[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4343 Reported in Senate (RS)]

<DOC>





                                                       Calendar No. 514
118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4343

  To establish and maintain a coordinated program within the National 
  Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that improves wildfire, fire 
weather, fire risk, and smoke related forecasting, detection, modeling, 
observations, and service delivery, and to address growing needs in the 
           wildland-urban interface, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 15, 2024

   Ms. Cantwell (for herself, Mr. Cruz, Mr. Lujan, Mr. Sullivan, Ms. 
   Rosen, Ms. Murkowski, Mr. Schatz, and Mr. Padilla) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                 Commerce, Science, and Transportation

                           September 17, 2024

              Reported by Ms. Cantwell, with an amendment
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To establish and maintain a coordinated program within the National 
  Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that improves wildfire, fire 
weather, fire risk, and smoke related forecasting, detection, modeling, 
observations, and service delivery, and to address growing needs in the 
           wildland-urban interface, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Fire 
Ready Nation Act of 2024''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act 
is as follows:</DELETED>

<DELETED>Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
<DELETED>Sec. 2. Definitions.
<DELETED>Sec. 3. Establishment of fire weather services program.
<DELETED>Sec. 4. Fire weather testbed.
<DELETED>Sec. 5. Data management and technology modernization.
<DELETED>Sec. 6. Surveys and assessments.
<DELETED>Sec. 7. Incident Meteorologist Service.
<DELETED>Sec. 8. Emergency response activities.
<DELETED>Sec. 9. Submissions to Congress regarding the fire weather 
                            services program, incident meteorologist 
                            workforce needs, and National Weather 
                            Service workforce support.
<DELETED>Sec. 10. Fire Science and Technology Working Group; strategic 
                            plan.
<DELETED>Sec. 11. Fire weather rating system.
<DELETED>Sec. 12. Government Accountability Office reports.
<DELETED>Sec. 13. Cooperation and coordination.
<DELETED>Sec. 14. General provisions.
<DELETED>Sec. 15. Authorization of appropriations.

