,,ii  #aaeth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #bicf  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,may #bc1 #bjah
 ,mr4 ,thune introduced the following   
bill2 which was read twice and referred 
to the ,committee on ,energy and        
,natural ,resources  ,a ,,bill  ,to     
improve soil moisture and precipitation 
monitoring1 and for other purposes4  #a4
 ,short title  ,this ,act may be cited  
as the ,improved ,soil ,moisture and    
,precipitation ,monitoring ,act of      
#bjah4  #b4 ,improved soil moisture     
monitoring  7a7 ,in general ,not later  
than #a year after the date of the      
enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary  
of ,agriculture shall develop and       
implement a strategy to improve the     
accuracy of the ,united ,states ,drought
 ,monitor through increased geographic  
resolution of rural in-situ soil        
moisture profile observation or other   
soil moisture profile measuring devices1
 as the ,secretary considers            
appropriate4  7b7 ,implementation  7#a7 

,in general ,in implementing the        
strategy required by subsection 7a71 the
 ,secretary shall prioritize adding soil
 moisture profile stations in ,states   
described in paragraph 7#b7 so that the 
number of drought monitoring stations is
 increased to an average of #a such     
station per #a1bej square miles in each 
such ,state or by #ej stations in each  
such ,state1 whichever is less4  7#b7   
,states described ,a ,state described in
 this paragraph is a ,state that has    
experienced ,d#c 7extreme drought7 or   
,d#d 7exceptional drought7 7as defined  
by the ,united ,states ,drought         
,monitor7 within any #f months during   
the period beginning on ,january #a1    
#bjaf1 and ending on the date of the    
enactment of this ,act4  7c7            
,coordination ,in carrying out this     
section1 the ,secretary may coordinate  
with other ,federal agencies1 ,state and
 local governments1 and non-,federal    
entities that collaborate with the      
,united ,states ,drought ,monitor4  7d7 

,cost-,effectiveness ,in carrying out   
this section1 the ,secretary shall      
consider cost-effective solutions to    
maximize the efficiency and accuracy of 
the ,united ,states ,drought ,monitor4  
7e7 ,authorization of appropriations    
,there are authorized to be appropriated
 to the ,secretary #e1jjj1jjj for each  
of fiscal years #bjai through #bjbd to  
carry out this section4  #c4 ,standards 
for integrating citizen science into    
drought models  7a7 ,in general ,not    
later than #a year after the date of the
 enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary 
of ,agriculture shall--  7#a7 develop a 
set of standards for integration of data
 derived from citizen science 7as       
defined in the ,crowdsourcing and       
,citizen ,science ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4   
#cgbd77 into the ,united ,states        
,drought ,monitor models1 including data
 relating to--  7,a7 location and       
spacing of monitoring stations2  7,b7   
data quality standards2  7,c7           
incorporation of data from commercially 

available weather stations2  7,d7       
standardized procedures for autonomous  
integration of data2  7,e7 streamlining 
of data entry methods2 and  7,f7        
reasonable metadata fields2 and  7#b7   
develop a set of consistent standards   
for soil moisture data collection based 
on equipment that is readily available1 
including standards relating to--  7,a7 
acceptable error ranges2  7,b7 sensor   
installation procedures2  7,c7          
manufacturers of soil moisture probes2  
7,d7 calibration methodology2  7,e7     
metadata fields2 and  7,f7 soil         
descriptions4  7b7 ,inclusion of data   
from ,cooperative ,observer ,program    
,for purposes of subsection 7a77#a71    
data derived from citizen science       
includes data from the ,cooperative     
,observer ,program of the ,national     
,weather ,service4  #d4 ,requirement for
 elements of ,department of ,agriculture
 to use the same monitoring data  7a7   
,in general ,to be consistent with      
assistance provided under the ,livestock

 ,forage ,program administered by the   
,farm ,service ,agency of the           
,department of ,agriculture and the     
,pasture1 ,rangeland1 ,forage ,program  
administered by the ,risk ,management   
,agency of the ,department1 and the     
annual establishment of grazing rates1  
as applicable1 on ,forest ,service      
grasslands and other applicable land1   
the ,secretary of ,agriculture shall    
direct those agencies to use the ,united
 ,states ,drought ,monitor1 in-situ soil
 moisture profile monitoring stations   
described in section #b1 data from the  
,cooperative ,observer ,program         
described in section #c7;b71 and any    
other applicable data to determine and  
establish grazing loss assistance and   
grazing rates1 as applicable4  7b7      
,coordination ,in carrying out this     
section1 the ,secretary may coordinate  
with-- 7#a7 other ,federal agencies1    
,state and local governments1 and       
non-,federal entities that collaborate  
with the ,united ,states ,drought       

,monitor2 and  7#b7 other ,federal and  
non-,federal entities involved in       
collecting data on precipitation and    
soil monitoring4  7c7                   
,cost-,effectiveness ,in carrying out   
this section1 the ,secretary shall      
consider cost-effective solutions to    
maximize the efficiency and accuracy of 
the data utilized to determine          
eligibility for assistance under the    
programs specified in subsection 7a74