In the Senate of the United States, 
December 1, 2016. 
Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representa-
tives (H.R. 1561) entitled ‘‘An Act to improve the National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s weather research 
through a focused program of investment on affordable and 
attainable advances in observational, computing, and mod-
eling capabilities to support substantial improvement in 
weather forecasting and prediction of high impact weather 
events, to expand commercial opportunities for the provision 
of weather data, and for other purposes.’’, do pass with the 
following 
AMENDMENT: 
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following: 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 
2016’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows:
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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Definitions. 
TITLE I—UNITED STATES WEATHER RESEARCH AND FORECASTING 
IMPROVEMENT 
Sec. 101. Public safety priority. 
Sec. 102. Weather research and forecasting innovation. 
Sec. 103. Tornado warning improvement and extension program. 
Sec. 104. Hurricane forecast improvement program. 
Sec. 105. Weather research and development planning. 
Sec. 106. Observing system planning. 
Sec. 107. Observing system simulation experiments. 
Sec. 108. Annual report on computing resources prioritization. 
Sec. 109. United States Weather Research program. 
Sec. 110. Authorization of appropriations. 
TITLE II—SUBSEASONAL AND SEASONAL FORECASTING 
INNOVATION 
Sec. 201. Improving subseasonal and seasonal forecasts. 
TITLE III—WEATHER SATELLITE AND DATA INNOVATION 
Sec. 301. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellite and data 
management. 
Sec. 302. Commercial weather data. 
Sec. 303. Unnecessary duplication. 
TITLE IV—FEDERAL WEATHER COORDINATION 
Sec. 401. Environmental Information Services Working Group. 
Sec. 402. Interagency weather research and forecast innovation coordination. 
Sec. 403. Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research and National Weather 
Service exchange program. 
Sec. 404. Visiting fellows at National Weather Service. 
Sec. 405. Warning coordination meteorologists at weather forecast offices of Na-
tional Weather Service. 
Sec. 406. Improving National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration commu-
nication of hazardous weather and water events. 
Sec. 407. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Weather Ready All 
Hazards Award Program. 
Sec. 408. Department of Defense weather forecasting activities. 
Sec. 409. National Weather Service; operations and workforce analysis. 
Sec. 410. Water resources. 
Sec. 411. Report on contract positions at National Weather Service. 
Sec. 412. Weather impacts to communities and infrastructure. 
Sec. 413. Weather enterprise outreach. 
TITLE V—TSUNAMI WARNING, EDUCATION, AND RESEARCH ACT OF 
2016 
Sec. 501. Short title. 
Sec. 502. References to the Tsunami Warning and Education Act. 
Sec. 503. Expansion of purposes of Tsunami Warning and Education Act. 
Sec. 504. Modification of tsunami forecasting and warning program. 
Sec. 505. Modification of national tsunami hazard mitigation program.
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Sec. 506. Modification of tsunami research program. 
Sec. 507. Global tsunami warning and mitigation network. 
Sec. 508. Tsunami Science and Technology Advisory Panel. 
Sec. 509. Reports. 
Sec. 510. Authorization of appropriations. 
Sec. 511. Outreach responsibilities. 
Sec. 512. Repeal of duplicate provisions of law. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) SEASONAL.—The term ‘‘seasonal’’ means the 
time range between 3 months and 2 years. 
(2) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means a State, a 
territory, or possession of the United States, including 
a Commonwealth, or the District of Columbia. 
(3) SUBSEASONAL.—The term ‘‘subseasonal’’ 
means the time range between 2 weeks and 3 months. 
(4) UNDER SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Under Sec-
retary’’ means the Under Secretary of Commerce for 
Oceans and Atmosphere. 
(5) WEATHER INDUSTRY AND WEATHER ENTER-
PRISE.—The terms ‘‘weather industry’’ and ‘‘weather 
enterprise’’ are interchangeable in this Act, and in-
clude individuals and organizations from public, pri-
vate, and academic sectors that contribute to the re-
search, development, and production of weather fore-
cast products, and primary consumers of these weath-
er forecast products.
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TITLE 
I—UNITED 
STATES 
WEATHER 
RESEARCH 
AND 
FORECASTING IMPROVEMENT 
SEC. 101. PUBLIC SAFETY PRIORITY. 
In conducting research, the Under Secretary shall 
prioritize improving weather data, modeling, computing, 
forecasting, and warnings for the protection of life and 
property and for the enhancement of the national economy. 
SEC. 102. WEATHER RESEARCH AND FORECASTING INNOVA-
TION. 
(a) PROGRAM.—The Assistant Administrator for the 
Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research shall conduct 
a program to develop improved understanding of and fore-
cast capabilities for atmospheric events and their impacts, 
placing priority on developing more accurate, timely, and 
effective warnings and forecasts of high impact weather 
events that endanger life and property. 
(b) PROGRAM ELEMENTS.—The program described in 
subsection (a) shall focus on the following activities: 
(1) Improving the fundamental understanding of 
weather consistent with section 101, including the 
boundary layer and other processes affecting high im-
pact weather events. 
(2) Improving the understanding of how the pub-
lic receives, interprets, and responds to warnings and
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forecasts of high impact weather events that endanger 
life and property. 
(3) Research and development, and transfer of 
knowledge, technologies, and applications to the Na-
tional Weather Service and other appropriate agen-
cies and entities, including the United States weather 
industry and academic partners, related to— 
(A) advanced radar, radar networking tech-
nologies, and other ground-based technologies, in-
cluding those emphasizing rapid, fine-scale sens-
ing of the boundary layer and lower troposphere, 
and the use of innovative, dual-polarization, 
phased-array technologies; 
(B) aerial weather observing systems; 
(C) high performance computing and infor-
mation technology and wireless communication 
networks; 
(D) advanced numerical weather prediction 
systems and forecasting tools and techniques that 
improve the forecasting of timing, track, inten-
sity, and severity of high impact weather, in-
cluding through— 
(i) the development of more effective 
mesoscale models;
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(ii) more effective use of existing, and 
the development of new, regional and na-
tional cloud-resolving models; 
(iii) enhanced global weather models; 
and 
(iv) integrated assessment models; 
(E) quantitative assessment tools for meas-
uring the impact and value of data and observ-
ing systems, including Observing System Sim-
ulation Experiments (as described in section 
107), Observing System Experiments, and Anal-
yses of Alternatives; 
(F) atmospheric chemistry and interactions 
essential to accurately characterizing atmos-
pheric composition and predicting meteorological 
processes, including cloud microphysical, pre-
cipitation, and atmospheric electrification proc-
esses, to more effectively understand their role in 
severe weather; and 
(G) additional sources of weather data and 
information, including commercial observing 
systems. 
(4) A technology transfer initiative, carried out 
jointly and in coordination with the Director of the 
National Weather Service, and in cooperation with
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the United States weather industry and academic 
partners, to ensure continuous development and tran-
sition of the latest scientific and technological ad-
vances into operations of the National Weather Serv-
ice and to establish a process to sunset outdated and 
expensive operational methods and tools to enable 
cost-effective transfer of new methods and tools into 
operations. 
(c) EXTRAMURAL RESEARCH.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the program 
under this section, the Assistant Administrator for 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Research shall collaborate 
with and support the non-Federal weather research 
community, which includes institutions of higher edu-
cation, private entities, and nongovernmental organi-
zations, by making funds available through competi-
tive grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements. 
(2) SENSE
OF
CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 
Congress that not less than 30 percent of the funds for 
weather research and development at the Office of 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Research should be made 
available for the purpose described in paragraph (1). 
(d) ANNUAL REPORT.—Each year, concurrent with the 
annual budget request submitted by the President to Con-
gress under section 1105 of title 31, United States Code,
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for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 
the Under Secretary shall submit to Congress a description 
of current and planned activities under this section. 
SEC. 103. TORNADO WARNING IMPROVEMENT AND EXTEN-
SION PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary, in collabora-
tion with the United States weather industry and academic 
partners, shall establish a tornado warning improvement 
and extension program. 
(b) GOAL.—The goal of such program shall be to reduce 
the loss of life and economic losses from tornadoes through 
the development and extension of accurate, effective, and 
timely tornado forecasts, predictions, and warnings, includ-
ing the prediction of tornadoes beyond one hour in advance. 
(c) PROGRAM PLAN.—Not later than 180 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Assistant Adminis-
trator for Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, in coordina-
tion with the Director of the National Weather Service, shall 
develop a program plan that details the specific research, 
development, and technology transfer activities, as well as 
corresponding resources and timelines, necessary to achieve 
the program goal. 
(d) ANNUAL BUDGET FOR PLAN SUBMITTAL.—Fol-
lowing completion of the plan, the Under Secretary, acting 
through the Assistant Administrator for Oceanic and At-
† HR 1561 EAS 
mospheric Research and in coordination with the Director 
of the National Weather Service, shall, not less frequently 
than once each year, submit to Congress a proposed budget 
corresponding with the activities identified in the plan. 
SEC. 104. HURRICANE FORECAST IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary, in collabora-
tion with the United States weather industry and such aca-
demic entities as the Administrator considers appropriate, 
shall maintain a project to improve hurricane forecasting. 
(b) GOAL.—The goal of the project maintained under 
subsection (a) shall be to develop and extend accurate hurri-
cane forecasts and warnings in order to reduce loss of life, 
injury, and damage to the economy, with a focus on— 
(1) improving the prediction of rapid inten-
sification and track of hurricanes; 
(2) improving the forecast and communication of 
storm surges from hurricanes; and 
(3) incorporating risk communication research 
to create more effective watch and warning products. 
(c) PROJECT PLAN.—Not later than 1 year after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary, act-
ing through the Assistant Administrator for Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Research and in consultation with the Director 
of the National Weather Service, shall develop a plan for 
the project maintained under subsection (a) that details the
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specific research, development, and technology transfer ac-
tivities, as well as corresponding resources and timelines, 
necessary to achieve the goal set forth in subsection (b). 
SEC. 105. WEATHER RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PLAN-
NING. 
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, and not less frequently than once each year 
thereafter, the Under Secretary, acting through the Assist-
ant Administrator for Oceanic and Atmospheric Research 
and in coordination with the Director of the National 
Weather Service and the Assistant Administrator for Sat-
ellite and Information Services, shall issue a research and 
development and research to operations plan to restore and 
maintain United States leadership in numerical weather 
prediction and forecasting that— 
(1) describes the forecasting skill and technology 
goals, objectives, and progress of the National Oceanic 
and Atmospheric Administration in carrying out the 
program conducted under section 102; 
(2) identifies and prioritizes specific research 
and development activities, and performance metrics, 
weighted to meet the operational weather mission of 
the National Weather Service to achieve a weather- 
ready Nation;
† HR 1561 EAS 
(3) describes how the program will collaborate 
with stakeholders, including the United States weath-
er industry and academic partners; and 
(4) identifies, through consultation with the Na-
tional Science Foundation, the United States weather 
industry, and academic partners, research necessary 
to enhance the integration of social science knowledge 
into weather forecast and warning processes, includ-
ing to improve the communication of threat informa-
tion necessary to enable improved severe weather 
planning and decisionmaking on the part of individ-
uals and communities. 
