[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2531 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2531

To improve United States hurricane forecasting, monitoring, and warning 
                 capabilities, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 24, 2007

  Mr. Melancon (for himself and Mr. Klein of Florida) introduced the 
  following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science and 
                               Technology

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To improve United States hurricane forecasting, monitoring, and warning 
                 capabilities, 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 ``Improved Hurricane Tracking and 
Forecasting Act of 2007''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Scatterometers on satellites are state-of-the-art radar 
        instruments which operate by transmitting high-frequency 
        microwave pulses to the ocean surface and measuring echoed 
        radar pulses bounced back to the satellite.
            (2) Scatterometers can acquire hundreds of times more 
        observations of surface wind velocity each day than can ships 
        and buoys, and are the only remote-sensing systems able to 
        provide continuous, accurate and high-resolution measurements 
        of both wind speeds and direction regardless of weather 
        conditions.
            (3) The Quick Scatterometer satellite (QuikSCAT) is an 
        ocean-observing satellite launched on June 19, 1999, to replace 
        the capability of the National Aeronautics and Space 
        Administration Scatterometer (NSCAT), an instrument which lost 
        power in 1997, 9 months after launch in September 1996.
            (4) The QuikSCAT satellite has the operational objective of 
        improving weather forecasts near coastlines by using wind data 
        in numerical weather-and-wave prediction, as well as improve 
        hurricane warning and monitoring and acting as the next ``El 
        Nino watcher'' for the National Aeronautics and Space 
        Administration.
            (5) The QuikSCAT satellite was built in just 12 months and 
        was launched with a 3-year design life, but continues to 
        perform per specifications, with its backup transmitter, as it 
        enters into its 8th year--5 years past its projected lifespan.
            (6) The QuikSCAT satellite provides daily coverage of 90 
        percent of the world's oceans, and its data has been a vital 
        contribution to National Weather Service forecasts and warnings 
        over water since 2000.
            (7) Despite its continuing performance, the QuikSCAT 
        satellite is well beyond its expected design life and a 
        replacement is urgently needed because, according to the 
        National Hurricane Center. Without the QuikSCAT satellite--
                    (A) hurricane forecasting would be--
                            (i) 16 percent less accurate 72 hours 
                        before hurricane landfall, and therefore the 
                        area expected to be under hurricane danger 
                        would rise from 197 miles to 228 miles on 
                        average; and
                            (ii) 10 percent less accurate 48 hours 
                        before hurricane landfall, and therefore the 
                        area expected to be under hurricane danger 
                        would rise from 136 miles to 150 miles on 
                        average; and
                    (B) greater inaccuracy of this type would lead to 
                more ``false alarm'' evacuations along the Gulf Coast 
                and Atlantic Coast and decrease the possibility of 
                impacted populations sufficiently heeding mandatory 
                evacuations.
            (8) According to recommendations in the National Academy of 
        Science's report entitled ``Decadal Survey'', a next generation 
        ocean surface wind vector satellite mission is needed during 
        the three-year period beginning in 2013.
            (9) According to the National Hurricane Center, a next 
        generation ocean surface vector wind satellite is needed to 
        take advantage of current technologies that already exist to 
        overcome current limitations of the QuikSCAT satellite and 
        enhance the capabilities of the National Hurricane Center to 
        better warn coastal residents of possible hurricanes.

SEC. 3. PROGRAM FOR IMPROVED OCEAN SURFACE WINDS VECTOR SATELLITE.

    (a) Requirement.--The Administrator of the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration shall, in consultation with the 
Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and 
the head of any other department or agency of the Federal Government 
designated by the President for purposes of this section, carry out a 
program for an improved ocean surface winds vector satellite.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of the program required under 
subsection (a) shall be to provide for the development of an improved 
ocean surface winds vector satellite in order to--
            (1) address science and application questions related to 
        air-sea interaction and coastal circulation;
            (2) improve forecasting for hurricanes, coastal winds and 
        storm surge, and other weather-related disasters;
            (3) ensure continuity of quality for satellite ocean 
        surface vector wind measurements so that existing weather 
        forecasting and warning capabilities are not degraded;
            (4) advance satellite ocean surface vector wind data 
        capabilities; and
            (5) address such other matters as the Administrator of the 
        National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in 
        consultation with the Administrator of the National Aeronautics 
        and Space Administration, considers appropriate.
    (c) Annual Reports.--
            (1) Reports required.--Not later than six months after the 
        date of the enactment of this Act and annually thereafter until 
        the termination of the program required under subsection (a), 
        the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
        Administration shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, 
        Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 
        Science and Technology of the House of Representatives a report 
        on the program required under subsection (a).
            (2) Elements.--Each report under paragraph (1) shall 
        include the following:
                    (A) A current description of the program required 
                under subsection (a), including the amount of funds 
                expended for the program during the period covered by 
                such report and the purposes for which such funds were 
                expended.
                    (B) A description of the operational status of the 
                satellite developed under the program, including a 
                description of the current capabilities of the 
                satellite and current estimate of the anticipated 
                lifespan of the satellite.
                    (C) A description of current and proposed uses of 
                the satellite by the Federal Government, and academic, 
                research, and other private entities, during the period 
                covered by such report.
                    (D) Any other matters that the Administrator of the 
                National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in 
                consultation with the Administrator of the National 
                Aeronautics and Space Administration, considers 
                appropriate.
    (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
$375,000,000 to carry out the program required under subsection (a).
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