<DELETED>SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    In this Act:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) Administration.--The term ``Administration'' 
        means the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
        Administration.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Appropriate committees of congress.--The term 
        ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
                and Transportation of the Senate; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) the Committee on Science, Space, and 
                Technology of the House of Representatives.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) Earth system model.--The term ``Earth system 
        model'' means a mathematical model containing all relevant 
        components of the Earth, namely the atmosphere, oceans, land, 
        cryosphere, and biosphere.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) Fire environment.--The term ``fire 
        environment'' means--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) the environmental conditions, such as 
                soil moisture, vegetation, topography, snowpack, 
                atmospheric temperature, moisture, and wind, that 
                influence--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) fuel and fire behavior; 
                        and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) the emission, chemical 
                        evolution, and transport of smoke from 
                        wildfires; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) the associated environmental impacts 
                occurring during and after fire events.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) Fire weather.--The term ``fire weather'' means 
        the weather conditions that influence the start, spread, 
        character, or behavior of wildfires or fires at the wildland-
        urban interface and relevant meteorological and chemical 
        phenomena, including air quality, smoke, and meteorological 
        parameters such as relative humidity, air temperature, wind 
        speed and direction, and atmospheric composition and chemistry, 
        including emissions and mixing heights.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (6) Impact-based decision support services.--The 
        term ``impact-based decision support services'' means 
        scientific advice and interpretative services the 
        Administration provides to help core partners, such as 
        emergency personnel and public safety officials, make decisions 
        when the information impacts the lives and livelihoods of the 
        people of the United States.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (7) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian tribe'' has 
        the meaning given that term in section 4 of the Indian Self-
        Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 
        5304).</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (8) Native hawaiian community.--The term ``Native 
        Hawaiian Community'' means the distinct Native Hawaiian 
        indigenous political community that Congress, exercising its 
        plenary power over Native American affairs, has recognized and 
        with which Congress has implemented a special political and 
        trust relationship pursuant to the Constitution of the United 
        States.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (9) Native hawaiian organization.--The term 
        ``Native Hawaiian organization'' has the meaning given that 
        term in section 6207 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
        Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7517), including the Department of 
        Hawaiian Home Lands and the Office of Hawaiian 
        Affairs.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (10) Seasonal.--The term ``seasonal'' has the 
        meaning given that term in section 2 of the Weather Research 
        and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 
        8501).</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (11) Smoke.--The term ``smoke'' means emissions, 
        including the gases and particles released into the air as a 
        result of wildfire.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (12) State.--The term ``State'' means a State, the 
        District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, 
        American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
        Islands, the United State Virgin Islands, the Federated States 
        of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, or the 
        Republic of Palau.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (13) Tribal organization.--The term ``Tribal 
        organization'' has the meaning given that term in section 4 of 
        the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 
        U.S.C. 5304).</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (14) Under secretary.--The term ``Under 
        Secretary'' means the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans 
        and Atmosphere.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (15) Wildfire.--The term ``wildfire'' means any 
        non-structure fire that occurs in vegetation or natural fuels, 
        originating from an unplanned ignition.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (16) Wildland-urban interface.--The term 
        ``wildland-urban interface'' means the area, zone, or region of 
        transition between unoccupied or undeveloped land and human 
        development where structures and other human development meet 
        or intermingle with undeveloped wildland or vegetative 
        fuels.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF FIRE WEATHER SERVICES 
              PROGRAM.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) In General.--The Under Secretary shall establish and 
maintain a coordinated fire weather services program among the offices 
of the Administration in existence as of the date of the enactment of 
this Act.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Program Functions.--The functions of the program 
established under subsection (a), consistent with the priorities 
described in section 101 of the Weather Research and Forecasting 
Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8511), shall be--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) to support readiness, responsiveness, 
        understanding, and resilience of the United States to 
        wildfires, fire weather, smoke from wildfires, post-fire 
        flooding and debris flows, and associated hazards and impacts 
        in built and natural environments and at the wildland-urban 
        interface;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) to collaboratively develop and disseminate 
        accurate, precise, effective, and timely risk communications, 
        forecasts, watches, and warnings relating to wildfires, fire 
        weather, smoke, post-fire flooding and debris flows, and other 
        associated conditions, hazards, and impacts, as applicable, 
        with Federal land management agencies;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) to partner with and support the public, 
        Federal and State government entities, Indian tribes, the 
        Native Hawaiian Community, and academic and local partners 
        through the development of capabilities, impact-based decision 
        support services, and overall service delivery and utility 
        related to fire weather;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) to conduct and support research and 
        development of new and innovative models, technologies, 
        techniques, products, systems, processes, and procedures to 
        predict and improve understanding of wildfires, fire weather, 
        related air quality, post-fire flooding and debris flows, and 
        the fire environment;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) to develop strong research-to-operations and 
        operations-to-research transitions, in order to facilitate 
        delivery of products, services, and tools to operational users 
        and platforms related to fire weather; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (6) to develop, in coordination with Federal land 
        management agencies, impact-based decision support services 
        that operationalize and integrate the functions described in 
        paragraphs (1) through (5) in order to provide comprehensive 
        impact-based decision support services that encompass the fire 
        environment.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (c) Program Priorities.--In developing and implementing 
the program established under subsection (a), the Under Secretary shall 
prioritize--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) development of a fire weather-enabled Earth 
        system model and data assimilation systems that--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) are capable of prediction and 
                forecasting across relevant spatial and temporal 
                scales;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) include variables associated with fire 
                weather and the fire environment;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) improve understanding of the 
                connections between fire weather and modes of climate 
                variability;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (D) incorporate emerging techniques such 
                as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and cloud 
                computing; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (E) use a rapidly deployable network of 
                rain gauges for post-fire hazard monitoring;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) advancement of existing and new observational 
        capabilities, including satellite-, airborne-, air-, and 
        ground-based systems and technologies, and social networking 
        and other public information-gathering applications that--
        </DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) identify--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) high-risk pre-ignition 
                        conditions;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) conditions that influence 
                        fire behavior and spread including those 
                        conditions that suppress active fire events; 
                        and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iii) fire risk values;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) support real-time notification and 
                monitoring of ignitions;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) support observations and data 
                collection of fire weather and fire environment 
                variables, including vegetation state and profiles of 
                smoke, winds, temperature, and humidity, for 
                development of the model and systems under paragraph 
                (1); and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (D) support forecasts and research that 
                mitigate the impacts of wildfires on human life, 
                health, and the economy; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) development and implementation of advanced and 
        user-oriented impact-based decision tools, science, and 
        technologies that--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) ensure real-time and retrospective 
                data, products, and services are findable, accessible, 
                interoperable, usable, inform further research, and are 
                analysis- and decision-ready;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) provide targeted information 
                throughout the fire lifecycle including pre-ignition, 
                detection, forecasting, post-fire, and monitoring 
                phases; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) support early assessment of post-fire 
                hazards, such as air quality, debris flows, mudslides, 
                and flooding.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (d) Program Activities.--In developing and implementing 
the program established under subsection (a), the Under Secretary may--
</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) conduct relevant physical and social science 
        research activities in support of the functions described in 
        subsection (b) and the priorities described in subsection 
        (c);</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) conduct relevant activities, in coordination 
        with Federal land management agencies and Federal science 
        agencies, to assess fuel characteristics, including moisture, 
        loading, and other parameters used to determine fire risk 
        levels and outlooks;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) support and conduct research that assesses 
        impacts to marine, riverine, watershed, and other relevant 
        ecosystems, which may include forest and rangeland ecosystems, 
        resulting from activities associated with mitigation of and 
        response to wildfires;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) support and conduct attribution science 
        research relating to wildfires, fire weather, fire risk, smoke, 
        and associated conditions, risks, and impacts;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) develop smoke and air quality forecasts, 
        forecast guidance, and prescribed burn weather forecasts, and 
        conduct research on the impact of such forecasts on response 
        behavior that minimizes health-related impacts from smoke 
        exposure;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (6) use, in coordination with Federal land 
        management agencies, wildland fuels information and fire 
        resource intelligence to inform fire environment impact-based 
        decision support services and products for safety;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (7) work with Federal agencies to provide data, 
        tools, and services to support determinations by such agencies 
        for the implementation of mitigation measures;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (8) provide training and support to ensure 
        effective media utilization of impact-based decision support 
        services and products to the public regarding actions needing 
        to be taken;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (9) provide comprehensive training to ensure staff 
        of the program established under subsection (a) is properly 
        equipped to deliver the impact-based decision support services 
        and products described in paragraphs (1) through (6); 
        and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (10) acquire, through contracted purchase, private 
        sector-produced observational data to fill identified gaps, as 
        needed.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (e) Collaboration.--The Under Secretary shall, as the 
Under Secretary considers appropriate, collaborate with partners in the 
weather and climate enterprises, academic institutions, States, Indian 
tribes, Tribal organizations, the Native Hawaiian Community, Native 
Hawaiian organizations, local partners, and Federal agencies, including 
land and fire management agencies, in the development and 
implementation of the program established under subsection 
(a).</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (f) Agreements.--In carrying out the activities under this 
Act and the amendments made by this Act, the Under Secretary may 
provide support to non-Federal entities by making funds and resources 
available through--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) competitive grants;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) contracts under the mobility program under 
        subchapter VI of chapter 33 of title 5, United States Code 
        (commonly referred to as the ``Intergovernmental Personnel Act 
        Mobility Program'');</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) cooperative agreements; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) co-location agreements as described in section 
        502 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
        Commissioned Officer Corps Amendments Act of 2020 (33 U.S.C. 
        851 note prec.).</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (g) Program Administration Plan.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the 
        date of the enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary shall 
        submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a plan that 
        details how the program established under subsection (a) will 
        be administered and governed within the 
        Administration.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Elements.--The plan required by paragraph (1) 
        should include a description of--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) how the functions described in 
                subsection (b), the priorities described in subsection 
                (c), and the activities described in subsection (d) 
                will be distributed among the line offices of the 
                Administration; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) the mechanisms in place to ensure 
                seamless coordination among those offices.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 4. FIRE WEATHER TESTBED.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) Establishment of Fire Weather Testbed.--The Under 
Secretary shall establish a fire weather testbed that enables 
engagement across the Federal Government, State and local governments, 
academia, private and federally funded research laboratories, the 
private sector, and end-users in order to evaluate the accuracy and 
usability of technology, models, fire weather products and services, 
and other research to accelerate the implementation, transition to 
operations, and use of new capabilities by the Administration, Federal 
and land management agencies, and other relevant 
stakeholders.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Uncrewed Systems.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) In general.--The Under Secretary shall--
        </DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) establish and carry out a research and 
                development program to support the application of 
                uncrewed systems technologies to improve data 
                collection in support of modeling, observations, 
                predictions, forecasts, and impact-based decision 
                support services, and for other purposes of the 
                Administration;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) transition uncrewed systems 
                technologies from research to operations as the Under 
                Secretary considers appropriate; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) coordinate with other Federal agencies 
                that may be developing uncrewed systems and related 
                technologies to meet the challenges of wildland fire 
                management.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Pilots required.--In carrying out paragraph 
        (1), the Under Secretary shall conduct pilots of uncrewed 
        systems for fire weather and fire environment observations, 
        including--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) testing of uncrewed systems in 
                approximations of real-world scenarios;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) assessment of the utility of 
                meteorological data collected from fire response and 
                assessment aircraft;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) input of the collected data into 
                appropriate models to predict fire behavior, including 
                coupled atmosphere and fire models; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (D) collection of best management 
                practices for deployment of uncrewed systems and other 
                remote data technology, including for communication and 
                coordination between the stakeholders described in 
                subsection (a).</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) Savings clause.--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) In general.--In carrying out 
                activities under this subsection, the Under Secretary 
                shall ensure that any testing or deployment of uncrewed 
                systems follow procedures, restrictions, and protocols 
                established by the heads of the Federal agencies with 
                statutory or regulatory jurisdiction over any airspace 
                in which wildfire response activities are conducted 
                during an active wildfire event.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) Consultation and coordination.--The 
                Under Secretary shall consult and coordinate with 
                relevant Federal land management agencies, Federal 
                science agencies, and the Federal Aviation 
                Administration to develop processes for the appropriate 
                deployment of the systems described in subparagraph 
                (A).</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (c) Additional Pilot Projects.--The Under Secretary shall 
establish additional pilot projects relating to the fire weather 
testbed that may include the following elements:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) Advanced products to detect fire from 
        satellites.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Procurement and use of commercial 
        data.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) Investigation and evaluation of information 
        needs of users and decision makers.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (d) Report.--Section 108(a)(5) of the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration Authorization Act of 1992 (15 U.S.C. 
8520(a)(5)) is amended--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) in subparagraph (C), by adding ``and'' at the 
        end; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) in subparagraph (D)--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) in clause (ii), by striking 
                ``and'';</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) in clause (iii), by adding ``and'' at 
                the end; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) by adding at the end the 
                following:</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(iv) a description of the 
                        research that has been transitioned into 
                        operations, including research at the fire 
                        weather testbed established under section 4(a) 
                        of the Fire Ready Nation Act of 
                        2024;''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 5. DATA MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY 
              MODERNIZATION.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) Data Availability and Management.--Section 301 of the 
Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 
8531) is amended--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) by redesignating subsections (f) and (g) as 
        subsections (g) and (h), respectively; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) by inserting after subsection (e) the 
        following:</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(f) Data Availability and Management.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) In general.--The Under Secretary shall--
        </DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) make data and metadata generated or 
                collected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
                Administration that the Under Secretary has the legal 
                right to redistribute fully and openly available, in 
                accordance with chapter 35 of title 44, United States 
                Code, and the Foundations for Evidence-Based 
                Policymaking Act of 2018 (Public Law 115-435; 132 Stat. 
                5529) and the amendments made by that Act, and preserve 
                and curate such data and metadata, in accordance with 
                chapter 31 of title 44, United States Code (commonly 
                known as the `Federal Records Act of 1950'), in order 
                to maximize use of such data and metadata; 
                and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) manage and steward the access, 
                archival, and retrieval activities for the data and 
                metadata described in subparagraph (A) by--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(i) using--</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(I) enterprise-wide 
                                infrastructure, emerging technologies, 
                                commercial partnerships, and the 
                                skilled workforce needed to provide 
                                appropriate data management from 
                                collection to broad access; 
                                and</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(II) associated 
                                information services; and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(ii) pursuing the maximum 
                        interoperability of data and information by--
                        </DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(I) leveraging data, 
                                information, knowledge, and tools from 
                                across the Federal Government to 
                                support equitable access, cross-
                                sectoral collaboration and innovation, 
                                and local planning and decision-making; 
                                and</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(II) developing 
                                standards and practices for the 
                                adoption and citation of digital object 
                                identifiers for datasets, models, and 
                                analytical tools.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) Collaboration.--In carrying out this 
        subsection, the Under Secretary shall collaborate with such 
        Federal partners and stakeholders as the Under Secretary 
        considers relevant--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) to develop standards to pursue 
                maximum interoperability of data, information, 
                knowledge, and tools across the Federal Government, 
                convert historical records into common digital formats, 
                and improve access and usability of data by partners 
                and stakeholders;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) to identify and solicit relevant 
                data from Federal and international partners and other 
                relevant stakeholders, as the Under Secretary considers 
                appropriate; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(C) to develop standards and practices 
                for the adoption and citation of digital object 
                identifiers for datasets, models, and analytical 
                tools.''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Wildland Fire Commission.--The Infrastructure 
Investment and Jobs Act (Public Law 117-58; 135 Stat. 429) is amended--
</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) in section 70202--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) in paragraph (1)--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) in subparagraph (J), by 
                        striking ``; and'' and inserting a 
                        semicolon;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) in subparagraph (K), by 
                        striking the period at the end and inserting a 
                        semicolon; and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iii) by adding at the end the 
                        following:</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(L) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
                and Transportation of the Senate; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(M) the Committee on Science, Space, and 
                Technology of the House of Representatives.''; 
                and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) in paragraph (6)--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) in subparagraph (B), by 
                        striking ``; and'' and inserting a 
                        semicolon;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) in subparagraph (C), by 
                        striking the period at the end and inserting 
                        ``; and''; and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iii) by adding at the end the 
                        following:</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(D) The Secretary of Commerce, acting 
                through the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and 
                Atmosphere.''; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) in section 70203(b)(1)(B)--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) in the matter preceding clause (i), by 
                striking ``9'' and inserting ``not fewer than 
                10'';</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) in clause (i)--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) in subclause (IV), by striking 
                        ``; and'' and inserting a semicolon;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) in subclause (V), by adding 
                        ``and'' at the end; and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iii) by adding at the end the 
                        following:</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(VI) the National 
                                Oceanic and Atmospheric 
                                Administration;'';</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) in clause (iv), by striking ``; and'' 
                and inserting a semicolon; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (D) by adding at the end the 
                following:</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(vi) if the Secretaries 
                        determine it to be appropriate, 1 or more 
                        representatives from the relevant line offices 
                        of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
                        Administration; and''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (c) Wildfire Technology Modernization.--Section 1114 of 
the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act 
(43 U.S.C. 1748b-1) is amended--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) in subsection (c)(3), by inserting ``the 
        National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,'' after 
        ``Federal Aviation Administration,'';</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) in subsection (e)(2)--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as 
                subparagraph (C); and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) by inserting after subparagraph (A) 
                the following:</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) Consultation.--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(i) In general.--In carrying out 
                        subparagraph (A), the Secretaries shall consult 
                        with the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans 
                        and Atmosphere regarding any development of 
                        impact-based decision support services that 
                        relate to wildlife-related activities of the 
                        National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
                        Administration.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(ii) Definition of impact-based 
                        decision support services.--In this 
                        subparagraph, the term `impact-based decision 
                        support services' means scientific advice and 
                        interpretative services the National Oceanic 
                        and Atmospheric Administration provides to help 
                        core partners, such as emergency personnel and 
                        public safety officials, make decisions when 
                        the information impacts the lives and 
                        livelihoods of the people of the United 
                        States.''; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) in subsection (f)--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and 
                (2) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, and 
                moving such subparagraphs, as so redesignated, 2 ems to 
                the right;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) by striking ``The Secretaries'' and 
                inserting the following:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) In general.--The Secretaries''; 
        and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) by adding at the end the 
                following:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) Collaboration.--In carrying out paragraph 
        (1), the Secretaries shall collaborate with the Under Secretary 
        of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere to improve coordination, 
        utility of systems and assets, and interoperability of data for 
        smoke prediction, forecasting, and modeling.''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (d) Digital Presence.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) In general.--The Under Secretary shall develop 
        and maintain a comprehensive, centralized, and publicly 
        accessible digital presence designed to promote findability, 
        accessibility, interoperability, usability, and utility of the 
        services, tools, data, and information produced by the program 
        established under section 3(a).</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Digital platform and tools.--In carrying out 
        paragraph (1), the Under Secretary shall seek to ensure the 
        digital platform and tools of the Administration integrate 
        geospatial data, decision support tools, training, and best 
        practices to provide real-time fire weather forecasts and 
        address fire-related issues and needs.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (e) High-Performance Computing.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) In general.--The Under Secretary shall seek to 
        acquire sufficient high-performance computing resources and 
        capacity for research, operations, and data storage in support 
        of the program established under section 3(a).</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Considerations.--In acquiring high-performance 
        computing capacity under paragraph (1), the Under Secretary 
        shall consider requirements needed for--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) conducting research, development, and 
                testbed experiments;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) the transition of research and testbed 
                developments into operations;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) sustaining capabilities in 
                operations;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (D) capabilities existing in other Federal 
                agencies and the commercial sector; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (E) skilled workforce 
                development.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 6. SURVEYS AND ASSESSMENTS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) Post-Fire Surveys and Assessments .--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) Annual post-fire-weather-season survey and 
        assessment.--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) In general.--During the second winter 
                following the enactment of this Act, and each year 
                thereafter, the Under Secretary shall conduct a post-
                fire-weather-season survey and assessment.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) Elements.--After conducting a post-
                fire-weather-season survey and assessment under 
                subparagraph (A), the Under Secretary shall--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) investigate any gaps in data 
                        collected during the assessment;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) identify and implement 
                        strategies and procedures to improve program 
                        services and information 
                        dissemination;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iii) update systems, processes, 
                        strategies, and procedures to enhance the 
                        efficiency and reliability of data obtained 
                        from the assessment;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iv) evaluate the accuracy and 
                        efficacy of physical fire weather forecasting 
                        information for each incident included in the 
                        survey and assessment; and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (v) assess and refine performance 
                        measures, as needed.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Surveys and assessments following individual 
        wildfire events.--The Under Secretary may conduct surveys and 
        assessments following individual wildfire events as the Under 
        Secretary determines necessary.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) Goal.--In carrying out activities under this 
        subsection, the Under Secretary shall seek to increase the 
        number of post-wildfire community impact studies, including by 
        surveying individual and collective responses and incorporating 
        other applicable topics of social science research.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) Annual briefing.--Not less frequently than 
        once each year, the Under Secretary shall provide a briefing to 
        the appropriate committees of Congress that provides--
        </DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) an overview of the fire season; 
                and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) an outlook for the fire season for the 
                coming year.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) Coordination.--In conducting any survey or 
        assessment under this subsection, the Under Secretary shall 
        coordinate with Federal, State, and local partners, Indian 
        tribes, the Native Hawaiian Community, private entities, and 
        such institutions of higher education as the Under Secretary 
        considers relevant in order to--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) improve operations and collaboration; 
                and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) optimize data collection, sharing, 
                integration, assimilation, and dissemination.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (6) Data availability.--The Under Secretary shall 
        make the data and findings obtained from each assessment 
        conducted under this subsection available to the public in an 
        accessible digital format as soon as practicable after 
        conducting the assessment.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (7) Service improvements.--The Under Secretary 
        shall make best efforts to incorporate the results and 
        recommendations of each assessment conducted under this 
        subsection into the research and development plan and 
        operations of the Administration.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Joint Assessment and Plan for Automated Surface 
Observing System.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) In general.--The Under Secretary, in 
        collaboration with the Administrator of the Federal Aviation 
        Administration and the Secretary of Defense, shall--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) conduct an assessment of resources, 
                personnel, procedures, and activities necessary to 
                maximize the functionality and utility of the automated 
                surface observing system of the United States that 
                identifies--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) key system upgrades needed to 
                        improve observation quality and utility for 
                        weather forecasting, aviation safety, and other 
                        users;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) improvements needed in 
                        observations within the planetary boundary 
                        layer, including mixing height;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iii) improvements needed in 
                        public accessibility of observational 
                        data;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iv) improvements needed to reduce 
                        latency in reporting of observational 
                        data;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (v) relevant data to be collected 
                        for the production of forecasts or forecast 
                        guidance relating to atmospheric composition, 
                        including particulate and air quality data 
                        related to wildfires, and aviation 
                        safety;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (vi) areas of concern regarding 
                        operational continuity and reliability of the 
                        system, which may include needs for on-night 
                        staff, particularly in remote and rural areas 
                        and areas where system failure would have the 
                        greatest negative impact to the 
                        community;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (vii) stewardship, data handling, 
                        data distribution, and product generation needs 
                        arising from upgrading and changing the 
                        automated surface observation 
                        systems;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (viii) possible solutions for 
                        areas of concern identified under clause (vi), 
                        including with respect to the potential use of 
                        backup systems, power and communication system 
