,i #aahth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #biie ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,april #bh1 #bjbc,mrs4 ,bice 7for herself1 ,mr4 ,tonko1 and ,mr4 ,lucas7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,science1 ,space1 and ,technology ,a ,,bill ,to authorize the ,national ,mesonet ,program of the ,national ,weather ,service1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,national ,mesonet ,authorization ,act4 #b4 ,national ,mesonet ,program 7a7 ,in general ,title ,i of the ,weather ,research and ,forecasting ,innovation ,act of #bjag 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #heja et seq47 is amended by adding at the end the following new section3 #aaa4 ,national ,mesonet ,program 7a7 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,since the initial establishment of the ,national ,mesonet ,program1 a public-private partnership program1 the ,program has leveraged data collected by existing weather observation networks to-- 7,a7 provide accurate1 real-time observations to support weather forecasters1 emergency response1 and all-weather sensitive activities across the ,united ,states2 7,b7 address persistent impediments1 identified in a #bjji ,national ,academy of ,sciences ,report1 ,from the ,ground ,up1 to fulfill the need for broader and denser environmental observation networks to improve severe weather lead-times2 7,c7 help achieve major improvements for the ,national ,oceanic and ,atmospheric ,administration and the broader ,american ,weather ,enterprise1 as identified in the #bjaa ,national ,academy of ,sciences ,report1 ,the ,national ,weather ,service ,modernization and ,associated ,restructuring2 7,d7 increase the amount of non-,federal weather data available to the ,federal ,government by orders of magnitude2 and 7,e7 improve understanding of the impact1 size1 and duration of mesoscale weather events4 7#b7 ,the ,national ,mesonet ,program is a critical component of ,administration operations and provides reliable1 real-time observation capabilities for the physical environment that enhances prediction1 preparedness1 and response strategies to severe weather events4 7#c7 ,the ,national ,mesonet ,program is a primary input1 ingest1 and quality-assurance_/quality-control for non-,federal weather data that are critical to operations1 including situational awareness1 forecasting1 decision support1 research1 in-situ verification and validation for emerging satellite technologies1 and numerical weather prediction modeling4 7b7 ,program ,there is in the ,national ,weather ,service a program to be known as the ,national ,mesonet ,program 7in this section referred to as the ,program74 ,the ,program shall-- 7#a7 be administered by the ,under ,secretary2 and 7#b7 obtain observations in all geographic environments to improve understanding of and forecast capabilities for atmospheric events1 with a prioritization on leveraging available commercial1 academic1 and other non-,federal weather data to enhance coordination across the private1 public1 and academic sectors of the ,united ,states weather enterprise4 7c7 ,program elements ,the ,program shall carry out the following activities3 7#a7 ,improve environmental observations used by the ,national ,oceanic and ,atmospheric ,administration and the ,national ,weather ,service to support baseline forecasts and warnings that protect the ,nation's citizens1 businesses1 military1 and government agencies and enable such individuals and entities to operate in safe1 efficient1 and orderly manners4 7#b7 ,when demonstrably cost effective1 leverage existing networks of environmental monitoring stations to increase the quantity and density of weather observations and data available to the ,administration4 7#c7 ,establish means to integrate greater density and type of weather observations into the ,program on an annual basis1 including by encouraging local and regional networks of environmental monitoring stations and satellite constellations to participate in the ,program4 7#d7 ,yield increased quantities of boundary-layer data to improve numerical weather prediction performance1 including regarding subseasonal to seasonal timescales4 7#e7 ,provide the critical technical and administrative infrastructure needed to facilitate rapid integration and sustained use of new and emerging networks of environmental monitoring stations anticipated in coming years from non-,federal sources4 7#f7 ,expand and enhance environmental observational networks in the roadway environment to provide real-time road weather and surface conditions for surface transportation and related economic sectors4 7#g7 ,identify available terrestrial or marine weather data1 or quantifiable gaps in such data1 to improve the understanding of air-sea interactions4 7#h7 ,support the ,national ,weather ,service in reaching its target of a #cj-minute warning time for severe weather through better predictive model algorithms driven by increasingly effective observations4 