A bill to establish the National Hurricane Research Initiative to improve hurricane preparedness, and for other purposes.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``National Hurricane Research 
Initiative Act of 2006''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
        the National Science Foundation.
            (2) Under secretary.--The term ``Under Secretary'' means 
        the Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere of the Department 
        of Commerce.

SEC. 3. NATIONAL HURRICANE RESEARCH INITIATIVE.

    (a) Requirement to Establish.--The Under Secretary and the Director 
shall establish an initiative known as the National Hurricane Research 
Initiative for the purposes described in subsection (b).
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of the National Hurricane Research 
Initiative shall be to set research objectives based on the findings of 
the September 29, 2006, National Science Board report entitled 
``Hurricane Warning: The Critical Need for National Hurricane 
Initiative''--
            (1) to make recommendations to the National Science Board 
        based on such research;
            (2) to assemble the expertise of the science and 
        engineering capabilities of the United States through a multi-
        agency effort that is focused on--
                    (A) improving a better understanding of hurricane 
                prediction, intensity, and mitigation on coastal 
                populations;
                    (B) infrastructure; and
                    (C) the natural environment; and
            (3) to make grants to eligible entities to carry out 
        research in the following areas:
                    (A) Predicting hurricane intensification.--Research 
                to improve understanding of--
                            (i) rapid intensity change in storms, 
                        relationships among storm size, motion and 
                        intensity;
                            (ii) the internal dynamics of hurricanes; 
                        and
                            (iii) the manner in which hurricanes 
                        interact with the environment.
                    (B) Understanding air-sea interactions.--Research 
                to improve understanding of theories of air-sea 
                interaction that are common to the strong wind and high 
                wave conditions associated with hurricanes, and cases 
                in which the air-sea interface beneath hurricanes 
                vanishes and is replaced by an emulsion, including 
                theoretical theories, observational theories, and 
                modeling.
                    (C) Predicting storm surge, rainfall, and inland 
                flooding from hurricanes and tropical storms.--Research 
                to understand and model rainfall and flooding from 
                hurricanes, including probabilistic modeling and 
                mapping of storm surge risk.
                    (D) Hurricane modification.--Basic research for 
                modifying hurricanes to reduce the intensity or alter 
                the movement of hurricanes by human intervention, 
                including research to improve understanding of the 
                potential effects of hurricane modification on 
                precipitation and fresh water supply, as well as on 
                climate.
                    (E) Improved observation of hurricanes and tropical 
                storms.--Research to improve hurricane and tropical 
                storm observation through mobile radars, Global 
                Positioning System technology, unmanned aerial 
                vehicles, and ground-based and aerial wireless sensors 
                to improve understanding of the complex nature of 
                storms.
                    (F) Assessing vulnerable infrastructure.--Research 
                to develop a national engineering assessment of coastal 
                infrastructure, including infrastructure related to 
                levees, seawalls, drainage systems, bridges, water and 
                sewage utilities, power, and communications, to 
                determine the level of vulnerability of such 
                infrastructure to damage from a hurricane.
                    (G) Interaction of hurricanes with engineered 
                structures.--Research to improve understanding of the 
                impacts of hurricanes and tropical storms on buildings, 
                structures, and housing combined with modeling 
                essential for guiding the creation of improved building 
                designs and construction codes in locations 
                particularly vulnerable to hurricanes.
                    (H) Relationship between hurricanes, climate, and 
                natural ecosystems.--Research to improve the 
                understanding of the complex relationships between 
                hurricanes and climate, including research to determine 
                the most effective methods to use observational 
                information to examine the impacts on ecosystems over 
                long- and short-periods of time.
                    (I) Technologies for disaster response and 
                recovery.--Research to improve emergency communication 
                networks for government agencies and non-government 
                entities and to improve communications between such 
                networks during disaster response and recovery, 
                including cyber-security during disaster situations and 
                the ability to improve damage assessments during 
                storms.
                    (J) Evacuation planning.--Research to improve the 
                manner in which hurricane-related information is 
                provided to, and utilized by, the public and government 
                officials, including research to assist officials of 
                State or local government in determining the 
                circumstances in which evacuations are required and in 
                carrying out such evacuations.
                    (K) Computational capability.--Research to improve 
                understanding of the efficient utility of multiple 
                models requiring sharing and inter-operability of 
                databases, computing environments, networks, 
                visualization tools, and analytic systems beyond what 
                is currently available for transitioning hurricane 
                research assets into operational practice and to 
                provide access to robust computational facilities 
                beyond the facilities normally accessible by the 
                civilian research community for the hurricane research 
                enterprise, including data acquisition and modeling 
                capability during hurricane events.
    (c) Cooperation With Other Agencies.--The Under Secretary and the 
Director shall cooperate with the head of each appropriate Federal 
agency or department, research institute, university, and disaster-
response or nongovernmental organization to utilize the expertise and 
capabilities of such entity to carry out the purposes of the National 
Hurricane Research Initiative, including cooperation with the heads of 
the following entities:
            (1) The National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
            (2) The National Institute of Standards and Technology.
            (3) The Department of Homeland Security, including the 
        Federal Emergency Management Agency.
            (4) The Department of Energy.
            (5) The Defense Advanced Research Project Agency.
            (6) The Environmental Protection Agency.
            (7) The United States Geological Survey.
            (8) The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
    (d) Coordination.--The White House Office of Science and Technology 
Policy, through the National Science and Technology Council, shall 
coordinate the activities carried out by the United States related to 
the National Hurricane Research Initiative as a formal program with a 
well defined organizational structure and execution plan.
    (e) Grants.--
            (1) Authority.--The Under Secretary and the Director may 
        award grants to appropriate government agencies or departments 
        or nongovernmental entities to carry out the purposes described 
        in subsection (b).
            (2) Best practices.--The Under Secretary and the Director 
        shall develop and make available to the public a description of 
        best practices to be used to carry out a project with a grant 
        awarded under this subsection.
    (f) Research Seminars and Forums.--The Under Secretary and the 
Director shall carry out a series of national seminars and forums that 
assemble a broad collection of scientific disciplines to direct 
researchers to work collaboratively to carry out the purposes described 
in subsection (b).
    (g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated $285,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 
2018 to carry out this section.