                        reliability, staffing needs and personnel 
                        location, and the acquisition of critical 
                        component backups and proper storage location 
                        to ensure rapid system repair necessary to 
                        ensure system operational continuity; 
                        and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ix) research, development, and 
                        transition to operations needed to develop 
                        advanced data collection, quality control, and 
                        distribution so that the data are provided to 
                        models, users, and decision support systems in 
                        a timely manner; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) develop and implement a plan that 
                addresses the findings of the assessment conducted 
                under subparagraph (A), including by seeking and 
                allocating resources necessary to ensure that system 
                upgrades are standardized across the Administration, 
                the Federal Aviation Administration, and the Department 
                of Defense to the extent practicable.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Standardization.--Any system standardization 
        implemented under paragraph (1)(B) shall not impede activities 
        to upgrade or improve individual units of the system.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) Remote automatic weather station 
        coordination.--The Under Secretary, in collaboration with 
        relevant Federal agencies and the National Interagency Fire 
        Center, shall assess and develop cooperative agreements to 
        improve coordination, interoperability standards, operations, 
        and placement of remote automatic weather stations for the 
        purpose of improving utility and coverage of remote automatic 
        weather stations, automated surface observation systems, smoke 
        monitoring platforms, and other similar stations and systems 
        for weather and climate operations.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) Report to congress.--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) In general.--Not later than 2 years 
                after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Under 
                Secretary, in collaboration with the Administrator of 
                the Federal Aviation Administration and the Secretary 
                of Defense, shall submit to the appropriate committees 
                of Congress a report that--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) details the findings of the 
                        assessment required by subparagraph (A) of 
                        paragraph (1); and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) the plan required by 
                        subparagraph (B) of such paragraph.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) Elements.--The report required by 
                subparagraph (A) shall include a detailed assessment of 
                appropriations required--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) to address the findings of the 
                        assessment required by subparagraph (A) of 
                        paragraph (1); and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) to implement the plan 
                        required by subparagraph (B) of such 
                        paragraph.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 7. INCIDENT METEOROLOGIST SERVICE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) Establishment.--The Under Secretary shall establish 
and maintain an Incident Meteorologist Service within the National 
Weather Service (in this section referred to as the 
``Service'').</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Inclusion of Existing Incident Meteorologists.--The 
Service shall include--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) the incident meteorologists of the 
        Administration as of the date of the enactment of this Act; 
        and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) such incident meteorologists of the 
        Administration as may be appointed after such date.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (c) Functions.--The Service shall provide--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) on-site impact-based decision support services 
        to Federal, State, and local government emergency response 
        agencies, Indian tribes, and the Native Hawaiian Community 
        preceding, during, and following significant weather-related 
        events, such as wildland fires, that threaten human life, 
        property, or the economy; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) support to Federal, State, and local 
        government decision makers, partners, and stakeholders, Indian 
        tribes, Tribal organizations, the Native Hawaiian Community, 
        and Native Hawaiian organizations for seasonal planning and 
        pre-fire mitigation activities.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (d) Deployment.--The Service shall be deployed--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) as determined by the Under Secretary; 
        or</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) at the request of the head of another Federal 
        agency and with the approval of the Under Secretary.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (e) Staffing and Resources.--In establishing and 
maintaining the Service, the Under Secretary shall identify, acquire, 
and maintain adequate levels of staffing and resources to meet user 
needs.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (f) Support for Incident Meteorologists.--The Under 
Secretary shall provide resources, access to real-time fire weather 
forecasts, training, administrative and logistical support, and access 
to professional counseling or other forms of support as the Under 
Secretary considers appropriate for the betterment of the emotional and 
mental health and well-being of incident meteorologists and other 
employees of the Administration so long as the need for such resources, 
training, access, or support is due to the response of such employees 
to high-impact and extreme fire weather events.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 8. EMERGENCY RESPONSE ACTIVITIES.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) Definitions.--In this section:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) Basic pay.--The term ``basic pay'' includes 
        any applicable locality-based comparability payment under 
        section 5304 of title 5, United States Code, any applicable 
        special rate supplement under section 5305 of such title, or 
        any equivalent payment under a similar provision of 
        law.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Covered employee.--The term ``covered 
        employee'' means an employee of the Department of Commerce, the 
        Department of Agriculture, or the Department of the 
        Interior.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) Covered services.--The term ``covered 
        services'' means services that are performed by a covered 
        employee while serving--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) as a wildland firefighter or a fire 
                management response official, including a regional fire 
                director, a deputy regional fire director, and a fire 
                management officer;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) as an incident meteorologist 
                accompanying a wildland firefighter crew; or</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) on an incident management team, at the 
                National Interagency Fire Center, at a Geographic Area 
                Coordinating Center, or at an operations 
                center.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) Premium pay.--The term ``premium pay'' means 
        premium pay paid under a provision of law described in the 
        matter preceding paragraph (1) of section 5547(a) of title 5, 
        United States Code.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) Relevant congressional committees.--The term 
        ``relevant congressional committees'' means--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
                and Transportation of the Senate;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) the Committee on Homeland Security and 
                Governmental Affairs of the Senate;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) the Committee on Agriculture, 
                Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (D) the Committee on Appropriations of the 
                Senate;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (E) the Committee on Energy and Natural 
                Resources of the Senate;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (F) the Committee on Oversight and Reform 
                of the House of Representatives;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (G) the Committee on Natural Resources of 
                the House of Representatives;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (H) the Committee on Science, Space, and 
                Technology of the House of Representatives;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (I) the Committee on Agriculture of the 
                House of Representative; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (J) the Committee on Appropriations of the 
                House of Representatives.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (6) Secretary concerned.--The term ``Secretary 
        concerned'' means--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) the Secretary of Commerce, with 
                respect to an employee of the Department of 
                Commerce;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) the Secretary of Agriculture, with 
                respect to an employee of the Department of 
                Agriculture; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) the Secretary of the Interior, with 
                respect to an employee of the Department of the 
                Interior.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Waiver.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) In general.--Any premium pay received by a 
        covered employee for covered services shall be disregarded in 
        calculating the aggregate of the basic pay and premium pay for 
        the covered employee for purposes of applying the limitation on 
        premium pay under section 5547(a) of title 5, United States 
        Code.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Calculation of aggregate pay.--Any pay that is 
        disregarded under paragraph (1) shall be disregarded in 
        calculating the aggregate pay of the applicable covered 
        employee for purposes of applying the limitation under section 
        5307 of title 5, United States Code, during calendar year 
        2025.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) Limitation.--A covered employee may not be 
        paid premium pay under this subsection if, or to the extent 
        that, the aggregate of the basic pay and premium pay (including 
        premium pay for covered services) of the covered employee for a 
        calendar year would exceed the rate of basic pay payable for a 
        position at level II of the Executive Schedule under section 
        5313 of title 5, United States Code, as in effect at the end of 
        that calendar year.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) Treatment of additional premium pay.--If the 
        application of this subsection results in the payment of 
        additional premium pay to a covered employee of a type that is 
        normally creditable as basic pay for retirement or any other 
        purpose, that additional premium pay shall not be--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) considered to be basic pay of the 
                covered employee for any purpose; or</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) used in computing a lump-sum payment 
                to the covered employee for accumulated and accrued 
                annual leave under section 5551 or 5552 of title 5, 
                United States Code.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) Effective period.--This subsection shall be in 
        effect during calendar year 2024 and apply to premium pay 
        payable during that year.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (c) Amendment.--Section 5542(a)(5) of title 5, United 
States Code, is amended by inserting ``, the Department of Commerce,'' 
after ``Interior''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (d) Plan To Address Needs.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) Development and implementation.--Not later 
        than March 30, 2025, the Secretaries referred to in subsection 
        (a)(6), in consultation with the Director of the Office of 
        Management and Budget and the Director of the Office of 
        Personnel Management, shall jointly develop and implement a 
        plan that addresses the needs of the Department of Commerce, 
        the Department of Agriculture, and the Department of the 
        Interior, as applicable, to hire, appoint, promote, or train 
        additional covered employees who carry out covered services 
        such that sufficient covered employees are available throughout 
        each fiscal year, beginning in fiscal year 2025, without the 
        need for waivers of premium pay limitations.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Submittal.--Not later than 30 days before the 
        date on which the Secretaries implement the plan developed 
        under paragraph (1), the Secretaries shall submit the plan to 
        the relevant congressional committees.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) Limitation.--The plan developed under 
        paragraph (1) shall not be contingent on any Secretary 
        receiving amounts appropriated for fiscal years beginning in 
        fiscal year 2025 in amounts greater than amounts appropriated 
        for fiscal year 2023.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (e) Policies and Procedures for Health, Safety, and Well-
Being.--The Secretary concerned shall maintain policies and procedures 
to promote the health, safety, and well-being of covered 
employees.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 9. SUBMISSIONS TO CONGRESS REGARDING THE FIRE WEATHER 
              SERVICES PROGRAM, INCIDENT METEOROLOGIST WORKFORCE NEEDS, 
              AND NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WORKFORCE SUPPORT.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) Report to Congress.--Not later than 18 months after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary shall submit 
to the appropriate committees of Congress--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) the plan described in subsection 
        (b);</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) the assessment described in subsection (c); 
        and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) the assessment described in subsection 
        (d).</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Fire Weather Services Program Plan.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) Elements.--The plan submitted under subsection 
        (a)(1) shall detail--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) the observational data, modeling 
                requirements, ongoing computational needs, research, 
                development, and technology transfer activities, data 
                management, skilled-personnel requirements, engagement 
                with relevant Federal emergency and land management 
                agencies and partners, and corresponding research, 
                development, and operational resources and timelines 
                necessary to achieve the functions described in 
                subsection (b) of section 3 and the priorities 
                described in subsection (c) of such section; 
                and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) plans and needs for all other 
                activities and requirements under this Act and the 
                amendments made by this Act.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Submittal of annual budget for plan.--
        Following completion of the plan submitted under subsection 
        (a)(1), the Under Secretary shall, not less frequently than 
        once each year concurrent with the submission of the budget by 
        the President to Congress under section 1105 of title 31, 
        United States Code, submit to Congress a proposed budget 
        corresponding with the elements detailed in the plan.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (c) Incident Meteorologist Workforce Needs Assessment.--
</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) In general.--The Under Secretary shall conduct 
        a workforce needs assessment on the current and future demand 
        for additional incident meteorologists for wildfires and other 
        high-impact fire weather events.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Elements.--The assessment required by 
        paragraph (1) shall include the following:</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) A description of staffing levels as of 
                the date on which the assessment is submitted under 
                subsection (a)(2) and projected future staffing 
                levels.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) An assessment of the state of the 
                research, development, and operational infrastructure 
                of the National Weather Service as of the date on which 
                the assessment is submitted and future needs of such 
                infrastructure in order to meet current and future 
                demands, including with respect to information 
                technology support and logistical and administrative 
                operations.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) Considerations.--In conducting the assessment 
        required by paragraph (1), the Under Secretary shall consider 
        user needs and feedback from relevant stakeholders.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (d) Support Services Assessment.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) In general.--The Under Secretary shall conduct 
        a workforce support services assessment with respect to 
        employees of the National Weather Service engaged in emergency 
        response.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Elements.--The assessment required by 
        paragraph (1) shall include the following:</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) An assessment of need for further 
                support of employees of the National Weather Service 
                engaged in emergency response through services provided 
                by the Public Health Service.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) A detailed assessment of 
                appropriations required to secure the level of support 
                services needed as identified in the assessment 
                described in subparagraph (A).</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) Additional support services.--Following the 
        completion of the assessment required by paragraph (1), the 
        Under Secretary shall seek to acquire additional support 
        services to meet the needs identified in the 
        assessment.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 10. FIRE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY WORKING GROUP; STRATEGIC 
              PLAN.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) Fire Science and Technology Working Group.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) Establishment.--Not later than 90 days after 
        the date of the enactment of this Act, the Executive Director 
        of the Interagency Committee for Advancing Weather Services 
        established under section 402 of the Weather Research and 
        Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8542) (in this 
        section referred to as the ``Interagency Committee'') shall 
        establish a working group, to be known as the ``Fire Science 
        and Technology Working Group'' (in this section referred to as 
        the ``Working Group'').</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Chair.--The Working Group shall be chaired by 
        the Under Secretary, or designee.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) General duties.--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) In general.--The Working Group shall 
                seek to build efficiencies among the agencies listed 
                under section 12(c)(1) and coordinate the planning and 
                management of science, research, technology, and 
                operations related to science and support services for 
                wildland fire prediction, detection, forecasting, 
                modeling, resilience, response, management, and 
                assessments.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) Input.--The Working Group shall 
                solicit input from non-Federal stakeholders.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Strategic Plan.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) In general.--Not later than 18 months after 