7#i7 ,coordinate with existing ,administration data used for forecasts1 including data from the ,national ,environmental ,satellite1 ,data1 and ,information ,service1 the ,integrated ,ocean ,observing ,system1 the ,global ,ocean ,monitoring and ,observing ,program1 and ,national ,ocean ,service water level stations4 7#aj7 ,identify and communicate to the ,office of ,oceanic and ,atmospheric ,research and other partners priorities of research and development needed to advance observations in the ,program4 7d7 ,financial and technical assistance 7#a7 ,in general ,in furtherance of the ,program1 the ,under ,secretary may1 to the extent amounts are made available1 award financial assistance to ,state1 ,tribal1 private1 and academic entities seeking to build1 expand1 or upgrade equipment and capacity of mesonet systems4 ,financial assistance under this subsection may be made in coordination or addition to awards from other ,federal agencies4 7#b7 ,agreements ,before receiving financial assistance under paragraph 7#a71 the ,state1 ,tribal1 private1 or academic entity seeking financial assistance under this subsection shall enter into an agreement with the ,under ,secretary to provide data to the ,program1 subject to verification of the relative operational value and evaluation of the cost of such data1 for use in weather prediction1 severe weather warnings1 and emergency response4 7#c7 ,assistance and other support ,the ,under ,secretary may provide technical assistance1 project implementation support1 and guidance to entities seeking financial assistance under this subsection4 7#d7 ,terms ,in providing financial assistance under this subsection1 the ,under ,secretary shall establish terms to ensure that each ,state1 ,tribal1 private1 or academic entity that receives financial assistance under this subsection receives a level of ,federal support commensurate with the quality and other characteristics of the data to be provided4 7#e7 ,determination ,a ,state1 ,tribal1 private1 or academic entity may receive financial assistance under this subsection only if the ,under ,secretary determines such entity shall provide sufficient non-,federal financial support to maintain the quality of the mesonet system and associated data standards required by the ,program4 7e7 ,advisory committee 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,under ,secretary shall ensure the ,program has an active advisory committee of subject matter experts to identify1 implement1 procure1 and track data needed to supplement the ,program1 and recommend improvements1 expansions1 and acquisitions of available data4 ,the ,under ,secretary may designate an existing ,federal advisory committee1 subcommittee1 or working group1 including1 if appropriate1 the ,science ,advisory ,board of the ,national ,oceanic and ,atmospheric ,administration1 to carry out this subsection4 7#b7 ,partnerships ,the advisory committee under paragraph 7#a7 shall establish partnerships with one or more institutions of higher education 7as such term is defined in section #aja of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajja77 to identify1 evaluate1 and recommend potential partnerships1 regional or subregional consortia1 and collaborative methods that would expand the number of participants and volume of data in the ,program4 7f7 ,regular reporting ,the ,under ,secretary shall provide regular briefings1 not less than twice annually1 to the ,committee on ,science1 ,space1 and ,technology of the ,house of ,representatives and the ,committee on ,commerce1 ,science1 and ,transportation of the ,senate on all ,program activities4 ,such briefings shall include information relating to the following3 7#a7 ,efforts to implement the activities described in subsection 7c74 7#b7 ,any financial or technical assistance provided pursuant to subsection 7d74 7#c7 ,efforts to address recommendations received from the advisory committee under subsection 7e74 7#d7 ,the potential need and associated benefits of a coastal and ocean mesonet1 or other emerging areas of weather data needs4 7#e7 ,progress toward eliminating gaps in weather observation data by ,states and regions of the ,united ,states4 7#f7 ,any other topic the ,under ,secretary determines relevant4 7g7 ,authorization of appropriations ,from amounts made available to the ,national ,weather ,service for ,operations1 ,research1 and ,facilities1 the ,director of the ,national ,weather ,service1 to carry out this section1 shall allocate up to the following amounts for each specified fiscal year3 7#a7 #ej1jjj1jjj for fiscal year #bjbd4 7#b7 #ee1jjj1jjj for fiscal year #bjbe4 7#c7 #fa1jjj1jjj for fiscal year #bjbf4 7#d7 #fh1jjj1jjj for fiscal year #bjbg4 7#e7 #gj1jjj1jjj for fiscal year #bjbh4 4 7b7 ,clerical amendment ,the table of contents for the ,weather ,research and ,forecasting ,innovation ,act of #bjag is amended by inserting after the item relating to section #aaj the following new item3 ,sec4 #aaa4 ,national ,mesonet ,program4 4