S 258 — TORNADO Act

changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
material is printed in italic, existing law in which no change 
is proposed is shown in roman):

WEATHER RESEARCH AND FORECASTING INNOVATION ACT OF 2017

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 [15 U.S.C. 8513]

SEC. 103. [TORNADO WARNING IMPROVEMENT AND EXTENSION PROGRAM] VORTEX-
 USA.

 (a) In General.--The Under Secretary, in collaboration with 
the United States weather industry and academic partners, shall 
[establish a tornado warning improvement and extension program] 
maintain a program for rapidly improving tornado forecast and 
warnings.
 (b) * * *
 (c) * * *
 (d) Warnings.--The program required by subsection (a) shall--
 (1) continue the research necessary to develop and 
 deploy probabilistic weather forecast guidance 
 technology for tornadoes; and
 (2) incorporate, as appropriate, hazard communication 
 research.
 (e) Research.--
 (1) In general.--The Under Secretary shall, through 
 the program required by subsection (a), award grants 
 for research that focuses on improving--
 (A) the social, behavioral, risk, 
 communication, and economic sciences related to 
 vulnerabilities, risk communication, and 
 delivery of information critical for saving 
 lives and property related to tornadoes; and
 (B) the physical sciences, engineering, and 
 technology related to tornado formation, the 
 interactions of tornadoes with the built and 
 natural environment, and the interaction of 
 tornadoes and hurricanes.
 (2) Priority institutions.--
 (A) In general.--In awarding grants under 
 paragraph (1), the Under Secretary may 
 prioritize awarding grants to minority-serving 
 institutions.
 (B) Definition of minority-serving 
 institution.--In this paragraph, the term 
 ``minority-serving institution'' means--
 (i) a part B institution (as defined 
 in section 322 of the Higher Education 
 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1061));
 (ii) a Hispanic-serving institution 
 (as defined in section 502(a) of that 
 Act (20 U.S.C. 1101a(a)));
 (iii) a Tribal College or University 
 (as defined in section 316(b) of that 
 Act (20 U.S.C. 1059c(b)));
 (iv) an Alaska Native-serving 
 institution (as defined in section 
 317(b) of that Act (20 U.S.C. 
 1059d(b)));
 (v) a Native Hawaiian-serving 
 institution (as defined in section 
 317(b) of that Act (20 U.S.C. 
 1059d(b)));
 (vi) a Predominantly Black 
 Institution (as defined in section 
 318(b) of that Act (20 U.S.C. 
 1059e(b)));
 (vii) an Asian American and Native 
 American Pacific Islander-serving 
 institution (as defined in section 
 320(b) of that Act (20 U.S.C. 
 1059g(b))); or
 (viii) a Native American-serving, 
 nontribal institution (as defined in 
 section 319(b) of that Act (20 U.S.C. 
 1059f(b))).
 [(d)](f) Program Plan.--Not later than 180 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Assistant Administrator 
for Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, in coordination with the 
Director of the National Weather Service, 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.
 [(e)](g) Annual Budget for Plan Submittal.--Following 
completion of the plan, the Under Secretary, acting through the 
Assistant Administrator for Oceanic and Atmospheric Research 
and in coordination with the Director of the National Weather 
Service, shall, not less frequently than once each year, submit 
to Congress a proposed budget corresponding with the activities 
identified in the plan.
 (h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to 
be appropriated to the Under Secretary to carry out this 
section $11,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2032, 
of which not less than $2,000,000 each fiscal year shall be 
used for grants awarded under subsection (e).

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 [15 U.S.C. 8543]

SEC. 8543. OFFICE OF OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH AND NATIONAL 
 WEATHER SERVICE EXCHANGE PROGRAM.

 (a) In General.--The Assistant Administrator for Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Research and the Director of the National Weather 
Service may establish a program to detail Office of Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Research personnel to the National Weather Service 
and National Weather Service personnel to the Office of Oceanic 
and Atmospheric Research.
 (b) * * *
 (c) * * *
 [(d) Annual Report.--Not less frequently than once each year, 
the Under Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 
Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives 
a report on participation in such program and shall highlight 
any innovations that come from this interaction.]

 * * * * * * *

 NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION AUTHORIZATION ACT OF 
1992

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 [15 U.S.C. 1537; Public Law 102-567; 106 Stat. 4274]

SEC. 106. DATA AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS.

 (a) * * *
 (b) * * *
 [(c) Needs Assessment for Data Management, Archival, and 
Distribution.--(1) Not later than 12 months after the date of 
enactment of this Act and at least biennially thereafter, the 
Secretary of Commerce shall complete an assessment of the 
adequacy of the environmental data and information systems of 
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. In 
conducting such an assessment, the Secretary shall take into 
consideration the need to--
 [(A) provide adequate capacity to manage, archive, 
 and disseminate environmental data and information 
 collected and processed, or expected to be collected 
 and processed, by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
 Administration and other appropriate departments and 
 agencies;
 [(B) establish, develop, and maintain information 
 bases, including necessary management systems, which 
 will promote consistent, efficient, and compatible 
 transfer and use of data;
 [(C) develop effective interfaces among the 
 environmental data and information systems of the 
 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and 
 other appropriate departments and agencies;
 [(D) develop and use nationally accepted formats and 
 standards for data collected by various national and 
 international sources; and
 [(E) integrate and interpret data from different 
 sources to produce information that can be used by 
 decisionmakers in developing policies that effectively 
 respond to national and global environmental concerns.
 [(2) Not later than 12 months after the date of enactment of 
this Act and biennially thereafter, the Secretary of Commerce 
shall develop and submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Science, 
Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives a 
comprehensive plan, based on the assessment under paragraph 
(1), to modernize and improve the environmental data and 
information systems of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration. The report shall--.
 [(A) set forth modernization and improvement 
 objectives for the 10-year period beginning with the 
 year in which the plan is submitted, including facility 
 requirements and critical new technological components 
 that would be necessary to meet the objectives set 
 forth;
 [(B) propose specific agency programs and activities 
 for implementing the plan;
 [(C) identify the data and information management, 
 archival, and distribution responsibilities of the 
 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration with 
 respect to other Federal departments and agencies and 
 international organizations, including the role of the 
 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration with 
 respect to large data systems like the Earth Observing 
 System Data and Information System; and
 [(D) provide an implementation schedule and estimate 
 funding levels necessary to achieve modernization and 
 improvement objectives.]

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