        the date of the enactment of this Act, the Interagency 
        Committee shall prepare and submit to Congress a strategic plan 
        for interagency coordination, research, and development that 
        will improve the assessment of fire environments and the 
        understanding and prediction of wildland fires, associated 
        smoke, and the impacts of such fires and smoke, including--
        </DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) at the wildland-urban 
                interface;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) on communities, buildings, and other 
                infrastructure;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) on ecosystem services and 
                watersheds;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (D) social and economic impacts;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (E) by developing and encouraging the 
                adoption of science-based and cost-effective measures--
                </DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) to enhance community 
                        resilience to wildland fires;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) to address and mitigate the 
                        impacts of wildland fires and associated smoke; 
                        and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iii) to restore natural fire 
                        regimes in fire-dependent ecosystems;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (F) by improving the understanding and 
                mitigation of the effects of weather and long-term 
                drought on wildland fire risk, frequency, and 
                severity;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (G) through integrations of social and 
                behavioral sciences in public safety fire 
                communication;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (H) by improving the forecasting and 
                understanding of prescribed fires and the impacts of 
                such fires, and how those impacts may differ from 
                impacts of wildland fires that originate from an 
                unplanned ignition; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (I) consideration and adoption of any 
                recommendations included in the report required by 
                section 12(c).</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Plan elements.--The strategic plan required by 
        paragraph (1) shall include the following:</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) A description of the priorities and 
                needs of vulnerable populations.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) A description of high-performance 
                computing, visualization, and dissemination 
                needs.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) A timeline and guidance for 
                implementation of--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) an interagency data sharing 
                        system for data relevant to performing fire 
                        assessments and modeling fire risk and fire 
                        behavior;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) a system for ensuring that 
                        the fire prediction models of relevant agencies 
                        can be interconnected; and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iii) to the maximum extent 
                        practicable, any recommendations included in 
                        the report required by section 12(c).</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (D) A plan for incorporating and 
                coordinating research and operational observations, 
                including from infrared technologies, microwave, 
                radars, satellites, mobile weather stations, and 
                uncrewed aerial systems.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (E) A flexible framework to communicate 
                clear and simple fire event information to the 
                public.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (F) Integration of social, behavioral, 
                risk, and communication research to improve the fire 
                operational environment and societal information 
                reception and response.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 11. FIRE WEATHER RATING SYSTEM.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) In General.--The Under Secretary shall, in 
collaboration with the Chief of the United States Forest Service, the 
Director of the United States Geological Survey, the Director of the 
National Park Service, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency, and such stakeholders as the Under Secretary 
considers appropriate--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) evaluate the system used as of the date of the 
        enactment of this Act to rate the risk of wildfire; 
        and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) determine whether updates to that system are 
        required to ensure that the ratings accurately reflect the 
        severity of fire risk.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Update Required.--If the Under Secretary determines 
under subsection (a) that updates to the system described in paragraph 
(1) of such subsection are necessary, the Under Secretary shall update 
that system.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 12. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE REPORTS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) Report on Fire Weather Services Program.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) In general.--Not later than 3 years after the 
        date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of 
        the United States shall submit to Congress a report on the 
        program established under section 3(a).</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Elements.--The report required by paragraph 
        (1) shall--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) evaluate the performance of the 
                program by establishing initial baseline capabilities 
                and tracking progress made toward fully 
                operationalizing the functions described in section 
                3(b); and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) include such other recommendations as 
                the Comptroller General determines are appropriate to 
                improve the program.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Report on Interagency Bodies for Wildfire Forecasting, 
Prevention, Planning, and Management.--Not later than 1 year after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the 
United States shall submit to Congress a report that--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) identifies all Federal interagency bodies 
        established for the purpose of wildfire forecasting, 
        prevention, planning, and management (such as wildfire 
        councils, commissions, and workgroups), including--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) the Wildland Fire Leadership 
                Council;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) the White House Wildfire Resilience 
                Interagency Group;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) the Wildland Fire Management Policy 
                Committee;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (D) the Wildland Fire Mitigation and 
                Management Commission;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (E) the Joint Science Fire 
                Program;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (F) the National Interagency Coordination 
                Center;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (G) the National Predictive Services 
                Oversight Group;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (H) the Interagency Council for Advancing 
                Meteorological Services;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (I) the National Wildfire Coordinating 
                Group;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (J) the National Multi-Agency Coordinating 
                Group; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (K) the Mitigation Framework Leadership 
                Group;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) evaluates the roles, functionality, and 
        utility of such interagency bodies;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) evaluates the progress, performance, and 
        implementation of such interagency bodies;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) assesses efficacy and identifies potential 
        overlap and duplication of such interagency bodies in carrying 
        out interagency collaboration with respect to wildfire 
        prevention, planning, and management; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) includes such other recommendations as the 
        Comptroller General determines are appropriate to streamline 
        and improve wildfire forecasting, prevention, planning, and 
        management, including recommendations regarding the interagency 
        bodies for which the addition of the Administration is 
        necessary to improve wildfire forecasting, prevention, 
        planning, and management.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (c) Report on Interagency Coordination.--Not later than 1 
year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 
General of the United States shall submit to Congress a report that 
identifies--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) the authorities, roles, and science and 
        support services relating to wildland fire prediction, 
        detection, forecasting, modeling, resilience, response, 
        management, and assessment provided by--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) the Department of Commerce, including 
                the Administration and the National Institute of 
                Standards and Technology;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) the National Aeronautics and Space 
                Administration;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) the Department of the 
                Interior;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (D) the Department of 
                Agriculture;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (E) the National Science 
                Foundation;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (F) the Department of Energy;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (G) the Federal Emergency Management 
                Agency;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (H) the Department of 
                Transportation;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (I) the Environmental Protection Agency; 
                and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (J) the Department of Defense; 
                and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) recommended areas in and mechanisms by which 
        the agencies listed under paragraph (1) could support and 
        improve--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) coordination between Federal agencies, 
                State and local governments, Indian tribes, Tribal 
                organizations, the Native Hawaiian Community, Native 
                Hawaiian organizations, and other relevant 
                stakeholders, including through examination of possible 
                public-private partnerships;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) research and development, including 
                interdisciplinary research, related to fire 
                environments, wildland fires, associated smoke, and the 
                impacts of such environments, fires, and smoke, in 
                furtherance of a coordinated interagency effort to 
                address wildland fire risk reduction;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) data management and stewardship, the 
                development and coordination of data systems and 
                computational tools, and the creation of a centralized, 
                integrated data collaboration environment for agency 
                data, including historical data, relating to weather, 
                fire environments, wildland fires, associated smoke, 
                and the impacts of such environments, fires, and smoke, 
                and the assessment of wildland fire risk mitigation 
                measures;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (D) interoperability, usability, and 
                accessibility of the scientific data, data systems, and 
                computational and information tools of the agencies 
                listed under paragraph (1);</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (E) coordinated public safety 
                communications relating to fire weather events, fire 
                hazards, and wildland fire and smoke risk reduction 
                strategies; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (F) secure and accurate real-time data, 
                alerts, and advisories to wildland firefighters and 
                other decision support tools for wildland fire incident 
                command posts.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (d) Report on Automated Surface Observing System.--Not 
later than 4 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to Congress a 
report that--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) evaluates the functionality, utility, 
        reliability, and operational status of the automated surface 
        observing system across the Administration, the Federal 
        Aviation Administration, and the Department of 
        Defense;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) evaluates the progress, performance, and 
        implementation of the plan required by section 
        6(b)(1)(B);</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) assesses the efficacy of cross-agency 
        collaboration and stakeholder engagement in carrying out the 
        plan and provides recommendations to improve such 
        activities;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) evaluates the operational continuity and 
        reliability of the system, particularly in remote and rural 
        areas and areas where system failure would have the greatest 
        negative impact to the community, and provides recommendations 
        to improve such continuity and reliability;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) assesses Federal coordination regarding the 
        remote automatic weather station network, air resource 
        advisors, and other Federal observing assets used for weather 
        and climate modeling and response activities, and provides 
        recommendations for improvements; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (6) includes such other recommendations as the 
        Comptroller General determines are appropriate to improve the 
        system.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 13. COOPERATION AND COORDINATION.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) Cooperation.--Each Federal agency shall cooperate and 
coordinate with the Under Secretary, as appropriate, in carrying out 
this Act and the amendments made by this Act.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Coordination.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) In general.--In meeting the requirements under 
        this Act and the amendments made by this Act, the Under 
        Secretary shall coordinate, and as appropriate, establish 
        agreements with Federal and external partners to fully use and 
        leverage existing assets, systems, networks, technologies, and 
        sources of data.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Inclusions.--Coordination carried out under 
        paragraph (1) shall include coordination with--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) the agencies represented at the 
                National Interagency Fire Center;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) the Predictive Services Program of the 
                National Interagency Coordination Center;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) the National Wildfire Coordinating 
                Group; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (D) relevant interagency bodies identified 
                in the report required by section 12(b).</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) Consultation.--In carrying out this 
        subsection, the Under Secretary shall consult with Federal 
        partners including--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) the National Aeronautics and Space 
                Administration;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) the Department of the 
                Interior;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) the Federal Emergency Management 
                Agency;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (D) the National Science 
                Foundation;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (E) the United States Geological 
                Survey;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (F) the Department of 
                Agriculture;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (G) the Environmental Protection 
                Agency;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (H) the Department of Energy;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (I) the Department of Defense;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (J) the National Institute of Standards 
                and Technology; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (K) such other departments and agencies as 
                the Under Secretary considers relevant.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (c) Process for Annual Coordination With Non-Federal 
Entities.--Not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of 
this Act, the Under Secretary shall develop and submit to the 
appropriate committees of Congress a process for annual coordination 
with State and local governments, Indian tribes, Tribal organizations, 
and the Native Hawaiian Community to assist the development of improved 
fire weather products and services.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (d) International Coordination.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) In general.--The Under Secretary may develop 
        collaborative relationships and agreements with foreign 
        partners and counterparts to address transboundary issues 
        pertaining to wildfires, fire weather, smoke, air quality, and 
        associated conditions and hazards or other relevant 
        meteorological phenomena, as appropriate, to facilitate full 
        and open exchange of data and information.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Consultation.--In carrying out activities 
        under this subsection, the Under Secretary shall consult with 
        the Department of State and such other Federal partners as the 
        Under Secretary considers relevant.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 14. GENERAL PROVISIONS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) Avoidance of Duplication.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) In general.--The Under Secretary shall ensure, 
        to the greatest extent practicable, that activities carried out 
        under this Act and the amendments made by this Act are not 
        duplicative of activities supported by other parts of the 
        Administration or other relevant Federal agencies.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Coordination.--In carrying out activities 
        under this Act and the amendments made by this Act, the Under 
        Secretary shall coordinate with the Administration and heads of 
        other Federal research agencies--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) to ensure those activities enhance and 
                complement, but do not constitute unnecessary 
                duplication of, efforts; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) to ensure the responsible stewardship 
                of funds.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this Act may be 
construed--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) to satisfy any requirement for government-to-
        government consultation with Indian tribes; or</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) to affect or modify any treaty or other right 
        of any Indian tribe.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 15. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated 
to the Administration to carry out this Act and the amendments made by 
this Act--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2025;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2026;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) $27,000,000 for fiscal year 2027;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) $36,000,000 for fiscal year 2028; 
        and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2029.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Prohibition.--None of the amounts authorized to be 
appropriated by subsection (a) may be used to unnecessarily duplicate 
activities funded under title VIII of division D of the Infrastructure 
Investment and Jobs Act (Public Law 117-58; 135 Stat. 1094).</DELETED>