SEC. 106. OBSERVING SYSTEM PLANNING. 
The Under Secretary shall— 
(1) develop and maintain a prioritized list of ob-
servation data requirements necessary to ensure 
weather forecasting capabilities to protect life and 
property to the maximum extent practicable; 
(2) consistent with section 107, utilize Observing 
System Simulation Experiments, Observing System 
Experiments, Analyses of Alternatives, and other ap-
propriate assessment tools to ensure continuous sys-
temic evaluations of the observing systems, data, and 
information needed to meet the requirements of para-
† HR 1561 EAS 
graph (1), including options to maximize observa-
tional capabilities and their cost-effectiveness; 
(3) identify current and potential future data 
gaps in observing capabilities related to the require-
ments listed under paragraph (1); and 
(4) determine a range of options to address gaps 
identified under paragraph (3). 
SEC. 107. OBSERVING SYSTEM SIMULATION EXPERIMENTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—In support of the requirements of 
section 106, the Assistant Administrator for Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Research shall undertake Observing System 
Simulation Experiments, or such other quantitative assess-
ments as the Assistant Administrator considers appro-
priate, to quantitatively assess the relative value and bene-
fits of observing capabilities and systems. Technical and 
scientific Observing System Simulation Experiment eval-
uations— 
(1) may include assessments of the impact of ob-
serving capabilities on— 
(A) global weather prediction; 
(B) hurricane track and intensity fore-
casting; 
(C) tornado warning lead times and accu-
racy;
† HR 1561 EAS 
(D) prediction of mid-latitude severe local 
storm outbreaks; and 
(E) prediction of storms that have the po-
tential to cause extreme precipitation and flood-
ing lasting from 6 hours to 1 week; and 
(2) shall be conducted in cooperation with other 
appropriate entities within the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration, other Federal agencies, 
the United States weather industry, and academic 
partners to ensure the technical and scientific merit 
of results from Observing System Simulation Experi-
ments or other appropriate quantitative assessment 
methodologies. 
(b) REQUIREMENTS.—Observing System Simulation 
Experiments shall quantitatively— 
(1) determine the potential impact of proposed 
space-based, suborbital, and in situ observing systems 
on analyses and forecasts, including potential im-
pacts on extreme weather events across all parts of the 
Nation; 
(2) evaluate and compare observing system de-
sign options; and 
(3) assess the relative capabilities and costs of 
various observing systems and combinations of observ-
† HR 1561 EAS 
ing systems in providing data necessary to protect life 
and property. 
(c) IMPLEMENTATION.—Observing System Simulation 
Experiments— 
(1) shall be conducted prior to the acquisition of 
major Government-owned or Government-leased oper-
ational observing systems, including polar-orbiting 
and geostationary satellite systems, with a lifecycle 
cost of more than $500,000,000; and 
(2) shall be conducted prior to the purchase of 
any major new commercially provided data with a 
lifecycle cost of more than $500,000,000. 
(d) PRIORITY OBSERVING SYSTEM SIMULATION EX-
PERIMENTS.— 
(1) GLOBAL
NAVIGATION
SATELLITE
SYSTEM 
RADIO OCCULTATION.—Not later than 30 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Assistant 
Administrator for Oceanic and Atmospheric Research 
shall complete an Observing System Simulation Ex-
periment to assess the value of data from Global 
Navigation Satellite System Radio Occultation. 
(2) GEOSTATIONARY HYPERSPECTRAL SOUNDER 
GLOBAL CONSTELLATION.—Not later than 120 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Assist-
ant Administrator for Oceanic and Atmospheric Re-
† HR 1561 EAS 
search shall complete an Observing System Simula-
tion Experiment to assess the value of data from a 
geostationary hyperspectral sounder global constella-
tion. 
(e) RESULTS.—Upon completion of all Observing Sys-
tem Simulation Experiments, the Assistant Administrator 
shall make available to the public the results an assessment 
of related private and public sector weather data sourcing 
options, including their availability, affordability, and 
cost-effectiveness. Such assessments shall be developed in ac-
cordance with section 50503 of title 51, United States Code. 
SEC. 108. ANNUAL REPORT ON COMPUTING RESOURCES 
PRIORITIZATION. 
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 
of this Act and not less frequently than once each year there-
after, the Under Secretary, acting through the Chief Infor-
mation Officer of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration and in coordination with the Assistant Ad-
ministrator for Oceanic and Atmospheric Research and the 
Director of the National Weather Service, shall produce and 
make publicly available a report that explains how the 
Under Secretary intends— 
(1) to continually support upgrades to pursue 
the fastest, most powerful, and cost-effective high per-
† HR 1561 EAS 
formance computing technologies in support of its 
weather prediction mission; 
(2) to ensure a balance between the research to 
operations requirements to develop the next genera-
tion of regional and global models as well as highly 
reliable operational models; 
(3) to take advantage of advanced development 
concepts to, as appropriate, make next generation 
weather prediction models available in beta-test mode 
to operational forecasters, the United States weather 
industry, and partners in academic and Government 
research; and 
(4) to use existing computing resources to im-
prove advanced research and operational weather pre-
diction. 
SEC. 109. UNITED STATES WEATHER RESEARCH PROGRAM. 
Section 108 of the Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis-
tration Authorization Act of 1992 (Public Law 102–567; 
15 U.S.C. 313 note) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 
and inserting a semicolon; 
(B) in paragraph (4), by striking the period 
at the end and inserting a semicolon; and
† HR 1561 EAS 
(C) by inserting after paragraph (4) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(5) submit to the Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the 
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 
House of Representatives, not less frequently than 
once each year, a report, including— 
‘‘(A) a list of ongoing research projects; 
‘‘(B) project goals and a point of contact for 
each project; 
‘‘(C) the 5 projects related to weather obser-
vations, short-term weather, or subseasonal fore-
casts within Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Research that are closest to operationalization, 
‘‘(D) for each project referred to in subpara-
graph (C)— 
‘‘(i) the potential benefit; 
‘‘(ii) any barrier to operationalization; 
and 
‘‘(iii) the plan for operationalization, 
including which line office will financially 
support the project and how much the line 
office intends to spend; 
‘‘(6) establish teams with staff from the Office of 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Research and the National
† HR 1561 EAS 
Weather Service to oversee the operationalization of 
research products developed by the Office of Oceanic 
and Atmospheric Research; 
‘‘(7) develop mechanisms for research priorities 
of the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research to 
be informed by the relevant line offices within the Na-
tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the 
relevant user community, and the weather enterprise; 
‘‘(8) develop an internal mechanism to track the 
progress of each research project within the Office of 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Research and mechanisms 
to terminate a project that is not adequately pro-
gressing; 
‘‘(9) develop and implement a system to track 
whether extramural research grant goals were accom-
plished; 
‘‘(10) provide facilities for products developed by 
the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research to be 
tested in operational simulations, such as test beds; 
and 
‘‘(11) encourage academic collaboration with the 
Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research and the 
National Weather Service by facilitating visiting 
scholars.’’;
† HR 1561 EAS 
(2) in subsection (b), in the matter preceding 
paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘Not later than 90 days 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the’’ and in-
serting ‘‘The’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new sub-
section: 
‘‘(c) SUBSEASONAL DEFINED.—In this section, the 
term ‘subseasonal’ means the time range between 2 weeks 
and 3 months.’’. 
SEC. 110. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
(a) FISCAL YEARS 2016 THROUGH 2018.—For each 
of fiscal years 2016 through 2018, there are authorized to 
be appropriated to Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Re-
search— 
(1) $111,516,000 to carry out this title, of 
which— 
(A) $85,758,000 is authorized for weather 
laboratories and cooperative institutes; and 
(B) $25,758,000 is authorized for weather 
and air chemistry research programs; and 
(2) an additional amount of $20,000,000 for the 
joint technology transfer initiative described in sec-
tion 102(b)(4).
† HR 1561 EAS 
(b) LIMITATION.—No additional funds are authorized 
to carry out this title and the amendments made by this 
title. 
TITLE 
II—SUBSEASONAL 
AND 
SEASONAL FORECASTING IN-
NOVATION 
SEC. 201. IMPROVING SUBSEASONAL AND SEASONAL FORE-
CASTS. 
Section 1762 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (Public 
Law 99–198; 15 U.S.C. 313 note) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘(a)’’ and in-
serting ‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—’’; 
(2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘(b)’’ and in-
serting ‘‘(b) POLICY.—’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(c) FUNCTIONS.—The Under Secretary, acting 
through the Director of the National Weather Service and 
the heads of such other programs of the National Oceanic 
and Atmospheric Administration as the Under Secretary 
considers appropriate, shall— 
‘‘(1) collect and utilize information in order to 
make usable, reliable, and timely foundational fore-
casts of subseasonal and seasonal temperature and 
precipitation;
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‘‘(2) leverage existing research and models from 
the weather enterprise to improve the forecasts under 
paragraph (1); 
‘‘(3) determine and provide information on how 
the forecasted conditions under paragraph (1) may 
impact— 
‘‘(A) the number and severity of droughts, 
fires, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, heat waves, 
coastal inundation, winter storms, high impact 
weather, or other relevant natural disasters; 
‘‘(B) snowpack; and 
‘‘(C) sea ice conditions; and 
‘‘(4) develop an Internet clearinghouse to provide 
the forecasts under paragraph (1) and the informa-
tion under paragraphs (1) and (3) on both national 
and regional levels. 
‘‘(d) COMMUNICATION.—The Director of the National 
Weather Service shall provide the forecasts under paragraph 
(1) of subsection (c) and the information on their impacts 
under paragraph (3) of such subsection to the public, in-
cluding public and private entities engaged in planning 
and preparedness, such as National Weather Service Core 
partners at the Federal, regional, State, tribal, and local 
levels of government.
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‘‘(e) COOPERATION.—The Under Secretary shall build 
upon existing forecasting and assessment programs and 
partnerships, including— 
‘‘(1) by designating research and monitoring ac-
tivities related to subseasonal and seasonal forecasts 
as a priority in 1 or more solicitations of the Cooper-
ative Institutes of the Office of Oceanic and Atmos-
pheric Research; 
‘‘(2) by contributing to the interagency Earth 
System Prediction Capability; and 
‘‘(3) by consulting with the Secretary of Defense 
and the Secretary of Homeland Security to determine 
the highest priority subseasonal and seasonal forecast 
needs to enhance national security. 
‘‘(f) FORECAST COMMUNICATION COORDINATORS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall 
foster effective communication, understanding, and 
use of the forecasts by the intended users of the infor-
mation described in subsection (d). This may include 
assistance to States for forecast communication coor-
dinators to enable local interpretation and planning 
based on the information. 
‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—For each State that re-
quests assistance under this subsection, the Under 
Secretary may—
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‘‘(A) provide funds to support an indi-
vidual in that State— 
‘‘(i) to serve as a liaison among the 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin-
istration, other Federal departments and 
agencies, the weather enterprise, the State, 
and relevant interests within that State; 
and 
‘‘(ii) to receive the forecasts and infor-
mation under subsection (c) and dissemi-
nate the forecasts and information through-
out the State, including to county and trib-
al governments; and 
‘‘(B) require matching funds of at least 50 
percent, from the State, a university, a non-
governmental organization, a trade association, 
or the private sector. 
‘‘(3) LIMITATION.—Assistance to an individual 
State under this subsection shall not exceed $100,000 
in a fiscal year. 
‘‘(g) COOPERATION FROM OTHER FEDERAL AGEN-
CIES.—Each Federal department and agency shall cooper-
ate as appropriate with the Under Secretary in carrying 
out this section. 
‘‘(h) REPORTS.—
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‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months 
after the date of the enactment of the Weather Re-
search and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2016, the 
Under Secretary shall submit to the Committee on 
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 
and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 
of the House of Representatives a report, including— 
‘‘(A) an analysis of the how information 
from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad-
ministration on subseasonal and seasonal fore-
casts, as provided under subsection (c), is uti-
lized in public planning and preparedness; 
‘‘(B) specific plans and goals for the contin-
ued development of the subseasonal and seasonal 
forecasts and related products described in sub-
section (c); and 
‘‘(C) an identification of research, moni-
toring, observing, and forecasting requirements 
to meet the goals described in subparagraph (B). 
‘‘(2) CONSULTATION.—In developing the report 
under paragraph (1), the Under Secretary shall con-
sult with relevant Federal, regional, State, tribal, and 
local government agencies, research institutions, and 
the private sector. 
‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
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‘‘(1) 
FOUNDATIONAL
FORECAST.—The 
term 
‘foundational forecast’ means basic weather observa-
tion and forecast data, largely in raw form, before 
further processing is applied. 
‘‘(2) NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CORE PART-
NERS.—The term ‘National Weather Service core 
partners’ means government and nongovernment enti-
ties which are directly involved in the preparation or 
dissemination of, or discussions involving, hazardous 
weather or other emergency information put out by 
the National Weather Service. 
‘‘(3) SEASONAL.—The term ‘seasonal’ means the 
time range between 3 months and 2 years. 
‘‘(4) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means a State, a 
territory, or possession of the United States, including 
a Commonwealth, or the District of Columbia. 
‘‘(5) SUBSEASONAL.—The term ‘subseasonal’ 
means the time range between 2 weeks and 3 months. 
‘‘(6) UNDER SECRETARY.—The term ‘Under Sec-
retary’ means the Under Secretary of Commerce for 
Oceans and Atmosphere. 
‘‘(7) WEATHER INDUSTRY AND WEATHER ENTER-
PRISE.—The terms ‘weather industry’ and ‘weather 
enterprise’ are interchangeable in this section and in-
clude individuals and organizations from public, pri-
† HR 1561 EAS 
vate, and academic sectors that contribute to the re-
search, development, and production of weather fore-
cast products, and primary consumers of these weath-
er forecast products. 
‘‘(j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For each 
of fiscal years 2016 through 2018, there are authorized out 
of funds appropriated to the National Weather Service, 
$26,500,000 to carry out the activities of this section.’’. 
TITLE III—WEATHER SATELLITE 
AND DATA INNOVATION 
SEC. 301. NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINIS-
TRATION SATELLITE AND DATA MANAGE-
MENT. 
(a) SHORT-TERM MANAGEMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL 
OBSERVATIONS.— 
(1) MICROSATELLITE CONSTELLATIONS.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Under Secretary 
shall complete and operationalize the Constella-
tion 
Observing 
System 
for 
Meteorology, 
Ionosphere, and Climate-1 and Climate-2 (COS-
MIC) in effect on the day before the date of the 
enactment of this Act— 
(i) by deploying constellations of 
microsatellites in both the equatorial and 
polar orbits;
† HR 1561 EAS 
(ii) by integrating the resulting data 
and research into all national operational 
and research weather forecast models; and 
(iii) by ensuring that the resulting 
data of National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration’s COSMIC–1 and COS-
MIC–2 programs are free and open to all 
communities. 
(B) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not less frequently 
than once each year until the Under Secretary 
has completed and operationalized the program 
described in subparagraph (A) pursuant to such 
subparagraph, the Under Secretary shall submit 
to Congress a report on the status of the efforts 
of the Under Secretary to carry out such sub-
paragraph. 
(2) INTEGRATION OF OCEAN AND COASTAL DATA 
FROM
THE
INTEGRATED
OCEAN
OBSERVING
SYS-
TEM.—In National Weather Service Regions where 
the Director of the National Weather Service deter-
mines that ocean and coastal data would improve 
forecasts, the Director, in consultation with the Assist-
ant Administrator for Oceanic and Atmospheric Re-
search and the Assistant Administrator of the Na-
tional Ocean Service, shall—
† HR 1561 EAS 
(A) integrate additional coastal and ocean 
observations, and other data and research, from 
the Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) 
into regional weather forecasts to improve weath-
er forecasts and forecasting decision support sys-
tems; and 
(B) support the development of real-time 
data sharing products and forecast products in 
collaboration with the regional associations of 
such system, including contributions from the 
private sector, academia, and research institu-
tions to ensure timely and accurate use of ocean 
and coastal data in regional forecasts. 
(3) EXISTING
MONITORING
AND
OBSERVATION- 
CAPABILITY.—The Under Secretary shall identify deg-
radation of existing monitoring and observation ca-
pabilities that could lead to a reduction in forecast 
quality. 
(4) SPECIFICATIONS FOR NEW SATELLITE SYS-
TEMS
OR
DATA
DETERMINED
BY
OPERATIONAL 
NEEDS.—In developing specifications for any satellite 
systems or data to follow the Joint Polar Satellite 
System, Geostationary Operational Environmental 
Satellites, and any other satellites, in effect on the 
day before the date of enactment of this Act, the
† HR 1561 EAS 
Under Secretary shall ensure the specifications are 
determined to the extent practicable by the rec-
ommendations of the reports under subsection (b) of 
this section. 
(b) INDEPENDENT STUDY ON FUTURE OF NATIONAL 
OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION SATELLITE 
SYSTEMS AND DATA.— 
(1) AGREEMENT.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Under Secretary 
shall seek to enter into an agreement with the 
National Academy of Sciences to perform the 
services covered by this subsection. 
(B) TIMING.—The Under Secretary shall 
seek to enter into the agreement described in sub-
paragraph (A) before September 30, 2018. 
(2) STUDY.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Under an agreement be-
tween the Under Secretary and the National 
Academy of Sciences under this subsection, the 
National Academy of Sciences shall conduct a 
study on matters concerning future satellite data 
needs. 
(B) ELEMENTS.—In conducting the study 
under subparagraph (A), the National Academy 
of Sciences shall—
† HR 1561 EAS 
(i) develop recommendations on how to 
make the data portfolio of the Administra-
tion more robust and cost-effective; 
(ii) assess the costs and benefits of 
moving toward a constellation of many 
small satellites, standardizing satellite bus 
design, relying more on the purchasing of 
data, or acquiring data from other sources 
or methods; 
(iii) identify the environmental obser-
vations that are essential to the performance 
of weather models, based on an assessment 
of Federal, academic, and private sector 
weather research, and the cost of obtaining 
the environmental data; 
(iv) identify environmental observa-
tions that improve the quality of oper-
ational and research weather models in ef-
fect on the day before the date of enactment 
of this Act; 
(v) identify and prioritize new envi-
ronmental observations that could con-
tribute to existing and future weather mod-
els; and
† HR 1561 EAS 
(vi) develop recommendations on a 
portfolio of environmental observations that 
balances essential, quality-improving, and 
new data, private and nonprivate sources, 
and space-based and Earth-based sources. 
(C) DEADLINE AND REPORT.—In carrying 
out the study under subparagraph (A), the Na-
tional Academy of Sciences shall complete and 
transmit to the Under Secretary a report con-
taining the findings of the National Academy of 
Sciences with respect to the study not later than 
2 years after the date on which the Adminis-
trator enters into an agreement with the Na-
tional Academy of Sciences under paragraph 
(1)(A). 
(3) ALTERNATE ORGANIZATION.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—If the Under Secretary 
is unable within the period prescribed in sub-
paragraph (B) of paragraph (1) to enter into an 
agreement described in subparagraph (A) of such 
paragraph with the National Academy of 
Sciences on terms acceptable to the Under Sec-
retary, the Under Secretary shall seek to enter 
into such an agreement with another appro-
priate organization that—
† HR 1561 EAS 
(i) is not part of the Federal Govern-
ment; 
(ii) operates as a not-for-profit entity; 
and 
(iii) has expertise and objectivity com-
parable to that of the National Academy of 
Sciences. 
(B) TREATMENT.—If the Under Secretary 
enters into an agreement with another organiza-
tion as described in subparagraph (A), any ref-
erence in this subsection to the National Acad-
emy of Sciences shall be treated as a reference to 
the other organization. 
(4) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
There are authorized to be appropriated, out of funds 
appropriated to National Environmental Satellite, 
Data, and Information Service, to carry out this sub-
section $1,000,000 for the period encompassing fiscal 
years 2018 through 2019. 
SEC. 302. COMMERCIAL WEATHER DATA. 
(a) DATA AND HOSTED SATELLITE PAYLOADS.—Not-
withstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of 
Commerce may enter into agreements for— 
(1) the purchase of weather data through con-
tracts with commercial providers; and
† HR 1561 EAS 
(2) the placement of weather satellite instru-
ments on cohosted government or private payloads. 
(b) STRATEGY.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
Commerce, in consultation with the Under Secretary, 
shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee 
on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 
Representatives a strategy to enable the procurement 
of quality commercial weather data. The strategy 
shall assess the range of commercial opportunities, in-
cluding public-private partnerships, for obtaining 
surface-based, aviation-based, and space-based weath-
er observations. The strategy shall include the ex-
pected cost-effectiveness of these opportunities as well 
as provide a plan for procuring data, including an 
expected implementation timeline, from these non-
governmental sources, as appropriate. 
(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The strategy shall in-
clude— 
(A) an analysis of financial or other bene-
fits to, and risks associated with, acquiring com-
mercial weather data or services, including 
through multiyear acquisition approaches;
† HR 1561 EAS 
(B) an identification of methods to address 
planning, programming, budgeting, and execu-
tion challenges to such approaches, including— 
(i) how standards will be set to ensure 
that data is reliable and effective; 
(ii) how data may be acquired through 
commercial experimental or innovative tech-
niques and then evaluated for integration 
into operational use; 
(iii) how to guarantee public access to 
all forecast-critical data to ensure that the 
United States weather industry and the 
public continue to have access to informa-
tion critical to their work; and 
(iv) in accordance with section 50503 
of title 51, United States Code, methods to 
address potential termination liability or 
cancellation costs associated with weather 
data or service contracts; and 
(C) an identification of any changes needed 
in the requirements development and approval 
processes of the Department of Commerce to fa-
cilitate effective and efficient implementation of 
such strategy.
