[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3915 Reported in House (RH)]
<DOC>
Union Calendar No. 171
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3915
[Report No. 118-211]
To improve the National Weather Service's forecasting of turbulence and
acquisition of aviation weather data, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 7, 2023
Mr. McCormick introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
September 21, 2023
Additional sponsor: Ms. Stevens
September 21, 2023
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed
in italic]
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on June 7,
2023]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To improve the National Weather Service's forecasting of turbulence and
acquisition of aviation weather data, 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 ``Aviation Weather Improvement Act''.
SEC. 2. AVIATION WEATHER AND DATA INNOVATION.
(a) Program.--The Director of the National Weather Service shall
maintain an airborne observation program (in this section referred to
as the ``program'') for the acquisition of atmospheric sensor data and
the deployment, in partnership with the weather enterprise, of critical
atmospheric sensors.
(b) Activities.--The program shall include activities that carry
out the following:
(1) Procurement of weather data available from commercial
aircraft, as determined by the Director of the National Weather
Service.
(2) Acquisition of additional vertical profile observations
that provide spatial and temporal density, as determined by the
Director.
(3) Analysis of procured data when incorporated into the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's unified
forecast system in order to provide improved forecast
information for aircraft.
(c) Budget.--The Director of the National Weather Service shall,
not less frequently than annually, submit to Congress a proposed budget
corresponding with the activities described in subsection (b),
including an analysis of such activities that can be complemented by
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration aircraft.
(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--From amounts made available
to Operations, Research, and Facilities of the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, there is authorized to be appropriated up
to $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028 to carry out
this section.
(e) Definition.--In this section, the term ``weather enterprise''
has the meaning given such term in section 2 of the Weather Research
and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8501).
SEC. 3. AVIATION WEATHER AND TURBULENCE FORECASTING COORDINATION.
(a) In General.--The Director of the National Weather Service shall
include turbulence events or phenomena, icing conditions, or other
phenomena in the forecasting capabilities of the National Weather
Service's Aviation Weather Center, and deliver operational forecasts
with consistent, timely, and accurate weather and turbulence
information for the airspace system and the protection of lives and
property.
(b) Coordination.--In carrying out subsection (a), the Director of
the National Weather Service shall--
(1) give consideration to recommendations from the
Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration in
furtherance of section 44720 of title 49, United States Code;
and
(2) improve weather and turbulence forecasting capabilities
by--
(A) designating or establishing within the Federal
Government an interagency working group to determine
weather and environmental data or observation
requirements, needs, and potential solutions related to
aviation weather and turbulence modeling or
forecasting;
(B) identifying current and future potential data
gaps related to turbulence events or phenomena that
can--
(i) identify or inform route specific
flight planning; and
(ii) be supplemented or filled by
commercial aviation tools;
(C) transitioning research initiatives and pilot
programs, including a pilot program of instrumentation
for observing greenhouse gases and other atmospheric
factors deployed on commercial aircraft and supporting
the evaluation of a sustained observing network using
such platforms, into operations that improve the
forecasting missions of the Aviation Weather Center;
(D) developing and deploying improved probabilistic
aviation weather forecast guidance technology; and
(E) updating interagency agreements, as
appropriate, including to address reimbursable
agreements.
SEC. 4. NEXT GENERATION AVIATION RESEARCH.
Paragraph (3) of section 102(b) of the Weather Research and
Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8512(b)), is amended--
(1) by redesignating subparagraphs (F) and (G) as
subparagraphs (G) and (H), respectively; and
(2) by inserting after subparagraph (E) the following new
subparagraph:
``(F) aviation weather phenomena, including
atmospheric composition and turbulence, to improve
scientific understanding and forecast capabilities for
the airspace system;''.
Union Calendar No. 171
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3915
[Report No. 118-211]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To improve the National Weather Service's forecasting of turbulence and
acquisition of aviation weather data, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
September 21, 2023
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed