HR 1561 RFS
SEC. 14. VISITING FELLOWS AT NWS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Administrator for 
NWS 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 pro-
vide direct interaction between forecasters and talented 
academic and private sector researchers in an effort to 
bring innovation to forecasting tools and techniques avail-
able to the NWS. 
(c) SELECTION AND APPOINTMENT.—Such fellows 
shall be competitively selected and appointed for a term 
not to exceed 1 year. 
SEC. 15. NOAA WEATHER READY ALL HAZARDS AWARD 
PROGRAM. 
(a) PROGRAM.—The Assistant Administrator for 
NWS is authorized to establish the NOAA Weather Ready 
All Hazards Award Program. This award program shall 
provide annual awards to honor individuals or organiza-
tions that use or provide NOAA Weather Radio All Haz-
ards receivers or transmitters to save lives and protect 
property. Individuals or organizations that utilize other 
early warning tools or applications also qualify for this 
award. 
(b) GOAL.—This award program draws attention to 
the life-saving work of the NOAA Weather Ready All Haz-
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ards Program, as well as emerging tools and applications, 
that provide real-time warning to individuals and commu-
nities 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 Assistant Administrator for NWS. 
Broadcast meteorologists, weather radio manufactur-
ers and weather warning tool and application devel-
opers, emergency managers and public safety offi-
cials may nominate individuals and/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 
Assistant Administrator for NWS shall choose win-
ners of this award whose timely actions, based on 
NOAA weather radio all hazards receivers or trans-
mitters or other early warning tools and applica-
tions, saved lives and/or property or demonstrated 
public service in support of weather or all hazard 
warnings. 
(3) AWARD CEREMONY.—The Assistant Admin-
istrator for NWS shall establish a means of making 
these awards to provide maximum public awareness 
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of the importance of NOAA Weather Radio, and 
such other warning tools and applications as are 
represented in the awards. 
SEC. 16. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) AOA.—The term ‘‘AOA’’ means an Anal-
ysis of Alternatives. 
(2) NESDIS.—The term ‘‘NESDIS’’ means 
the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and In-
formation Service. 
(3) NOAA.—The term ‘‘NOAA’’ means the Na-
tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 
(4) NWS.—The term ‘‘NWS’’ means the Na-
tional Weather Service. 
(5) OAR.—The term ‘‘OAR’’ means the Office 
of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research. 
(6) OSE.—The term ‘‘OSE’’ means an Observ-
ing System Experiment. 
(7) OSSE.—The term ‘‘OSSE’’ means an Ob-
serving System Simulation Experiment. 
(8) UNDER
SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Under 
Secretary’’ means the Under Secretary of Commerce 
for Oceans and Atmosphere. 
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SEC. 17. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
(a) FISCAL YEAR 2015.—There are authorized to be 
appropriated for fiscal year 2015— 
(1) $90,800,000 to OAR to carry out this Act, 
of which— 
(A) $70,000,000 is authorized for weather 
laboratories and cooperative institutes; and 
(B) $20,800,000 is authorized for weather 
and air chemistry research programs; and 
(2) out of funds made available for research 
and development at NOAA, an additional amount of 
$16,000,000 for OAR to carry out the joint tech-
nology transfer initiative described in section 
3(b)(4). 
(b) FISCAL YEARS 2016 AND 2017.—For each of fis-
cal years 2016 and 2017, there are authorized to be ap-
propriated to OAR— 
(1) $100,000,000 to carry out this Act, of 
which— 
(A) $80,000,000 is authorized for weather 
laboratories and cooperative institutes; and 
(B) $20,000,000 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 
section 3(b)(4). 
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(c) LIMITATION.—No additional funds are authorized 
to carry out this Act, and the amendments made by this 
Act. 
Passed the House of Representatives May 19, 2015. 
Attest: 
KAREN L. HAAS, 
Clerk. 
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