† HR 1561 EAS 
(3) AUTHORITY FOR AGREEMENTS.—The Assist-
ant Administrator for National Environmental Sat-
ellite, Data, and Information Service may enter into 
multiyear agreements necessary to carry out the strat-
egy developed under this subsection. 
(c) PILOT PROGRAM.— 
(1) CRITERIA.—Not later than 30 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary 
shall publish data and metadata standards and speci-
fications for space-based commercial weather data, in-
cluding radio occultation data, and, as soon as pos-
sible, geostationary hyperspectral sounder data. 
(2) PILOT CONTRACTS.— 
(A) CONTRACTS.—Not later than 90 days 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Under 
Secretary shall, through an open competition, 
enter into at least one pilot contract with one or 
more private sector entities capable of providing 
data that meet the standards and specifications 
set by the Under Secretary for providing com-
mercial weather data in a manner that allows 
the Under Secretary to calibrate and evaluate 
the data for its use in National Oceanic and At-
mospheric Administration meteorological models.
† HR 1561 EAS 
(B) ASSESSMENT OF DATA VIABILITY.—Not 
later than the date that is 3 years after the date 
on which the Under Secretary enters into a con-
tract under subparagraph (A), the Under Sec-
retary shall assess and submit to the Committee 
on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 
the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, 
and Technology of the House of Representatives 
the results of a determination of the extent to 
which data provided under the contract entered 
into under subparagraph (A) meet the criteria 
published under paragraph (1) and the extent to 
which the pilot program has demonstrated— 
(i) the viability of assimilating the 
commercially provided data into National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
meteorological models; 
(ii) whether, and by how much, the 
data add value to weather forecasts; and 
(iii) the accuracy, quality, timeliness, 
validity, reliability, usability, information 
technology security, and cost-effectiveness of 
obtaining commercial weather data from 
private sector providers.
† HR 1561 EAS 
(3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For 
each of fiscal years 2017 through 2020, there are au-
thorized to be appropriated for procurement, acquisi-
tion, and construction at National Environmental 
Satellite, Data, and Information Service, $6,000,000 
to carry out this subsection. 
(d) OBTAINING FUTURE DATA.—If an assessment 
under subsection (c)(2)(B) demonstrates the ability of com-
mercial weather data to meet data and metadata standards 
and specifications published under subsection (c)(1), the 
Under Secretary shall— 
(1) where appropriate, cost-effective, and feasible, 
obtain commercial weather data from private sector 
providers; 
(2) as early as possible in the acquisition process 
for any future National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad-
ministration meteorological space system, consider 
whether there is a suitable, cost-effective, commercial 
capability available or that will be available to meet 
any or all of the observational requirements by the 
planned operational date of the system; 
(3) if a suitable, cost-effective, commercial capa-
bility is or will be available as described in para-
graph (2), determine whether it is in the national in-
† HR 1561 EAS 
terest to develop a governmental meteorological space 
system; and 
(4) submit to the Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the 
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 
House of Representatives a report detailing any deter-
mination made under paragraphs (2) and (3). 
(e) DATA SHARING PRACTICES.—The Under Secretary 
shall continue to meet the international meteorological 
agreements into which the Under Secretary has entered, in-
cluding practices set forth through World Meteorological Or-
ganization Resolution 40. 
SEC. 303. UNNECESSARY DUPLICATION. 
In meeting the requirements under this title, the Under 
Secretary shall avoid unnecessary duplication between pub-
lic and private sources of data and the corresponding ex-
penditure of funds and employment of personnel. 
TITLE IV—FEDERAL WEATHER 
COORDINATION 
SEC. 401. ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION SERVICES WORK-
ING GROUP. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The National Oceanic and At-
mospheric Administration Science Advisory Board shall 
continue to maintain a standing working group named the
† HR 1561 EAS 
Environmental Information Services Working Group (in 
this section referred to as the ‘‘Working Group’’)— 
(1) to provide advice for prioritizing weather re-
search initiatives at the National Oceanic and Atmos-
pheric Administration to produce real improvement 
in weather forecasting; 
(2) to provide advice on existing or emerging 
technologies or techniques that can be found in pri-
vate industry or the research community that could 
be incorporated into forecasting at the National 
Weather Service to improve forecasting skill; 
(3) to identify opportunities to improve— 
(A) communications between weather fore-
casters, Federal, State, local, tribal, and other 
emergency management personnel, and the pub-
lic; and 
(B) 
communications 
and 
partnerships 
among the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration and the private and academic 
sectors; and 
(4) to address such other matters as the Science 
Advisory Board requests of the Working Group. 
(b) COMPOSITION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Working Group shall be 
composed of leading experts and innovators from all
† HR 1561 EAS 
relevant fields of science and engineering including 
atmospheric chemistry, atmospheric physics, meteor-
ology, hydrology, social science, risk communications, 
electrical engineering, and computer sciences. In car-
rying out this section, the Working Group may orga-
nize into subpanels. 
(2) NUMBER.—The Working Group shall be com-
posed of no fewer than 15 members. Nominees for the 
Working Group may be forwarded by the Working 
Group for approval by the Science Advisory Board. 
Members of the Working Group may choose a chair 
(or co-chairs) from among their number with ap-
proval by the Science Advisory Board. 
(c) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not less frequently than once 
each year, the Working Group shall transmit to the Science 
Advisory Board for submission to the Under Secretary a 
report on progress made by National Oceanic and Atmos-
pheric Administration in adopting the Working Group’s 
recommendations. The Science Advisory Board shall trans-
mit this report to the Under Secretary. Within 30 days of 
receipt of such report, the Under Secretary shall submit to 
the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 
of the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and 
Technology of the House of Representatives a copy of such 
report.
† HR 1561 EAS 
SEC. 402. INTERAGENCY WEATHER RESEARCH AND FORE-
CAST INNOVATION COORDINATION. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director of the Office of 
Science and Technology Policy shall establish an Inter-
agency Committee for Advancing Weather Services to im-
prove coordination of relevant weather research and forecast 
innovation activities across the Federal Government. The 
Interagency Committee shall— 
(1) include participation by the National Aero-
nautics and Space Administration, the Federal Avia-
tion Administration, National Oceanic and Atmos-
pheric Administration and its constituent elements, 
the National Science Foundation, and such other 
agencies involved in weather forecasting research as 
the President determines are appropriate; 
(2) identify and prioritize top forecast needs and 
coordinate those needs against budget requests and 
program initiatives across participating offices and 
agencies; and 
(3) share information regarding operational 
needs and forecasting improvements across relevant 
agencies. 
(b) CO-CHAIR.—The Federal Coordinator for Meteor-
ology shall serve as a co-chair of this panel. 
(c) FURTHER COORDINATION.—The Director of the Of-
fice of Science and Technology Policy shall take such other
† HR 1561 EAS 
steps as are necessary to coordinate the activities of the Fed-
eral Government with those of the United States weather 
industry, State governments, emergency managers, and 
academic researchers. 
SEC. 403. OFFICE OF OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC RE-
SEARCH AND NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE 
EXCHANGE PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Administrator for 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Research and the Director of Na-
tional Weather Service may establish a program to detail 
Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research personnel to 
the National Weather Service and National Weather Service 
personnel to the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Re-
search. 
(b) GOAL.—The goal of this program is to enhance 
forecasting innovation through regular, direct interaction 
between the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research’s 
world-class scientists and the National Weather Service’s 
operational staff. 
(c) ELEMENTS.—The program shall allow up to 10 Of-
fice of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research staff and Na-
tional Weather Service staff to spend up to 1 year on detail. 
Candidates shall be jointly selected by the Assistant Admin-
istrator for Oceanic and Atmospheric Research and the Di-
rector of the National Weather Service.
† HR 1561 EAS 
(d) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not less frequently than once 
each year, the Under Secretary shall submit to the Com-
mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 
Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech-
nology of the House of Representatives a report on partici-
pation in such program and shall highlight any innova-
tions that come from this interaction. 
SEC. 404. VISITING FELLOWS AT NATIONAL WEATHER SERV-
ICE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National 
Weather Service may establish a program to host 
postdoctoral fellows and academic researchers at any of the 
National Centers for Environmental Prediction. 
(b) GOAL.—This program shall be designed to provide 
direct interaction between forecasters and talented academic 
and private sector researchers in an effort to bring innova-
tion to forecasting tools and techniques to the National 
Weather Service. 
(c) SELECTION
AND
APPOINTMENT.—Such fellows 
shall be competitively selected and appointed for a term not 
to exceed 1 year.
† HR 1561 EAS 
SEC. 405. WARNING COORDINATION METEOROLOGISTS AT 
WEATHER FORECAST OFFICES OF NATIONAL 
WEATHER SERVICE. 
(a) DESIGNATION OF WARNING COORDINATION METE-
OROLOGISTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National 
Weather Service shall designate at least 1 warning co-
ordination meteorologist at each weather forecast of-
fice of the National Weather Service. 
(2) NO ADDITIONAL EMPLOYEES AUTHORIZED.— 
Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize 
or require a change in the authorized number of full 
time equivalent employees in the National Weather 
Service or otherwise result in the employment of any 
additional employees. 
(3) PERFORMANCE BY OTHER EMPLOYEES.—Per-
formance of the responsibilities outlined in this sec-
tion is not limited to the warning coordination mete-
orologist position. 
(b) PRIMARY ROLE OF WARNING COORDINATION ME-
TEOROLOGISTS.—The primary role of the warning coordi-
nation meteorologist shall be to carry out the responsibil-
ities required by this section. 
(c) RESPONSIBILITIES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), con-
sistent with the analysis described in section 409, and
† HR 1561 EAS 
in order to increase impact-based decision support 
services, each warning coordination meteorologist des-
ignated under subsection (a) shall— 
(A) be responsible for providing service to 
the geographic area of responsibility covered by 
the weather forecast office at which the warning 
coordination meteorologist is employed to help 
ensure that users of products of the National 
Weather Service can respond effectively to im-
prove outcomes from weather events; 
(B) liaise with users of products and serv-
ices of the National Weather Service, such as the 
public, media outlets, users in the aviation, ma-
rine, and agricultural communities, and for-
estry, land, and water management interests, to 
evaluate the adequacy and usefulness of the prod-
ucts and services of the National Weather Serv-
ice; 
(C) collaborate with such weather forecast 
offices and State, local, and tribal government 
agencies as the Director considers appropriate in 
developing, proposing, and implementing plans 
to develop, modify, or tailor products and serv-
ices of the National Weather Service to improve 
the usefulness of such products and services;
† HR 1561 EAS 
(D) ensure the maintenance and accuracy 
of severe weather call lists, appropriate office se-
vere weather policy or procedures, and other se-
vere weather or dissemination methodologies or 
strategies; and 
(E) work closely with State, local, and trib-
al emergency management agencies, and other 
agencies related to disaster management, to en-
sure a planned, coordinated, and effective pre-
paredness and response effort. 
