[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2413 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 2413
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 2, 2014
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To prioritize and redirect NOAA resources to a focused program of
investment on affordable and attainable advances in observational,
computing, and modeling capabilities to deliver substantial improvement
in weather forecasting and prediction of high impact weather events,
such as those associated with hurricanes, tornadoes, droughts, floods,
storm surges, and wildfires, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Weather Forecasting Improvement Act
of 2014''.
SEC. 2. PUBLIC SAFETY PRIORITY.
In accordance with NOAA's critical mission to provide science,
service, and stewardship, the Under Secretary shall prioritize weather-
related activities, including the provision of improved weather data,
forecasts, and warnings for the protection of life and property and the
enhancement of the national economy, in all relevant line offices.
SEC. 3. WEATHER RESEARCH AND FORECASTING INNOVATION.
(a) Program.--The Assistant Administrator for OAR shall conduct a
program to develop improved understanding of and forecast capabilities
for atmospheric events and their impacts, placing priority on
developing more accurate, timely, and effective warnings and fore-casts
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 2, including the boundary layer and
other atmospheric processes affecting high impact weather
events.
(2) Improving the understanding of how the public receives,
interprets, and responds to warnings and forecasts of high
impact weather events that endanger life and property.
(3) Research and development, and transfer of knowledge,
technologies, and applications to the NWS and other appropriate
agencies and entities, including the American weather industry
and academic partners, related to--
(A) advanced radar, radar networking technologies,
and other ground-based technologies, including those
emphasizing rapid, fine-scale sensing 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 information
technology and wireless communication networks;
(D) advanced numerical weather prediction systems
and forecasting tools and techniques that improve the
forecasting of timing, track, intensity, and severity
of high impact weather, including through--
(i) the development of more effective
mesoscale models;
(ii) more effective use of existing, and
the development of new, regional and national
cloud-resolving models;
(iii) enhanced global weather models; and
(iv) integrated assessment models;
(E) quantitative assessment tools for measuring the
impact and value of data and observing systems,
including OSSEs (as described in section 8), OSEs, and
AOAs;
(F) atmospheric chemistry and interactions
essential to accurately characterizing atmospheric
composition and predicting meteorological processes,
including cloud microphysical, precipitation, and
atmospheric electrification processes, 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 Assistant Administrator for NWS,
and in cooperation with the American weather industry and
academic partners, to ensure continuous development and
transition of the latest scientific and technological advances
into NWS operations 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 OAR shall collaborate
with and support the non-Federal weather research community,
which includes institutions of higher education, private
entities, and nongovernmental organizations, by making funds
available through competitive grants, contracts, and
cooperative agreements.
(2) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that
not less than 30 percent of the funds authorized for research
and development at OAR by this Act should be made available for
this purpose.
(d) Report.--The Under Secretary shall transmit to Congress
annually, concurrently with NOAA's budget request, a description of
current and planned activities under this section.
SEC. 4. TORNADO WARNING IMPROVEMENT AND EXTENSION PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--The Under Secretary, in collaboration with the
American 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, including the prediction of tornadoes beyond
one hour in advance.
(c) Program Plan.--Not later than 6 months after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Assistant Administrator for OAR, in
consultation with the Assistant Administrator for NWS, 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) Budget for Plan.--Following completion of the plan, the
Assistant Administrator for OAR, in consultation with the Assistant
Administrator for NWS, shall transmit annually to Congress a proposed
budget corresponding to the activities identified in the plan.
SEC. 5. HURRICANE WARNING IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--The Under Secretary, in collaboration with the
American weather industry and academic partners, shall establish a
hurricane warning improvement program.
(b) Goal.--The goal of such program shall be to develop and extend
accurate hurricane forecasts and warnings in order to reduce loss of
life, injury, and damage to the economy.
(c) Program Plan.--Not later than 6 months after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Assistant Administrator for OAR, in
consultation with the Assistant Administrator for NWS, 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) Budget for Plan.--Following completion of the plan, the
Assistant Administrator for OAR, in consultation with the Assistant
Administrator for NWS, shall transmit annually to Congress a proposed
budget corresponding to the activities identified in the plan.
SEC. 6. WEATHER RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PLANNING.
Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act,
and annually thereafter, the Assistant Administrator for OAR, in
coordination with the Assistant Administrators for NWS and NESDIS,
shall issue a research and development 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 NOAA in carrying out the program
conducted under section 3;
(2) identifies and prioritizes specific research and
development activities, and performance metrics, weighted to
meet the operational weather mission of NWS;
(3) describes how the program will collaborate with
stakeholders, including the American weather industry and
academic partners; and
(4) identifies, through consultation with the National
Science Foundation, American weather industry, and academic
partners, research necessary to enhance the integration of
social science knowledge into weather forecast and warning
processes, including to improve the communication of threat
information necessary to enable improved severe weather
planning and decisionmaking on the part of individuals and
communities.
