National Weather Service Communications Improvement Act

Bill: 118-s-1414
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Cantwell, Maria [D-WA]
Introduced: 2023-05-03
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications
Subjects: Atmospheric science and weather
Latest action: action_date: 2023-12-22
text: Held at the desk.

Summaries:
action_date: 2023-05-03
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p><strong>National Weather Service Communications Improvement Act</strong></p> <p>This bill requires the National Weather Service (NWS) to replace NWSChat with a commercial, off-the-shelf communications solution that is hosted on the public cloud. (NWSChat is an instant messaging program used by NWS personnel to share, in real-time, critical warnings and other types of weather information.)</p>

action_date: 2023-12-04
action_desc: Reported to Senate
text: <p><strong>National Weather Service Communications Improvement Act</strong></p> <p>This bill requires the National Weather Service (NWS) to replace NWSChat with a commercial, off-the-shelf communications solution that is hosted on the public cloud. (NWSChat is an instant messaging program used by NWS personnel to share, in real-time, critical warnings and other types of weather information.)</p>

action_date: 2023-12-18
action_desc: Passed Senate
text: <p><strong>National Weather Service Communications Improvement Act</strong></p> <p>This bill requires the National Weather Service (NWS) to replace NWSChat with a commercial, off-the-shelf communications solution that is hosted on the public cloud. (NWSChat is an instant messaging program used by NWS personnel to share, in real-time, critical warnings and other types of weather information.)</p>

tv_txt: 118th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 1414 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES AN ACT To improve the instant messaging service used by the National Weather Service, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the National Weather Service Communications Improvement Act . 2. National Weather Service communications (a) In general Title IV of the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 ( 15 U.S.C. 8541 et seq. ) is amended by adding at the end the following: 415. National Weather Service communications (a) Improvement of instant messaging service (1) In general The Director of the National Weather Service shall improve the instant messaging service used by personnel of the National Weather Service by implementing by October 1, 2027, a commercial off-the-shelf communications solution that replaces the instant messaging service commonly referred to as NWSChat . (2) Requirements The communications solution implemented under paragraph (1) shall— (A) be hosted on the public cloud; and (B) satisfy requirements set forth by the Director to ensure that the solution— (i) best accommodates future growth; (ii) performs successfully with increased numbers of users; (iii) is easy to use for the majority of users; and (iv) is similar to systems already in commercial use. (3) Definition of public cloud In this subsection, the term public cloud means an information technology model in which service providers make computing services, including compute and storage and develop-and-deploy environments and applications, available on-demand to organizations and individuals over the public internet. (b) No additional funds authorized Funds to carry out this section may only come from amounts authorized to be appropriated to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration before the date of the enactment of the National Weather Service Communications Improvement Act . . (b) Clerical amendment The table of contents in section 1(b) of the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 414 the following: Sec. 415. National Weather Service communications. .

Passed the Senate December 18, 2023. Secretary

tv_txt: II Calendar No. 260 118th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 1414 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES May 3, 2023 Ms. Cantwell (for herself and Mr. Cruz ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation December 4, 2023 Reported by Ms. Cantwell , without amendment A BILL To improve the instant messaging service used by the National Weather Service, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the National Weather Service Communications Improvement Act . 2. National Weather Service communications (a) In general Title IV of the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 ( 15 U.S.C. 8541 et seq. ) is amended by adding at the end the following: 415. National Weather Service communications (a) Improvement of instant messaging service (1) In general The Director of the National Weather Service shall improve the instant messaging service used by personnel of the National Weather Service by implementing by October 1, 2027, a commercial off-the-shelf communications solution that replaces the instant messaging service commonly referred to as NWSChat . (2) Requirements The communications solution implemented under paragraph (1) shall— (A) be hosted on the public cloud; and (B) satisfy requirements set forth by the Director to ensure that the solution— (i) best accommodates future growth; (ii) performs successfully with increased numbers of users; (iii) is easy to use for the majority of users; and (iv) is similar to systems already in commercial use. (3) Definition of public cloud In this subsection, the term public cloud means an information technology model in which service providers make computing services, including compute and storage and develop-and-deploy environments and applications, available on-demand to organizations and individuals over the public internet. (b) No additional funds authorized Funds to carry out this section may only come from amounts authorized to be appropriated to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration before the date of the enactment of the National Weather Service Communications Improvement Act . . (b) Clerical amendment The table of contents in section 1(b) of the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 414 the following: Sec. 415. National Weather Service communications. .

December 4, 2023 Reported without amendment

tv_txt: II 118th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 1414 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES May 3, 2023 Ms. Cantwell (for herself and Mr. Cruz ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To improve the instant messaging service used by the National Weather Service, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the National Weather Service Communications Improvement Act . 2. National Weather Service communications (a) In general Title IV of the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 ( 15 U.S.C. 8541 et seq. ) is amended by adding at the end the following: 415. National Weather Service communications (a) Improvement of instant messaging service (1) In general The Director of the National Weather Service shall improve the instant messaging service used by personnel of the National Weather Service by implementing by October 1, 2027, a commercial off-the-shelf communications solution that replaces the instant messaging service commonly referred to as NWSChat . (2) Requirements The communications solution implemented under paragraph (1) shall— (A) be hosted on the public cloud; and (B) satisfy requirements set forth by the Director to ensure that the solution— (i) best accommodates future growth; (ii) performs successfully with increased numbers of users; (iii) is easy to use for the majority of users; and (iv) is similar to systems already in commercial use. (3) Definition of public cloud In this subsection, the term public cloud means an information technology model in which service providers make computing services, including compute and storage and develop-and-deploy environments and applications, available on-demand to organizations and individuals over the public internet. (b) No additional funds authorized Funds to carry out this section may only come from amounts authorized to be appropriated to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration before the date of the enactment of the National Weather Service Communications Improvement Act . . (b) Clerical amendment The table of contents in section 1(b) of the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 414 the following: Sec. 415. National Weather Service communications. .