(2) OTHER STAFF.—The Director may assign a 
responsibility set forth in paragraph (1) to such other 
staff as the Director considers appropriate to carry 
out such responsibility. 
(d) ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), a 
warning coordination meteorologist designated under 
subsection (a) may— 
(A) work with a State agency to develop 
plans for promoting more effective use of prod-
ucts and services of the National Weather Service 
throughout the State; 
(B) identify priority community prepared-
ness objectives;
† HR 1561 EAS 
(C) develop plans to meet the objectives 
identified under paragraph (2); and 
(D) conduct severe weather event prepared-
ness planning and citizen education efforts with 
and through various State, local, and tribal gov-
ernment agencies and other disaster manage-
ment-related organizations. 
(2) OTHER STAFF.—The Director may assign a 
responsibility set forth in paragraph (1) to such other 
staff as the Director considers appropriate to carry 
out such responsibility. 
(e) PLACEMENT WITH STATE AND LOCAL EMERGENCY 
MANAGERS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this section, 
the Director of the National Weather Service may 
place a warning coordination meteorologist des-
ignated under subsection (a) with a State or local 
emergency manager if the Director considers doing so 
is necessary or convenient to carry out this section. 
(2) TREATMENT.—If the Director determines 
that the placement of a warning coordination mete-
orologist placed with a State or local emergency man-
ager under paragraph (1) is near a weather forecast 
office of the National Weather Service, such placement 
shall be treated as designation of the warning coordi-
† HR 1561 EAS 
nation meteorologist at such weather forecast office for 
purposes of subsection (a). 
SEC. 406. IMPROVING NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOS-
PHERIC ADMINISTRATION COMMUNICATION 
OF 
HAZARDOUS 
WEATHER 
AND 
WATER 
EVENTS. 
(a) PURPOSE OF SYSTEM.—For purposes of the assess-
ment required by subsection (b)(1)(A), the purpose of Na-
tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration system for 
issuing watches and warnings regarding hazardous weather 
and water events shall be risk communication to the general 
public that informs action to prevent loss of life and prop-
erty. 
(b) ASSESSMENT OF SYSTEM.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Under Sec-
retary shall— 
(A) assess the National Oceanic and Atmos-
pheric Administration system for issuing watch-
es and warnings regarding hazardous weather 
and water events; and 
(B) submit to Congress a report on the find-
ings of the Under Secretary with respect to the 
assessment conducted under subparagraph (A).
† HR 1561 EAS 
(2) ELEMENTS.—The assessment required by 
paragraph (1)(A) shall include the following: 
(A) An evaluation of whether the National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration system 
for issuing watches and warnings regarding haz-
ardous weather and water events meets the pur-
pose described in subsection (a). 
(B) Development of recommendations for— 
(i) legislative and administrative ac-
tion to improve the system described in 
paragraph (1)(A); and 
(ii) such research as the Under Sec-
retary considers necessary to address the 
focus areas described in paragraph (3). 
(3) FOCUS AREAS.—The assessment required by 
paragraph (1)(A) shall focus on the following: 
(A) Ways to communicate the risks posed by 
hazardous weather or water events to the public 
that are most likely to result in action to miti-
gate the risk. 
(B) Ways to communicate the risks posed 
by hazardous weather or water events to the pub-
lic as broadly and rapidly as practicable. 
(C) Ways to preserve the benefits of the ex-
isting watches and warnings system.
† HR 1561 EAS 
(D) Ways to maintain the utility of the 
watches and warnings system for Government 
and commercial users of the system. 
(4) CONSULTATION.—In conducting the assess-
ment required by paragraph (1)(A), the Under Sec-
retary shall— 
(A) consult with such line offices within the 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra-
tion as the Under Secretary considers relevant, 
including the the National Ocean Service, the 
National Weather Service, and the Office of Oce-
anic and Atmospheric Research; 
(B) consult with individuals in the aca-
demic sector, including individuals in the field 
of social and behavioral sciences, and other 
weather services; 
(C) consult with media outlets that will be 
distributing the watches and warnings; 
(D) consult with non-Federal forecasters 
that produce alternate severe weather risk com-
munication products; 
(E) consult with emergency planners and 
responders, including State and local emergency 
management agencies, and other government 
users of the watches and warnings system, in-
† HR 1561 EAS 
cluding the Federal Emergency Management 
Agency, the Office of Personnel Management, the 
Coast Guard, and such other Federal agencies as 
the Under Secretary determines rely on watches 
and warnings for operational decisions; and 
(F) make use of the services of the National 
Academy of Sciences, as the Under Secretary 
considers necessary and practicable, including 
contracting with the National Research Council 
to review the scientific and technical soundness 
of the assessment required by paragraph (1)(A), 
including the recommendations developed under 
paragraph (2)(B). 
(5) METHODOLOGIES.—In conducting the assess-
ment required by paragraph (1)(A), the Under Sec-
retary shall use such methodologies as the Under Sec-
retary considers are generally accepted by the weather 
enterprise, including social and behavioral sciences. 
(c) IMPROVEMENTS TO SYSTEM.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall, 
based on the assessment required by subsection 
(b)(1)(A), make such recommendations to Congress to 
improve the system as the Under Secretary considers 
necessary—
† HR 1561 EAS 
(A) to improve the system for issuing 
watches and warnings regarding hazardous 
weather and water events; and 
(B) to support efforts to satisfy research 
needs to enable future improvements to such sys-
tem. 
(2) REQUIREMENTS
REGARDING
RECOMMENDA-
TIONS.—In carrying out paragraph (1)(A), the Under 
Secretary shall ensure that any recommendation that 
the Under Secretary considers a major change— 
(A) is validated by social and behavioral 
science using a generalizable sample; 
(B) accounts for the needs of various demo-
graphics, vulnerable populations, and geographic 
regions; 
(C) accounts for the differences between 
types of weather and water hazards; 
(D) responds to the needs of Federal, State, 
and local government partners and media part-
ners; and 
(E) accounts for necessary changes to Feder-
ally-operated watch and warning propagation 
and dissemination infrastructure and protocols. 
(d) WATCHES AND WARNINGS DEFINED.—
† HR 1561 EAS 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), in this section, the terms ‘‘watch’’ and 
‘‘warning’’, with respect to a hazardous weather and 
water event, mean products issued by the Administra-
tion, intended for consumption by the general public, 
to alert the general public to the potential for or pres-
ence of the event and to inform action to prevent loss 
of life and property. 
(2) EXCEPTION.—ln this section, the terms 
‘‘watch’’ and ‘‘warning’’ do not include technical or 
specialized meteorological and hydrological forecasts, 
outlooks, or model guidance products. 
SEC. 407. NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINIS-
TRATION WEATHER READY ALL HAZARDS 
AWARD PROGRAM. 
(a) PROGRAM.—The Director of the National Weather 
Service is authorized to establish the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration Weather Ready All Hazards 
Award Program. This award program shall provide annual 
awards to honor individuals or organizations that use or 
provide National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
Weather Radio All Hazards receivers or transmitters to 
save lives and protect property. Individuals or organiza-
tions that utilize other early warning tools or applications 
also qualify for this award.
† HR 1561 EAS 
(b) GOAL.—This award program draws attention to 
the life-saving work of the National Oceanic and Atmos-
pheric Administration Weather Ready All Hazards Pro-
gram, as well as emerging tools and applications, that pro-
vide real-time warning to individuals and communities of 
severe weather or other hazardous conditions. 
(c) PROGRAM ELEMENTS.— 
(1) NOMINATIONS.—Nominations for this award 
shall be made annually by the Weather Field Offices 
to the Director of the National Weather Service. 
Broadcast meteorologists, weather radio manufactur-
ers and weather warning tool and application devel-
opers, emergency managers, and public safety officials 
may nominate individuals or organizations to their 
local Weather Field Offices, but the final list of award 
nominees must come from the Weather Field Offices. 
(2) SELECTION OF AWARDEES.—Annually, the 
Director of the National Weather Service shall choose 
winners of this award whose timely actions, based on 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
Weather Radio All Hazards receivers or transmitters 
or other early warning tools and applications, saved 
lives or property, or demonstrated public service in 
support of weather or all hazard warnings.
† HR 1561 EAS 
(3) AWARD CEREMONY.—The Director of the Na-
tional Weather Service shall establish a means of 
making these awards to provide maximum public 
awareness of the importance of National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration Weather Radio, and 
such other warning tools and applications as are rep-
resented in the awards. 
SEC. 408. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE WEATHER FORE-
CASTING ACTIVITIES. 
Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Under Secretary shall submit to the Com-
mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 
Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech-
nology of the House of Representatives a report analyzing 
the impacts of the proposed Air Force divestiture in the 
United States Weather Research and Forecasting Model, in-
cluding— 
(1) the impact on— 
(A) the United States weather forecasting 
capabilities; 
(B) the accuracy of civilian regional fore-
casts; 
(C) the civilian readiness for traditional 
weather and extreme weather events in the 
United States; and
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(D) the research necessary to develop the 
United States Weather Research and Forecasting 
Model; and 
(2) such other analysis relating to the divestiture 
as the Under Secretary considers appropriate. 
SEC. 409. NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE; OPERATIONS AND 
WORKFORCE ANALYSIS. 
The Under Secretary shall contract or continue to 
partner with an external organization to conduct a baseline 
analysis of National Weather Service operations and work-
force. 
SEC. 410. WATER RESOURCES. 
(a) NATIONAL WATER CENTER.— 
(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Under Secretary 
shall maintain a National Water Center. 
(2) FUNCTIONS.—The National Water Center 
may— 
(A) facilitate collaboration across Federal 
and State departments and agencies, academia, 
and the private sector to improve understanding 
of water resources; 
(B) make recommendations to water re-
source managers; 
(C) make recommendations to improve 
water resource forecasts; and
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(D) facilitate the transition of water re-
search into applications. 
(b) TOTAL WATER PREDICTION.—The Under Sec-
retary, through the National Water Center, shall— 
(1) initiate research and development activities 
to develop operational water resource prediction prod-
ucts; 
(2) collaborate with, and provide decision sup-
port regarding total water prediction to, other rel-
evant Federal and State agencies, including— 
(A) the Army Corps of Engineers; 
(B) the United States Geological Survey; 
(C) the Federal Emergency Management 
Agency; 
(D) the National Science Foundation; 
(E) the Environmental Protection Agency; 
(F) State water resource agencies; and 
(G) State emergency management agencies; 
and 
(3) in carrying out the responsibilities described 
in paragraphs (1) and (2), develop capabilities nec-
essary for total water predictive capacity, including 
observations, modeling, data management, supercom-
puting, social science, and communications. 
(c) REPORT.—
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(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the National 
Water Center shall submit to the Assistant Secretary 
of the Army for Civil Works a report on total water 
predictive capabilities and products. 