SEC. 7. OBSERVING SYSTEM PLANNING.
The Under Secretary shall--
(1) develop and maintain a prioritized list of observation
data requirements necessary to ensure weather forecasting
capabilities to protect life and property to the maximum extent
practicable;
(2) undertake, using OSSEs, OSEs, AOAs, and other
appropriate assessment tools, ongoing systematic evaluations of
the combination of observing systems, data, and information
needed to meet the requirements listed under paragraph (1),
assessing various options to maximize observational
capabilities and their cost-effectiveness;
(3) identify current and potential future data gaps in
observing capabilities related to the requirements listed under
paragraph (1); and
(4) determine a range of options to address gaps identified
under paragraph (3).
SEC. 8. OBSERVING SYSTEM SIMULATION EXPERIMENTS.
(a) In General.--In support of the requirements of section 7, the
Assistant Administrator for OAR shall undertake OSSEs to quantitatively
assess the relative value and benefits of observing capabilities and
systems. Technical and scientific OSSE evaluations--
(1) may include assessments of the impact of observing
capabilities on--
(A) global weather prediction;
(B) hurricane track and intensity forecasting;
(C) tornado warning lead times and accuracy;
(D) prediction of mid-latitude severe local storm
outbreaks; and
(E) prediction of storms that have the potential to
cause extreme precipitation and flooding lasting from 6
hours to 1 week; and
(2) shall be conducted in cooperation with other
appropriate entities within NOAA, other Federal agencies, the
American weather industry, and academic partners to ensure the
technical and scientific merit of OSSE results.
(b) Requirements.--OSSEs shall quantitatively--
(1) determine the potential impact of proposed space-based,
suborbital, and in situ observing systems on analyses and
forecasts, including potential impacts on extreme weather
events across all parts of the Nation;
(2) evaluate and compare observing system design options;
and
(3) assess the relative capabilities and costs of various
observing systems and combinations of observing systems in
providing data necessary to protect life and property.
(c) Implementation.--OSSEs--
(1) shall be conducted prior to the acquisition of major
Government-owned or Government-leased operational 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 Osses.--Not later than June 30, 2014, the Assistant
Administrator for OAR shall complete OSSEs to assess the value of data
from both Global Positioning System radio occultation and a
geostationary hyperspectral sounder global constellation.
(e) Results.--Upon completion of all OSSEs, results shall be
publicly released and accompanied by 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 accordance with section 50503 of title 51, United
States Code.
SEC. 9. COMPUTING RESOURCES PRIORITIZATION REPORT.
Not later than 12 months after the date of enactment of this Act,
and annually thereafter, the NOAA Chief Information Officer, in
coordination with the Assistant Administrator for OAR and the Assistant
Administrator for NWS, shall produce and make publicly available a
report that explains how NOAA intends to--
(1) aggressively pursue the newest, fastest, and most cost
effective high performance computing technologies in support of
its weather prediction mission;
(2) ensure a balance between the research requirements to
develop the next generation of regional and global models and
its highly reliable operational models;
(3) take advantage of advanced development concepts to, as
appropriate, make its next generation weather prediction models
available in beta-test mode to its operational forecasters, the
American weather industry, and its partners in academic and
government research;
(4) identify opportunities to reallocate existing advanced
computing resources from lower priority uses to improve
advanced research and operational weather prediction; and
(5) harness new computing power in OAR and NWS for
immediate improvement in forecasting and experimentation.
SEC. 10. COMMERCIAL WEATHER DATA.
(a) Amendment.--Section 60161 of title 51, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following: ``This prohibition shall
not extend to--
``(1) the purchase of weather data through contracts with
commercial providers; or
``(2) the placement of weather satellite instruments on
cohosted government or private payloads.''.
(b) Strategy.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 6 months after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce, in
consultation with the Under Secretary, shall transmit to the
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate a strategy to enable the
procurement of quality commercial weather data. The strategy
shall assess the range of commercial opportunities, including
public-private partnerships, for obtaining both surface-based
and space-based weather observations. The strategy shall
include the expected cost effectiveness of these opportunities
as well as provide a plan for procuring data, including an
expected implementation timeline, from these nongovernmental
sources, as appropriate.
(2) Requirements.--The strategy shall include--
(A) an analysis of financial or other benefits to,
and risks associated with, acquiring commercial weather
data or services, including through multiyear
acquisition approaches;
(B) an identification of methods to address
planning, programming, budgeting, and execution
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
techniques and then evaluated for integration
into operational use;
(iii) how to guarantee public access to all
forecast-critical data to ensure that the
American weather industry and the public
continue to have access to information 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 facilitate effective and
efficient implementation of such strategy.