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Fire Ready Nation 
Act of 2024''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Definitions.
Sec. 3. Establishment of fire weather services program.
Sec. 4. Fire weather testbed.
Sec. 5. Data management and technology modernization.
Sec. 6. Surveys and assessments.
Sec. 7. Incident Meteorologist Service.
Sec. 8. Emergency response activities.
Sec. 9. Submissions to Congress regarding the fire weather services 
                            program, incident meteorologist workforce 
                            needs, and National Weather Service 
                            workforce support.
Sec. 10. Fire Science and Technology Working Group; strategic plan.
Sec. 11. Fire weather rating system.
Sec. 12. Government Accountability Office reports.
Sec. 13. Cooperation and coordination.
Sec. 14. General provisions.
Sec. 15. Authorization of appropriations.
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

                         TITLE I--FIRE WEATHER

Sec. 101. Definitions.
Sec. 102. Establishment of fire weather services program.
Sec. 103. Fire weather testbed.
Sec. 104. Data management and technology modernization.
Sec. 105. Surveys and assessments.
Sec. 106. Incident Meteorologist Service.
Sec. 107. Emergency response activities.
Sec. 108. Submissions to Congress regarding the fire weather services 
                            program, incident meteorologist workforce 
                            needs, and National Weather Service 
                            workforce support.
Sec. 109. Fire Science and Technology Working Group; strategic plan.
Sec. 110. Fire weather rating system.
Sec. 111. Government Accountability Office reports.
Sec. 112. Cooperation and coordination.
Sec. 113. General provisions.
Sec. 114. Authorization of appropriations.