(2) CONTENTS.—The report may include rec-
ommendations to improve engineering, design, oper-
ations, and management of civil works projects, in-
cluding the Central and Southern Florida Project and 
any project in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint 
River System, to optimize water management, includ-
ing the implications of total water predictive products 
for— 
(A) environmental protection and restora-
tion, including restoration of water quality, 
water flows, fish, and other aquatic species; 
(B) reduced flood risk; and 
(C) improved recreation. 
SEC. 411. REPORT ON CONTRACT POSITIONS AT NATIONAL 
WEATHER SERVICE. 
(a) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Under Sec-
retary shall submit to Congress a report on the use of con-
tractors at the National Weather Service for the most re-
cently completed fiscal year.
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(b) CONTENTS.—The report required by subsection (a) 
shall include, with respect to the most recently completed 
fiscal year, the following: 
(1) The total number of full-time equivalent em-
ployees 
at 
the 
National 
Weather 
Service, 
disaggregated by each equivalent level of the General 
Schedule. 
(2) The total number of full-time equivalent con-
tractors 
at 
the 
National 
Weather 
Service, 
disaggregated by each equivalent level of the General 
Schedule that most closely approximates their duties. 
(3) The total number of vacant positions at the 
National Weather Service on the day before the date 
of enactment of this Act, disaggregated by each equiv-
alent level of the General Schedule. 
(4) The 5 most common positions filled by full- 
time equivalent contractors at the National Weather 
Service and the equivalent level of the General Sched-
ule that most closely approximates the duties of such 
positions. 
(5) Of the positions identified under paragraph 
(4), the percentage of full-time equivalent contractors 
in those positions that have held a prior position at 
the National Weather Service or another entity in 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
† HR 1561 EAS 
(6) The average full-time equivalent salary for 
Federal employees at the National Weather Service for 
each equivalent level of the General Schedule. 
(7) The average salary for full-time equivalent 
contractors performing at each equivalent level of the 
General Schedule at the National Weather Service. 
(8) A description of any actions taken by the 
Under Secretary to respond to the issues raised by the 
Inspector General of the Department of Commerce re-
garding the hiring of former National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration employees as contractors 
at the National Weather Service such as the issues 
raised in the Investigative Report dated June 2, 2015 
(OIG–12–0447). 
(c) ANNUAL PUBLICATION.—For each fiscal year after 
the fiscal year covered by the report required by subsection 
(a), the Under Secretary shall, not later than 180 days after 
the completion of the fiscal year, publish on a publicly ac-
cessible Internet website the information described in para-
graphs (1) through (8) of subsection (b) for such fiscal year. 
SEC. 412. WEATHER IMPACTS TO COMMUNITIES AND INFRA-
STRUCTURE. 
(a) REVIEW.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National 
Weather Service shall review existing research, prod-
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ucts, and services that meet the specific needs of the 
urban environment, given its unique physical charac-
teristics and forecasting challenges. 
(2) ELEMENTS.—The review required by para-
graph (1) shall include research, products, and serv-
ices with the potential to improve modeling and fore-
casting capabilities, taking into account factors in-
cluding varying building heights, impermeable sur-
faces, lack of tree canopy, traffic, pollution, and inter- 
building wind effects. 
(b) REPORT AND ASSESSMENT.—Upon completion of 
the review required by subsection (a), the Under Secretary 
shall submit to Congress a report on the research, products, 
and services of the National Weather Service, including an 
assessment of such research, products, and services that is 
based on the review, public comment, and recent publica-
tions by the National Academy of Sciences. 
SEC. 413. WEATHER ENTERPRISE OUTREACH. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary may establish 
mechanisms for outreach to the weather enterprise— 
(1) to assess the weather forecasts and forecast 
products provided by the National Oceanic and At-
mospheric Administration; and
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(2) to determine the highest priority weather 
forecast needs of the community described in sub-
section (b). 
(b) OUTREACH COMMUNITY.—In conducting outreach 
under subsection (a), the Under Secretary shall contact 
leading experts and innovators from relevant stakeholders, 
including the representatives from the following: 
(1) State or local emergency management agen-
cies. 
(2) State agriculture agencies. 
(3) Indian tribes (as defined in section 4 of the 
Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 
Act (25 U.S.C. 5304)) and Native Hawaiians (as de-
fined in section 6207 of the Elementary and Sec-
ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7517)). 
(4) The private aerospace industry. 
(5) The private earth observing industry. 
(6) The operational forecasting community. 
(7) The academic community. 
(8) Professional societies that focus on meteor-
ology. 
(9) Such other stakeholder groups as the Under 
Secretary considers appropriate.
† HR 1561 EAS 
TITLE 
V—TSUNAMI 
WARNING, 
EDUCATION, AND RESEARCH 
ACT OF 2016 
SEC. 501. SHORT TITLE. 
This title may be cited as the ‘‘Tsunami Warning, 
Education, and Research Act of 2016’’. 
SEC. 502. REFERENCES TO THE TSUNAMI WARNING AND 
EDUCATION ACT. 
Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in 
this title an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of 
an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provision, 
the reference shall be considered to be made to a section or 
other provision of the Tsunami Warning and Education 
Act (Public Law 109–424; 33 U.S.C. 3201 et seq.). 
SEC. 503. EXPANSION OF PURPOSES OF TSUNAMI WARNING 
AND EDUCATION ACT. 
Section 3 (33 U.S.C. 3202) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘research,’’ 
after ‘‘warnings,’’; 
(2) by amending paragraph (2) to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(2) to enhance and modernize the existing 
United States Tsunami Warning System to increase 
the accuracy of forecasts and warnings, to ensure full 
coverage of tsunami threats to the United States with
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a network of detection assets, and to reduce false 
alarms;’’; 
(3) by amending paragraph (3) to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(3) to improve and develop standards and 
guidelines for mapping, modeling, and assessment ef-
forts to improve tsunami detection, forecasting, warn-
ings, notification, mitigation, resiliency, response, 
outreach, and recovery;’’; 
(4) by redesignating paragraphs (4), (5), and (6) 
as paragraphs (5), (6), and (8), respectively; 
(5) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(4) to improve research efforts related to im-
proving tsunami detection, forecasting, warnings, no-
tification, mitigation, resiliency, response, outreach, 
and recovery;’’; 
(6) in paragraph (5), as redesignated— 
(A) by striking ‘‘and increase’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘, increase, and develop uniform standards 
and guidelines for’’; and 
(B) by inserting ‘‘, including the warning 
signs of locally generated tsunami’’ after ‘‘ap-
proaching’’;
† HR 1561 EAS 
(7) in paragraph (6), as redesignated, by strik-
ing ‘‘, including the Indian Ocean; and’’ and insert-
ing a semicolon; and 
(8) by inserting after paragraph (6), as redesig-
nated, the following: 
‘‘(7) to foster resilient communities in the face of 
tsunami and other similar coastal hazards; and’’. 
SEC. 504. MODIFICATION OF TSUNAMI FORECASTING AND 
WARNING PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (a) of section 4 (33 
U.S.C. 3203(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘Atlantic Ocean, 
Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico region’’ and inserting 
‘‘Atlantic Ocean region, including the Caribbean Sea and 
the Gulf of Mexico’’. 
(b) COMPONENTS.—Subsection (b) of section 4 (33 
U.S.C. 3203(b)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘established’’ 
and inserting ‘‘supported or maintained’’; 
(2) by redesignating paragraphs (7) through (9) 
as paragraphs (8) through (10), respectively; 
(3) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through (6) 
as paragraphs (3) through (7), respectively; 
(4) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol-
lowing:
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‘‘(2) to the degree practicable, maintain not less 
than 80 percent of the Deep-ocean Assessment and Re-
porting of Tsunamis buoy array at operational ca-
pacity to optimize data reliability;’’. 
(5) by amending paragraph (5), as redesignated 
by paragraph (3), to read as follows: 
‘‘(5) provide tsunami forecasting capability 
based on models and measurements, including tsu-
nami inundation models and maps for use in increas-
ing the preparedness of communities and safe-
guarding port and harbor operations, that incor-
porate inputs, including— 
‘‘(A) the United States and global ocean 
and coastal observing system; 
‘‘(B) the global Earth observing system; 
‘‘(C) the global seismic network; 
‘‘(D) the Advanced National Seismic sys-
tem; 
‘‘(E) tsunami model validation using his-
torical and paleotsunami data; 
‘‘(F) digital elevation models and bathym-
etry; and 
‘‘(G) newly developing tsunami detection 
methodologies using satellites and airborne re-
mote sensing;’’;
† HR 1561 EAS 
‘‘(2) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The responsibilities of 
the centers supported or maintained under paragraph 
(1) shall include the following: 
‘‘(A) Continuously monitoring data from 
seismological, deep ocean, coastal sea level, and 
tidal monitoring stations and other data sources 
as may be developed and deployed. 
‘‘(B) Evaluating earthquakes, landslides, 
and volcanic eruptions that have the potential to 
generate tsunami. 
‘‘(C) Evaluating deep ocean buoy data and 
tidal monitoring stations for indications of tsu-
nami resulting from earthquakes and other 
sources. 
‘‘(D) To the extent practicable, utilizing a 
range of models, including ensemble models, to 
predict tsunami, including arrival times, flood-
ing estimates, coastal and harbor currents, and 
duration. 
‘‘(E) Using data from the Integrated Ocean 
Observing System of the Administration in co-
ordination with regional associations to calculate 
new inundation estimates and periodically up-
date existing inundation estimates.
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‘‘(F) Disseminating forecasts and tsunami 
warning bulletins to Federal, State, tribal, and 
local government officials and the public. 
‘‘(G) Coordinating with the tsunami hazard 
mitigation program conducted under section 5 to 
ensure ongoing sharing of information between 
forecasters and emergency management officials. 
‘‘(H) In coordination with the Coast Guard, 
evaluating and recommending procedures for 
ports and harbors at risk of tsunami inundation, 
including review of readiness, response, and com-
munication strategies, and data sharing policies, 
to the maximum extent practicable. 
‘‘(I) Making data gathered under this Act 
and post-warning analyses conducted by the Na-
tional Weather Service or other relevant Admin-
istration offices available to the public. 
‘‘(J) Integrating and modernizing the pro-
gram operated under this section with advances 
in tsunami science to improve performance with-
out compromising service. 
‘‘(3) FAIL-SAFE WARNING CAPABILITY.—The tsu-
nami warning centers supported or maintained under 
paragraph (1) shall maintain a fail-safe warning ca-
pability and perform back-up duties for each other.
† HR 1561 EAS 
‘‘(4) COORDINATION WITH NATIONAL WEATHER 
SERVICE.—The Administrator shall coordinate with 
the forecast offices of the National Weather Service, 
the centers supported or maintained under paragraph 
(1), and such program offices of the Administration 
as the Administrator or the coordinating committee, 
as established in section 5(d), consider appropriate to 
ensure that regional and local forecast offices— 
‘‘(A) have the technical knowledge and ca-
pability to disseminate tsunami warnings for the 
communities they serve; 
‘‘(B) leverage connections with local emer-
gency management officials for optimally dis-
seminating tsunami warnings and forecasts; and 
‘‘(C) implement mass communication tools 
in effect on the day before the date of the enact-
ment of the Tsunami Warning, Education, and 
Research Act of 2016 used by the National 
Weather Service on such date and newer mass 
communication technologies as they are devel-
oped as a part of the Weather-Ready Nation pro-
gram of the Administration, or otherwise, for the 
purpose of timely and effective delivery of tsu-
nami warnings.