SEC. 4. NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE DATABASE.

    (a) Requirement to Establish.--The Under Secretary and the Director 
shall establish a National Infrastructure Database for the purposes 
of--
            (1) cataloging and characterizing the physical, social, and 
        natural infrastructure in order to provide a baseline for 
        developing standards, measuring modification, and determining 
        loss;
            (2) providing information to Federal, State, and local 
        government officials to improve information public policy 
        related to hurricanes and tropical storms; and
            (3) providing data to researchers to improve their ability 
        to measure hurricane impacts, separate such impacts from other 
        effects, both natural and anthropogenic, make effective 
        recommendations for improved building codes and urban planning 
        practices, and develop effective procedures for responding to 
        infrastructure disruption.
    (b) Database Requirements.--The National Infrastructure Database 
shall be a virtual, cyber environment that uses existing capabilities 
and facilities, and establishes new capabilities and facilities, as 
appropriate, to provide an interoperable environment and the necessary 
metadata and other resources needed by users of that Database.
    (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated $20,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2018 
to carry out this section.

SEC. 5. NATIONAL HURRICANE RESEARCH MODEL.

    (a) Requirement to Establish.--The Under Secretary and the Director 
shall develop a National Hurricane Research Model to conduct 
integrative research and to facilitate the transfer of research 
knowledge to operational applications, including linking relevant 
theoretical, physical, and computational models from atmospheric, 
oceanic, economic, sociological, engineered infrastructure, and 
ecologic fields, conducting experimental research to understand the 
extensive complexities of hurricanes, and obtaining measurable results 
in a comprehensive framework suitable for testing end-to-end 
integrative systems.
    (b) System Requirements.--The National Hurricane Research Model 
shall be a physically distributed and highly coordinated working 
environment in which research from the National Hurricane Research can 
be experimentally substantiated using suitable quantitative metrics, 
and where a culture of interaction and collaboration can further be 
promoted, including in the areas of--
            (1) facilities and cyberinfrastructure;
            (2) software integration; and
            (3) fixed mobile data collection platforms and data 
        provisioning systems.
    (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated $130,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 
2018 to carry out this section.

Summary: National Hurricane Research Initiative Act of 2006 - Requires the Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere of the Department of Commerce and the Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) to establish a National Hurricane Research Initiative and to cooperate with other specified federal agencies to carry it out.

Requires such Initiative to set research objectives (based on a National Science Board report on the need for such Initiative) to: (1) make recommendations to the Board; (2) assemble the expertise of U.S. science and engineering capabilities through a multi-agency effort focused on infrastructure, the natural environment, and improving understanding of hurricane prediction, intensity, and mitigation on coastal populations; and (3) make grants for hurricane research, including regarding hurricane dynamics, modification, and observation, air-sea interaction, relationships between hurricanes and climate, predicting flooding and storm surge, coastal infrastructure, building construction, emergency communication networks, information utilization by public officials, and sharing computational capability.

Directs the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, through the National Science and Technology Council, to coordinate U.S. activities related to the Initiative as a formal program with a well-defined organizational structure and execution plan.

Directs the Under Secretary and the Director to: (1) establish a National Infrastructure Database to catalog infrastructure, provide information to improve information public policy related to hurricanes, and provide data to improve researchers' abilities to measure hurricane impacts in order to improve building codes and urban planning; and (2) develop a National Hurricane Research Model to conduct integrative research and facilitate the transfer of research knowledge to operational applications.