dan-
ger would rise from 136 miles to 150 miles 
on average; and 
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