† HR 1561 EAS 
‘‘(5) UNIFORM
OPERATING
PROCEDURES.—The 
Administrator shall— 
‘‘(A) develop uniform operational proce-
dures for the centers supported or maintained 
under paragraph (1), including the use of soft-
ware applications, checklists, decision support 
tools, and tsunami warning products that have 
been standardized across the program supported 
under this section; 
‘‘(B) ensure that processes and products of 
the warning system operated under subsection 
(c)— 
‘‘(i) reflect industry best practices 
when practicable; 
‘‘(ii) conform to the maximum extent 
practicable with internationally recognized 
standards for information technology; and 
‘‘(iii) conform to the maximum extent 
practicable with other warning products 
and practices of the National Weather Serv-
ice; 
‘‘(C) ensure that future adjustments to oper-
ational protocols, processes, and warning prod-
ucts—
† HR 1561 EAS 
‘‘(i) are made consistently across the 
warning system operated under subsection 
(c); and 
‘‘(ii) are applied in a uniform manner 
across such warning system; 
‘‘(D) establish a systematic method for in-
formation technology product development to im-
prove long-term technology planning efforts; and 
‘‘(E) disseminate guidelines and metrics for 
evaluating and improving tsunami forecast mod-
els. 
‘‘(6) AVAILABLE
RESOURCES.—The Adminis-
trator, through the National Weather Service, shall 
ensure that resources are available to fulfill the obli-
gations of this Act. This includes ensuring supercom-
puting resources are available to run, as rapidly as 
possible, such computer models as are needed for pur-
poses of the tsunami warning system operated under 
subsection (c).’’. 
(e) TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY; MAINTENANCE AND 
UPGRADES.—Subsection (e) of section 4 (33 U.S.C. 
3203(e)) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(e) TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY; MAINTENANCE AND 
UPGRADES.—In carrying out this section, the Adminis-
trator shall—
† HR 1561 EAS 
‘‘(1) develop requirements for the equipment used 
to forecast tsunami, including— 
‘‘(A) provisions for multipurpose detection 
platforms; 
‘‘(B) reliability and performance metrics; 
and 
‘‘(C) to the maximum extent practicable, re-
quirements for the integration of equipment with 
other United States and global ocean and coastal 
observation systems, the global Earth observing 
system of systems, the global seismic networks, 
and the Advanced National Seismic System; 
‘‘(2) develop and execute a plan for the transfer 
of technology from ongoing research conducted as part 
of the program supported or maintained under sec-
tion 6 into the program under this section; and 
‘‘(3) ensure that the Administration’s oper-
ational tsunami detection equipment is properly 
maintained.’’. 
(f) FEDERAL COOPERATION.—Subsection (f) of section 
4 (33 U.S.C. 3203(f)) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(f) FEDERAL COOPERATION.—When deploying and 
maintaining tsunami detection technologies under the pro-
gram under this section, the Administrator shall—
† HR 1561 EAS 
‘‘(1) identify which assets of other Federal agen-
cies are necessary to support such program; and 
‘‘(2) work with each agency identified under 
paragraph (1)— 
‘‘(A) to acquire the agency’s assistance; and 
‘‘(B) to prioritize the necessary assets in 
support of the tsunami forecast and warning 
program.’’. 
(g) UNNECESSARY PROVISIONS.—Section 4 (33 U.S.C. 
3203) is further amended— 
(1) by striking subsection (g); 
(2) by striking subsections (i) through (k); and 
(3) by redesignating subsection (h) as subsection 
(g). 
(h) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATIONS.—Subsection (g) 
of section 4 (33 U.S.C. 3203(g)), as redesignated by sub-
section (g)(3), is amended— 
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as 
subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, and moving 
such subparagraphs 2 ems to the right; 
(2) in the matter before subparagraph (A), as re-
designated by paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘The Ad-
ministrator’’ and inserting the following: 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator’’;
† HR 1561 EAS 
(3) in paragraph (1), as redesignated by para-
graph (3)— 
(A) in subparagraph (A), as redesignated 
by paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 
(B) in subparagraph (B), as redesignated 
by paragraph (2), by striking the period at the 
end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(C) the occurrence of a significant tsunami 
warning.’’; and 
(4) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—In a case in which notice is 
submitted under paragraph (1) within 30 days of a 
significant tsunami warning described in subpara-
graph (C) of such paragraph, such notice shall in-
clude, as appropriate, brief information and analysis 
of— 
‘‘(A) the accuracy of the tsunami model 
used; 
‘‘(B) the specific deep ocean or other moni-
toring equipment that detected the incident, as 
well as the deep ocean or other monitoring equip-
ment that did not detect the incident due to mal-
function or other reasons;
† HR 1561 EAS 
‘‘(C) the effectiveness of the warning com-
munication, including the dissemination of 
warnings with State, territory, local, and tribal 
partners in the affected area under the jurisdic-
tion of the National Weather Service; and 
‘‘(D) such other findings as the Adminis-
trator considers appropriate.’’. 
SEC. 505. MODIFICATION OF NATIONAL TSUNAMI HAZARD 
MITIGATION PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 5(a) (33 U.S.C. 3204(a)) 
is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(a) PROGRAM REQUIRED.—The Administrator, in co-
ordination with the Administrator of the Federal Emer-
gency Management Agency and the heads of such other 
agencies as the Administrator considers relevant, shall con-
duct a community-based tsunami hazard mitigation pro-
gram to improve tsunami preparedness and resiliency of 
at-risk areas in the United States and the territories of the 
United States.’’. 
(b) NATIONAL TSUNAMI HAZARD MITIGATION PRO-
GRAM.—Section 5 (33 U.S.C. 3204) is amended by striking 
subsections (c) and (d) and inserting the following: 
‘‘(c) PROGRAM
COMPONENTS.—The Program con-
ducted under subsection (a) shall include the following:
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‘‘(1) Technical and financial assistance to coast-
al States, territories, tribes, and local governments to 
develop and implement activities under this section. 
‘‘(2) Integration of tsunami preparedness and 
mitigation programs into ongoing State-based hazard 
warning, resilience planning, and risk management 
activities, including predisaster planning, emergency 
response, evacuation planning, disaster recovery, haz-
ard mitigation, and community development and re-
development planning programs in affected areas. 
‘‘(3) Activities to promote the adoption of tsu-
nami resilience, preparedness, warning, and mitiga-
tion measures by Federal, State, territorial, tribal, 
and local governments and nongovernmental entities, 
including educational and risk communication pro-
grams to discourage development in high-risk areas. 
‘‘(4) Activities to support the development of re-
gional tsunami hazard and risk assessments. Such re-
gional risk assessments may include the following: 
‘‘(A) The sources, sizes, and other relevant 
historical data of tsunami in the region, includ-
ing paleotsunami data. 
‘‘(B) Inundation models and maps of crit-
ical infrastructure and socioeconomic vulner-
ability in areas subject to tsunami inundation.
† HR 1561 EAS 
‘‘(C) Maps of evacuation areas and evacu-
ation routes, including, when appropriate, traffic 
studies that evaluate the viability of evacuation 
routes. 
‘‘(D) Evaluations of the size of populations 
that will require evacuation, including popu-
lations with special evacuation needs. 
‘‘(E) Evaluations and technical assistance 
for vertical evacuation structure planning for 
communities where models indicate limited or no 
ability for timely evacuation, especially in areas 
at risk of near shore generated tsunami. 
‘‘(F) Evaluation of at-risk ports and har-
bors. 
‘‘(G) Evaluation of the effect of tsunami 
currents on the foundations of closely-spaced, 
coastal high-rise structures. 
‘‘(5) Activities to promote preparedness in at- 
risk ports and harbors, including the following: 
‘‘(A) Evaluation and recommendation of 
procedures for ports and harbors in the event of 
a distant or near-field tsunami. 
‘‘(B) A review of readiness, response, and 
communication strategies to ensure coordination 
and data sharing with the Coast Guard.
† HR 1561 EAS 
‘‘(6) Activities to support the development of 
community-based outreach and education programs to 
ensure community readiness and resilience, including 
the following: 
‘‘(A) The development, implementation, and 
assessment of technical training and public edu-
cation programs, including education programs 
that address unique characteristics of distant 
and near-field tsunami. 
‘‘(B) The development of decision support 
tools. 
‘‘(C) The incorporation of social science re-
search into community readiness and resilience 
efforts. 
‘‘(D) The development of evidence-based 
education guidelines. 
‘‘(7) Dissemination of guidelines and standards 
for community planning, education, and training 
products, programs, and tools, including— 
‘‘(A) standards for— 
‘‘(i) mapping products; 
‘‘(ii) inundation models; and 
‘‘(iii) effective emergency exercises; and 
‘‘(B) recommended guidance for at-risk port 
and harbor tsunami warning, evacuation, and
† HR 1561 EAS 
response procedures in coordination with the 
Coast Guard. 
‘‘(d) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—In addition to activi-
ties conducted under subsection (c), the program conducted 
under subsection (a) may include the following: 
‘‘(1) Multidisciplinary vulnerability assessment 
research, education, and training to help integrate 
risk management and resilience objectives with com-
munity development planning and policies. 
‘‘(2) Risk management training for local officials 
and community organizations to enhance under-
standing and preparedness. 
‘‘(3) Interagency, Federal, State, tribal, and ter-
ritorial intergovernmental tsunami response exercise 
planning and implementation in high risk areas. 
‘‘(4) Development of practical applications for 
existing or emerging technologies, such as modeling, 
remote sensing, geospatial technology, engineering, 
and observing systems, including the integration of 
tsunami sensors into Federal and commercial sub-
marine telecommunication cables if practicable. 
‘‘(5) Risk management, risk assessment, and re-
silience data and information services, including— 
‘‘(A) access to data and products derived 
from observing and detection systems; and
† HR 1561 EAS 
‘‘(B) development and maintenance of new 
integrated data products to support risk manage-
ment, risk assessment, and resilience programs. 
‘‘(6) Risk notification systems that coordinate 
with and build upon existing systems and actively en-
gage decisionmakers, State, local, tribal, and terri-
torial governments and agencies, business commu-
nities, 
nongovernmental 
organizations, 
and 
the 
media. 
‘‘(e) NO PREEMPTION WITH RESPECT TO DESIGNA-
TION OF AT-RISK AREAS.—The establishment of national 
standards for inundation models under this section shall 
not prevent States, territories, tribes, and local governments 
from designating additional areas as being at risk based 
on knowledge of local conditions. 
‘‘(f) NO NEW REGULATORY AUTHORITY.—Nothing in 
this Act may be construed as establishing new regulatory 
authority for any Federal agency.’’. 