SEC. 11. WEATHER RESEARCH AND INNOVATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
(a) Establishment.--The Under Secretary shall establish a Federal
Advisory Committee to--
(1) provide advice for prioritizing weather research
initiatives at NOAA to produce real improvement in weather
forecasting;
(2) provide advice on existing or emerging technologies or
techniques that can be found in private industry or the
research community that could be incorporated into forecasting
at NWS to improve forecasting;
(3) identify opportunities to improve communications
between weather forecasters, emergency management personnel,
and the public; and
(4) address such other matters as the Under Secretary or
the Advisory Committee believes would improve innovation in
weather forecasting.
(b) Composition.--
(1) In general.--The Under Secretary shall appoint leading
experts and innovators from all relevant fields of science and
engineering that inform meteorology, including atmospheric
chemistry, atmospheric physics, hydrology, social science, risk
communications, electrical engineering, and computer modeling.
(2) Number.--The Advisory Committee shall be composed of at
least 12 members, with the chair of the Advisory Committee
chosen by the Under Secretary from among the members.
(3) Restriction.--The Under Secretary may not appoint a
majority of members who are employees of NOAA-funded research
centers.
(c) Annual Report.--The Advisory Committee shall transmit annually
to the Under Secretary a report on progress made by NOAA in adopting
the Advisory Committee's recommendations. The Under Secretary shall
transmit a copy of such report to the Committee on Science, Space, and
Technology of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate.
(d) Duration.--Section 14 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5
U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the Advisory Committee until the date
that is 5 years after the date of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 12. INTERAGENCY WEATHER RESEARCH AND 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 improve coordination of relevant weather
research and forecast innovation activities across the Federal
Government. The Interagency Committee shall--
(1) include participation by the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration, the Federal Aviation Administration, NOAA
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 Meteorology shall serve
as a co-chair of this panel.
(c) Further Coordination.--The Director shall take such other steps
as are necessary to coordinate the activities of the Federal Government
with those of the American weather industry, State governments,
emergency managers, and academic researchers.
SEC. 13. OAR AND NWS EXCHANGE PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--The Assistant Administrator for OAR and the
Assistant Administrator for NWS may establish a program to detail OAR
personnel to the NWS and NWS personnel to OAR.
(b) Goal.--The goal of this program is to enhance forecasting
innovation through regular, direct interaction between OAR's world-
class scientists and NWS's operational staff.
(c) Elements.--The program shall allow up to 10 OAR staff and NWS
staff to spend up to 1 year on detail. Candidates shall be jointly
selected by the Assistant Administrator for OAR and the Assistant
Administrator for NWS.
(d) Report.--The Under Secretary shall report annually to the
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of
Representatives and to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate on participation in such program and shall
highlight any innovations that come from this interaction.
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 provide direct
interaction between forecasters and talented academic and private
sector researchers in an effort to bring innovation to forecasting
tools and techniques available 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. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) AOA.--The term ``AOA'' means an Analysis of
Alternatives.
(2) NESDIS.--The term ``NESDIS'' means the National
Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service.
(3) NOAA.--The term ``NOAA'' means the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration.
(4) NWS.--The term ``NWS'' means the National Weather
Service.
(5) OAR.--The term ``OAR'' means the Office of Oceanic and
Atmospheric Research.
(6) OSE.--The term ``OSE'' means an Observing System
Experiment.
(7) OSSE.--The term ``OSSE'' means an Observing System
Simulation Experiment.
(8) Under secretary.--The term ``Under Secretary'' means
the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere.
SEC. 16. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) Fiscal Year 2014.--There are authorized to be appropriated for
fiscal year 2014--
(1) $83,000,000 to OAR to carry out this Act, of which--
(A) $65,000,000 is authorized for weather
laboratories and cooperative institutes; and
(B) $18,000,000 is authorized for weather and air
chemistry research programs; and
(2) out of funds made available for research and
development in NWS, an additional amount of $14,000,000 for OAR
to carry out the joint technology transfer initiative described
in section 3(b)(4).
(b) Alternative Funding for Fiscal Year 2014.--If the Budget
Control Act of 2011 (Public Law 112-25) is repealed or replaced with an
Act that increases allocations, subsection (a) shall not apply, and
there are authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 2014--
(1) $96,500,000 to OAR to carry out this Act, of which--
(A) $77,500,000 is authorized for weather
laboratories and cooperative institutes; and
(B) $19,000,000 is authorized for weather and air
chemistry research programs; and
(2) out of funds made available for research and
development in NWS, an additional amount of $16,000,000 for OAR
to carry out the joint technology transfer initiative described
in section 3(b)(4).
(c) Fiscal Years 2015 Through 2017.--For each of fiscal years 2015
through 2017, there are authorized to be appropriated--
(1) $100,000,000 to OAR 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).
(d) Limitation.--No additional funds are authorized to carry out
this Act, and the amendments made by this Act.
Passed the House of Representatives April 1, 2014.
Attest:
KAREN L. HAAS,
Clerk.