[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 324 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 324
To require the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere to
carry out pilot projects relating to improved subseasonal to seasonal
forecasting in agriculture and water management, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 29, 2025
Ms. Rosen (for herself and Mr. Padilla) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere to
carry out pilot projects relating to improved subseasonal to seasonal
forecasting in agriculture and water management, 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 ``Smarter Weather Forecasting for
Water Management, Farming, and Ranching Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. WEATHER AND CLIMATE INFORMATION IN AGRICULTURE AND WATER
MANAGEMENT.
Section 1762 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (15 U.S.C. 8521) is
amended--
(1) by amending subsection (h) to read as follows:
``(h) Subseasonal to Seasonal Forecasting Pilot Projects.--
``(1) Establishment.--The Under Secretary shall establish
not fewer than two pilot projects, in accordance with paragraph
(2), within the U.S. Weather Research Program of the Oceanic
and Atmospheric Research office of the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration to support improved subseasonal to
seasonal precipitation forecasts for the following:
``(A) Water management in the western United
States.
``(B) Agriculture in the United States.
``(2) Objectives.--In carrying out this subsection, the
Under Secretary shall ensure the following:
``(A) A pilot project under subparagraph (A) of
paragraph (1) addresses key science challenges to
improving forecasts and developing related products for
water management in the western United States,
including the following:
``(i) Improving operational model
resolution, both horizontal and vertical, to
resolve issues associated with mountainous
terrain, such as intensity of precipitation and
relative fraction of rain versus snow
precipitation.
``(ii) Improving fidelity in the
operational modeling of the atmospheric
boundary layer in mountainous regions.
``(iii) Resolving challenges in predicting
winter atmospheric circulation and storm
tracks, including periods of blocked versus
unblocked flow over the eastern North Pacific
Ocean and western United States.
``(iv) Improving the forecast of
atmospheric rivers.
``(v) Improving--
``(I) the quality and temporal and
spatial resolution of observations of
air-sea interactions;
``(II) operational modeling of air-
sea interactions; and
``(III) operational modeling of the
influence of oceans on subseasonal and
seasonal forecasting.
``(B) A pilot project under subparagraph (B) of
paragraph (1) addresses key science challenges to
improving forecasts and developing related products for
agriculture in the United States, including the
following:
``(i) Improving the quality and temporal
and spatial resolution of observations and
accurate operational modeling of the land
surface and hydrologic cycle, including soil
moisture and flash drought processes.
``(ii) Improving fidelity in the
operational modeling of warm season
precipitation processes.
``(iii) Understanding and predicting large-
scale upper-level dynamical flow anomalies that
occur in spring and summer.
``(3) Activities.--A pilot project under this subsection
shall include activities that--
``(A) best implement recommendations contained in
the 2020 report of the National Weather Service,
entitled `Subseasonal and Seasonal Forecasting
Innovation: Plans for the Twenty-First Century';
``(B) achieve measurable objectives for operational
forecast improvement;
``(C) engage with, and leverage the resources of,
institutions of higher education (as such term is
defined in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)), or a consortia thereof, and
entities within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration in existence as of the date of the
enactment of this subsection, including Regional
Climate Centers and the National Centers for
Environmental Information; and
``(D) are carried out in coordination with the
Assistant Administrator for the Office of Oceanic and
Atmospheric Research and the Director of the National
Weather Service.
``(4) Sunset.--The authority under this subsection shall
terminate on the date that is five years after the date of the
enactment of this subsection.''; and
(2) by amending subsection (j) to read as follows:
``(j) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated $45,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2029 to
carry out the activities under this section.''.
<all>