(c) REPORT ON ACCREDITATION OF TSUNAMIREADY 
PROGRAM.—Not later than 180 days after the date of enact-
ment of this Act, the Administrator of the National Oceanic 
and Atmospheric Administration shall submit to the Com-
mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 
Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech-
nology of the House of Representatives a report on which
† HR 1561 EAS 
authorities and activities would be needed to have the 
TsunamiReady program of the National Weather Service 
accredited by the Emergency Management Accreditation 
Program. 
SEC. 506. MODIFICATION OF TSUNAMI RESEARCH PRO-
GRAM. 
Section 6 (33 U.S.C. 3205) is amended— 
(1) in the matter before paragraph (1), by strik-
ing ‘‘The Administrator shall’’ and all that follows 
through ‘‘establish or maintain’’ and inserting the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall, in con-
sultation with such other Federal agencies, State, tribal, 
and territorial governments, and academic institutions as 
the Administrator considers appropriate, the coordinating 
committee under section 5(d), and the panel under section 
8(a), support or maintain’’; 
(2) in subsection (a), as designated by para-
graph (1), by striking ‘‘and assessment for tsunami 
tracking and numerical forecast modeling. Such re-
search program shall—’’ and inserting the following: 
‘‘assessment for tsunami tracking and numerical fore-
cast modeling, and standards development. 
‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The research program sup-
ported or maintained under subsection (a) shall—’’; and
† HR 1561 EAS 
(3) in subsection (b), as designated by paragraph 
(2)— 
(A) by amending paragraph (1) to read as 
follows: 
‘‘(1) consider other appropriate and cost effective 
solutions to mitigate the impact of tsunami, includ-
ing the improvement of near-field and distant tsu-
nami detection and forecasting capabilities, which 
may include use of a new generation of the Deep- 
ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis array, 
integration of tsunami sensors into commercial and 
Federal telecommunications cables, and other real- 
time tsunami monitoring systems and supercomputer 
capacity of the Administration to develop a rapid 
tsunami forecast for all United States coastlines;’’; 
(B) in paragraph (3)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘include’’ and inserting 
‘‘conduct’’; and 
(ii) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 
(C) by redesignating paragraph (4) as 
paragraph (5); 
(D) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol-
lowing:
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‘‘(4) develop the technical basis for validation of 
tsunami maps, numerical tsunami models, digital ele-
vation models, and forecasts; and’’; and 
(E) in paragraph (5), as redesignated by 
subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘to the scientific 
community’’ and inserting ‘‘to the public and 
the scientific community’’. 
SEC. 507. GLOBAL TSUNAMI WARNING AND MITIGATION 
NETWORK. 
Section 7 (33 U.S.C. 3206) is amended— 
(1) by amending subsection (a) to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(a) SUPPORT
FOR DEVELOPMENT
OF
AN INTER-
NATIONAL TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEM.—The Adminis-
trator shall, in coordination with the Secretary of State and 
in consultation with such other agencies as the Adminis-
trator considers relevant, provide technical assistance, oper-
ational support, and training to the Intergovernmental 
Oceanographic Commission of the United Nations Edu-
cational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, the World 
Meteorological Organization of the United Nations, and 
such other international entities as the Administrator con-
siders appropriate, as part of the international efforts to 
develop a fully functional global tsunami forecast and
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warning system comprised of regional tsunami warning 
networks.’’; 
(2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘shall’’ each 
place it appears and inserting ‘‘may’’; and 
(3) in subsection (c)— 
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘estab-
lishing’’ and inserting ‘‘supporting’’; and 
(B) in paragraph (2)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘establish’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘support’’; and 
(ii) by striking ‘‘establishing’’ and in-
serting ‘‘supporting’’. 
SEC. 508. TSUNAMI SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ADVISORY 
PANEL. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Act is further amended— 
(1) by redesignating section 8 (33 U.S.C. 3207) 
as section 9; and 
(2) by inserting after section 7 (33 U.S.C. 3206) 
the following: 
‘‘SEC. 8. TSUNAMI SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ADVISORY 
PANEL. 
‘‘(a) DESIGNATION.—The Administrator shall des-
ignate an existing working group within the Science Advi-
sory Board of the Administration to serve as the Tsunami 
Science and Technology Advisory Panel to provide advice
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to the Administrator on matters regarding tsunami science, 
technology, and regional preparedness. 
‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.— 
‘‘(1) COMPOSITION.—The Panel shall be com-
posed of no fewer than 7 members selected by the Ad-
ministrator from among individuals from academia 
or State agencies who have academic or practical ex-
pertise in physical sciences, social sciences, informa-
tion technology, coastal resilience, emergency manage-
ment, or such other disciplines as the Administrator 
considers appropriate. 
‘‘(2) FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT.—No member of the 
Panel may be a Federal employee. 
‘‘(c) RESPONSIBILITIES.—Not less frequently than 
once every 4 years, the Panel shall— 
‘‘(1) review the activities of the Administration, 
and other Federal activities as appropriate, relating 
to tsunami research, detection, forecasting, warning, 
mitigation, resiliency, and preparation; and 
‘‘(2) submit to the Administrator and such others 
as the Administrator considers appropriate— 
‘‘(A) the findings of the working group with 
respect to the most recent review conducted under 
paragraph (1); and
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‘‘(B) such recommendations for legislative 
or administrative action as the working group 
considers appropriate to improve Federal tsu-
nami research, detection, forecasting, warning, 
mitigation, resiliency, and preparation. 
‘‘(d) REPORTS
TO CONGRESS.—Not less frequently 
than once every 4 years, the Administrator shall submit to 
the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 
of the Senate, and the Committee on Science, Space, and 
Technology of the House of Representatives a report on the 
findings and recommendations received by the Adminis-
trator under subsection (c)(2).’’. 
SEC. 509. REPORTS. 
(a) REPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION OF TSUNAMI WARN-
ING AND EDUCATION ACT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Adminis-
trator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad-
ministration shall submit to Congress a report on the 
implementation of the Tsunami Warning and Edu-
cation Act (33 U.S.C. 3201 et seq.). 
(2) ELEMENTS.—The report required by para-
graph (1) shall include the following: 
(A) A detailed description of the progress 
made in implementing sections 4(d)(6), 5(b)(6),
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and 6(b)(4) of the Tsunami Warning and Edu-
cation Act. 
(B) A description of the ways that tsunami 
warnings and warning products issued by the 
Tsunami Forecasting and Warning Program es-
tablished under section 4 of the Tsunami Warn-
ing and Education Act (33 U.S.C. 3203) can be 
standardized and streamlined with warnings 
and warning products for hurricanes, coastal 
storms, and other coastal flooding events. 
(b) REPORT ON NATIONAL EFFORTS THAT SUPPORT 
RAPID
RESPONSE
FOLLOWING
NEAR-SHORE
TSUNAMI 
EVENTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Adminis-
trator and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall 
jointly, in coordination with the Director of the 
United States Geological Survey, Administrator of the 
Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Chief of 
the National Guard Bureau, and the heads of such 
other Federal agencies as the Administrator considers 
appropriate, submit to the appropriate committees of 
Congress a report on the national efforts in effect on 
the day before the date of the enactment of this Act 
that support and facilitate rapid emergency response
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following a domestic near-shore tsunami event to bet-
ter understand domestic effects of earthquake derived 
tsunami on people, infrastructure, and communities 
in the United States. 
(2) ELEMENTS.—The report required by para-
graph (1) shall include the following: 
(A) A description of scientific or other 
measurements collected on the day before the date 
of the enactment of this Act to quickly identify 
and quantify lost or degraded infrastructure or 
terrestrial formations. 
(B) A description of scientific or other 
measurements that would be necessary to collect 
to quickly identify and quantify lost or degraded 
infrastructure or terrestrial formations. 
(C) Identification and evaluation of Fed-
eral, State, local, tribal, territorial, and military 
first responder and search and rescue operation 
centers, bases, and other facilities as well as 
other critical response assets and infrastructure, 
including search and rescue aircraft, located 
within near-shore and distant tsunami inunda-
tion areas on the day before the date of the en-
actment of this Act.
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(D) An evaluation of near-shore tsunami re-
sponse plans in areas described in subparagraph 
(C) in effect on the day before the date of the en-
actment of this Act, and how those response 
plans would be affected by the loss of search and 
rescue and first responder infrastructure de-
scribed in such subparagraph. 
(E) A description of redevelopment plans 
and reports in effect on the day before the date 
of the enactment of this Act for communities in 
areas that are at high-risk for near-shore tsu-
nami, as well identification of States or commu-
nities that do not have redevelopment plans. 
(F) Recommendations to enhance near-shore 
tsunami preparedness and response plans, in-
cluding 
recommended 
responder 
exercises, 
predisaster planning, and mitigation needs. 
(G) Such other data and analysis informa-
tion as the Administrator and the Secretary of 
Homeland Security consider appropriate. 
(3) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS.— 
In this subsection, the term ‘‘appropriate committees 
of Congress’’ means— 
(A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
and Transportation and the Committee on
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Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of 
the Senate; and 
(B) the Committee on Science, Space, and 
Technology and the Committee on Homeland Se-
curity of the House of Representatives. 
SEC. 510. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
Section 9 of the Act, as redesignated by section 8(a)(1) 
of this Act, is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (4)(B), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 
the end; 
(2) in paragraph (5)(B), by striking the period 
at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(6) $25,800,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 
through 2021, of which— 
‘‘(A) not less than 27 percent of the amount 
appropriated for each fiscal year shall be for ac-
tivities conducted at the State level under the 
tsunami hazard mitigation program under sec-
tion 5; and 
‘‘(B) not less than 8 percent of the amount 
appropriated shall be for the tsunami research 
program under section 6.’’.
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SEC. 511. OUTREACH RESPONSIBILITIES. 
The Administrator of the National Oceanic and At-
mospheric Administration, in coordination with State and 
local emergency managers, shall develop and carry out for-
mal outreach activities to improve tsunami education and 
awareness and foster the development of resilient commu-
nities. Outreach activities may include— 
(1) the development of outreach plans to ensure 
the close integration of tsunami warning centers sup-
ported or maintained under section 4(d) of the Tsu-
nami Warning and Education Act (33 U.S.C. 
3203(d)) with local Weather Forecast Offices of the 
National Weather Service and emergency managers; 
(2) working with appropriate local Weather 
Forecast Offices to ensure they have the technical 
knowledge and capability to disseminate tsunami 
warnings to the communities they serve; and 
(3) evaluating the effectiveness of warnings and 
of coordination with local Weather Forecast Offices 
after significant tsunami events. 
SEC. 512. REPEAL OF DUPLICATE PROVISIONS OF LAW. 
(a) REPEAL.—The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con-
servation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006 
(Public Law 109–479) is amended by striking title VIII 
(relating to tsunami warning and education).
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(b) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section shall be 
construed to repeal, or affect in any way, Public Law 109– 
424. 
Attest: 
Secretary.