   TITLE II--USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE BY NATIONAL OCEANIC AND 
           ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION FOR WEATHER FORECASTING

Sec. 201. Definitions.
Sec. 202. Purpose.
Sec. 203. Earth system forecasting and information delivery.
Sec. 204. Advanced artificial intelligence applications for weather and 
                            information delivery.
Sec. 205. Technical assistance on use of artificial intelligence 
                            weather, water, and space weather models.
Sec. 206. Fire environment modeling program.
Sec. 207. Partnerships for transformational innovation.
Sec. 208. Availability of dataset.
Sec. 209. Retention of Federal Government expertise.
Sec. 210. Protection of national security interests.
Sec. 211. Authorization of appropriations.

                  TITLE III--NATIONAL MESONET PROGRAM

Sec. 301. National Mesonet Program.

                         TITLE I--FIRE WEATHER

SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS.

    In this title:
            (1) Administration.--The term ``Administration'' means the 
        National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
            (2) Appropriate committees of congress.--The term 
        ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
                Transportation of the Senate; and
                    (B) the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 
                of the House of Representatives.
            (3) Earth system model.--The term ``Earth system model'' 
        means a mathematical model containing all relevant components 
        of the Earth, namely the atmosphere, oceans, land, cryosphere, 
        and biosphere.
            (4) Fire environment.--The term ``fire environment'' 
        means--
                    (A) the environmental conditions, such as soil 
                moisture, vegetation, topography, snowpack, atmospheric 
                temperature, moisture, and wind, that influence--
                            (i) fuel and fire behavior; and
                            (ii) the emission, chemical evolution, and 
                        transport of smoke from wildfires; and
                    (B) the associated environmental impacts occurring 
                during and after fire events.
            (5) Fire weather.--The term ``fire weather'' means the 
        weather conditions that influence the start, spread, character, 
        or behavior of wildfires or fires at the wildland-urban 
        interface and relevant meteorological and chemical phenomena, 
        including air quality, smoke, and meteorological parameters 
        such as relative humidity, air temperature, wind speed and 
        direction, and atmospheric composition and chemistry, including 
        emissions and mixing heights.
            (6) Impact-based decision support services.--The term 
        ``impact-based decision support services'' means scientific 
        advice and interpretative services the Administration provides 
        to help core partners, such as emergency personnel and public 
        safety officials, make decisions when the information impacts 
        the lives and livelihoods of the people of the United States.
            (7) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian tribe'' has the 
        meaning given that term in section 4 of the Indian Self-
        Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).
            (8) Native hawaiian community.--The term ``Native Hawaiian 
        Community'' means the distinct Native Hawaiian indigenous 
        political community that Congress, exercising its plenary power 
        over Native American affairs, has recognized and with which 
        Congress has implemented a special political and trust 
        relationship pursuant to the Constitution of the United States.
            (9) Native hawaiian organization.--The term ``Native 
        Hawaiian organization'' has the meaning given that term in 
        section 6207 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
        1965 (20 U.S.C. 7517), including the Department of Hawaiian 
        Home Lands and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.
            (10) Seasonal.--The term ``seasonal'' has the meaning given 
        that term in section 2 of the Weather Research and Forecasting 
        Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8501).
            (11) Smoke.--The term ``smoke'' means emissions, including 
        the gases and particles released into the air as a result of 
        wildfire.
            (12) State.--The term ``State'' means a State, the District 
        of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American 
        Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the 
        United State Virgin Islands, the Federated States of 
        Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, or the 
        Republic of Palau.
            (13) Tribal organization.--The term ``Tribal organization'' 
        has the meaning given that term in section 4 of the Indian 
        Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 
        5304).
            (14) Under secretary.--The term ``Under Secretary'' means 
        the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere.
            (15) Wildfire.--The term ``wildfire'' means any non-
        structure fire that occurs in vegetation or natural fuels, 
        originating from an unplanned ignition.
            (16) Wildland-urban interface.--The term ``wildland-urban 
        interface'' means the area, zone, or region of transition 
        between unoccupied or undeveloped land and human development 
        where structures and other human development meet or 
        intermingle with undeveloped wildland or vegetative fuels.

SEC. 102. ESTABLISHMENT OF FIRE WEATHER SERVICES PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--The Under Secretary shall establish and maintain a 
coordinated fire weather services program among the offices of the 
Administration in existence as of the date of the enactment of this 
Act.
    (b) Program Functions.--The functions of the program established 
under subsection (a), consistent with the priorities described in 
section 101 of the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 
2017 (15 U.S.C. 8511), shall be--
            (1) to support readiness, responsiveness, understanding, 
        and resilience of the United States to wildfires, fire weather, 
        smoke from wildfires, post-fire flooding and debris flows, and 
        associated hazards and impacts in built and natural 
        environments and at the wildland-urban interface;
            (2) to collaboratively develop and disseminate accurate, 
        precise, effective, and timely risk communications, forecasts, 
        watches, and warnings relating to wildfires, fire weather, 
        smoke, post-fire flooding and debris flows, and other 
        associated conditions, hazards, and impacts, as applicable, 
        with Federal land management agencies;
            (3) to partner with and support the public, Federal and 
        State government entities, Indian tribes, the Native Hawaiian 
        Community, and academic and local partners through the 
        development of capabilities, impact-based decision support 
        services, and overall service delivery and utility related to 
        fire weather;
            (4) to conduct and support research and development of new 
        and innovative models, technologies, techniques, products, 
        systems, processes, and procedures to predict and improve 
        understanding of wildfires, fire weather, related air quality, 
        post-fire flooding and debris flows, and the fire environment;
            (5) to develop strong research-to-operations and 
        operations-to-research transitions, in order to facilitate 
        delivery of products, services, and tools to operational users 
        and platforms related to fire weather;
            (6) to develop communications networks and strategies to 
        ensure parity of fire forecasts, warning services, and 
        information about current fire location, for remote, isolated, 
        and rural communities, including communities where the public 
        acts as the first responder to wildfire; and
            (7) to develop, in coordination with Federal land 
        management agencies, impact-based decision support services 
        that operationalize and integrate the functions described in 
        paragraphs (1) through (6) in order to provide comprehensive 
        impact-based decision support services that encompass the fire 
        environment.
    (c) Program Priorities.--In developing and implementing the program 
established under subsection (a), the Under Secretary shall 
prioritize--
            (1) development of a fire weather-enabled Earth system 
        model and data assimilation systems that--
                    (A) are capable of prediction and forecasting 
                across relevant spatial and temporal scales;
                    (B) include variables associated with fire weather 
                and the fire environment;
                    (C) improve understanding of the connections 
                between fire weather and modes of climate variability;
                    (D) incorporate emerging techniques such as 
                artificial intelligence, machine learning, and cloud 
                computing; and
                    (E) use a rapidly deployable network of rain gauges 
                for post-fire hazard monitoring;
            (2) advancement of existing and new observational 
        capabilities, including satellite-, airborne-, air-, and 
        ground-based systems and technologies, and social networking 
        and other public information-gathering applications that--
                    (A) identify--
                            (i) high-risk pre-ignition conditions;
                            (ii) conditions that influence fire 
                        behavior and spread including those conditions 
                        that suppress active fire events; and
                            (iii) fire risk values;
                    (B) support real-time notification and monitoring 
                of ignitions;
                    (C) support observations and data collection of 
                fire weather and fire environment variables, including 
                vegetation state and profiles of smoke, winds, 
                temperature, and humidity, for development of the model 
                and systems under paragraph (1); and
                    (D) support forecasts and research that mitigate 
                the impacts of wildfires on human life, health, and the 
                economy;
            (3) development and implementation of advanced and user-
        oriented impact-based decision tools, science, and technologies 
        that--
                    (A) ensure real-time and retrospective data, 
                products, and services are findable, accessible, 
                interoperable, usable, inform further research, and are 
                analysis- and decision-ready;
                    (B) provide targeted information throughout the 
                fire lifecycle including pre-ignition, detection, 
                forecasting, post-fire, and monitoring phases; and
                    (C) support early assessment of post-fire hazards, 
                such as air quality, debris flows, mudslides, and 
                flooding; and
            (4) ensuring the parity of access to and support from the 
        tools, science, and technologies developed under this 
        subsection for remote, isolated, and rural communities.
    (d) Program Activities.--In developing and implementing the program 
established under subsection (a), the Under Secretary may--
            (1) conduct relevant physical and social science research 
        activities in support of the functions described in subsection 
        (b) and the priorities described in subsection (c);
            (2) conduct relevant activities, in coordination with 
        Federal land management agencies and Federal science agencies, 
        to assess fuel characteristics, including moisture, loading, 
        and other parameters used to determine fire risk levels and 
        outlooks;
            (3) support and conduct research that assesses impacts to 
        marine, riverine, watershed, and other relevant ecosystems, 
        which may include forest and rangeland ecosystems, resulting 
        from activities associated with mitigation of and response to 
        wildfires;
            (4) support and conduct attribution science research 
        relating to wildfires, fire weather, fire risk, smoke, and 
        associated conditions, risks, and impacts;
            (5) develop smoke and air quality forecasts, forecast 
        guidance, and prescribed burn weather forecasts, and conduct 
        research on the impact of such forecasts on response behavior 
        that minimizes health-related impacts from smoke exposure;
            (6) use, in coordination with Federal land management 
        agencies, wildland fuels information and fire resource 
        intelligence to inform fire environment impact-based decision 
        support services and products for safety;
            (7) work with Federal agencies to provide data, tools, and 
        services to support determinations by such agencies for the 
        implementation of mitigation measures;
            (8) provide training and support to ensure effective media 
        utilization of impact-based decision support services and 
        products to the public regarding actions needing to be taken;
            (9) provide comprehensive training to ensure staff of the 
        program established under subsection (a) is properly equipped 
        to deliver the impact-based decision support services and 
        products described in paragraphs (1) through (6); and
            (10) acquire, through contracted purchase, private sector-
        produced observational data to fill identified gaps, as needed.
    (e) Parity for Remote, Isolated, and Rural Communities.--In 
developing and implementing the program established under subsection 
(a), the Under Secretary shall ensure parity of coverage and 
programmatic activity for remote, isolated, and rural communities, 
including communities where the public acts as the first responder to 
wildfire.
    (f) Collaboration.--The Under Secretary shall, as the Under 
Secretary considers appropriate, collaborate with partners in the 
weather and climate enterprises, academic institutions, States, Indian 
tribes, Tribal organizations, the Native Hawaiian Community, Native 
Hawaiian organizations, local partners, and Federal agencies, including 
land and fire management agencies, in the development and 
implementation of the program established under subsection (a).
    (g) Agreements.--In carrying out the activities under this title 
and the amendments made by this title, the Under Secretary may provide 
support to non-Federal entities by making funds and resources available 
through--
            (1) competitive grants;
            (2) contracts under the mobility program under subchapter 
        VI of chapter 33 of title 5, United States Code (commonly 
        referred to as the ``Intergovernmental Personnel Act Mobility 
        Program'');
            (3) cooperative agreements; and
            (4) co-location agreements as described in section 502 of 
        the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
        Commissioned Officer Corps Amendments Act of 2020 (33 U.S.C. 
        851 note prec.).
    (h) Program Administration Plan.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary shall submit to 
        the appropriate committees of Congress a plan that details how 
        the program established under subsection (a) will be 
        administered and governed within the Administration.
            (2) Elements.--The plan required by paragraph (1) should 
        include a description of--
                    (A) how the functions described in subsection (b), 
                the priorities described in subsection (c), and the 
                activities described in subsection (d) will be 
                distributed among the line offices of the 
                Administration; and
                    (B) the mechanisms in place to ensure seamless 
                coordination among those offices.

SEC. 103. FIRE WEATHER TESTBED.

    (a) Establishment of Fire Weather Testbed.--The Under Secretary 
shall establish a fire weather testbed that enables engagement across 
the Federal Government, State and local governments, academia, private 
and federally funded research laboratories, the private sector, and 
end-users in order to evaluate the accuracy and usability of 
technology, models, fire weather products and services, and other 
research to accelerate the implementation, transition to operations, 
and use of new capabilities by the Administration, Federal and land 
management agencies, and other relevant stakeholders.
    (b) Uncrewed Systems.--
            (1) In general.--The Under Secretary shall--
                    (A) establish and carry out a research and 
                development program to support the application of 
                uncrewed systems technologies to improve data 
                collection in support of modeling, observations, 
                predictions, forecasts, and impact-based decision 
                support services, and for other purposes of the 
                Administration;
                    (B) transition uncrewed systems technologies from 
                research to operations as the Under Secretary considers 
                appropriate; and
                    (C) coordinate with other Federal agencies that may 
                be developing uncrewed systems and related technologies 
                to meet the challenges of wildland fire management.
            (2) Pilots required.--In carrying out paragraph (1), the 
        Under Secretary shall conduct pilots of uncrewed systems for 
        fire weather and fire environment observations, including--
                    (A) testing of uncrewed systems in approximations 
                of real-world scenarios;
                    (B) assessment of the utility of meteorological 
                data collected from fire response and assessment 
                aircraft;
                    (C) input of the collected data into appropriate 
                models to predict fire behavior, including coupled 
                atmosphere and fire models; and
                    (D) collection of best management practices for 
                deployment of uncrewed systems and other remote data 
                technology, including for communication and 
                coordination between the stakeholders described in 
                subsection (a).
            (3) Savings clause.--
                    (A) In general.--In carrying out activities under 
                this subsection, the Under Secretary shall ensure that 
                any testing or deployment of uncrewed systems follow 
                procedures, restrictions, and protocols established by 
                the heads of the Federal agencies with statutory or 
                regulatory jurisdiction over any airspace in which 
                wildfire response activities are conducted during an 
                active wildfire event.
                    (B) Consultation and coordination.--The Under 
                Secretary shall consult and coordinate with relevant 
                Federal land management agencies, Federal science 
                agencies, and the Federal Aviation Administration to 
                develop processes for the appropriate deployment of the 
                systems described in subparagraph (A).
    (c) Additional Pilot Projects.--The Under Secretary shall establish 
additional pilot projects relating to the fire weather testbed that may 
include the following elements:
            (1) Advanced products to detect fire from satellites.
            (2) Procurement and use of commercial data.
            (3) Investigation and evaluation of information needs of 
        users and decision makers.
    (d) Report.--Section 108(a)(5) of the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration Authorization Act of 1992 (15 U.S.C. 
8520(a)(5)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (C), by adding ``and'' at the end; and
            (2) in subparagraph (D)--
                    (A) in clause (ii), by striking ``and'';
                    (B) in clause (iii), by adding ``and'' at the end; 
                and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
                            ``(iv) a description of the research that 
                        has been transitioned into operations, 
                        including research at the fire weather testbed 
                        established under section 103(a) of the Fire 
                        Ready Nation Act of 2024;''.

SEC. 104. DATA MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY MODERNIZATION.

    (a) Data Availability and Management.--Section 301 of the Weather 
Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8531) is 
amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsections (f) and (g) as subsections 
        (g) and (h), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (e) the following:
    ``(f) Data Availability and Management.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Under Secretary shall--
                    ``(A) make data and metadata generated or collected 
                by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
                that the Under Secretary has the legal right to 
                redistribute fully and openly available, in accordance 
                with chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code, and 
                the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 
                2018 (Public Law 115-435; 132 Stat. 5529) and the 
                amendments made by that Act, and preserve and curate 
                such data and metadata, in accordance with chapter 31 
                of title 44, United States Code (commonly known as the 
                `Federal Records Act of 1950'), in order to maximize 
                use of such data and metadata; and
                    ``(B) manage and steward the access, archival, and 
                retrieval activities for the data and metadata 
                described in subparagraph (A) by--
                            ``(i) using--
                                    ``(I) enterprise-wide 
                                infrastructure, emerging technologies, 
                                commercial partnerships, and the 
                                skilled workforce needed to provide 
                                appropriate data management from 
                                collection to broad access; and
                                    ``(II) associated information 
                                services; and
                            ``(ii) pursuing the maximum 
                        interoperability of data and information by--
                                    ``(I) leveraging data, information, 
                                knowledge, and tools from across the 
                                Federal Government to support equitable 
                                access, cross-sectoral collaboration 
                                and innovation, and local planning and 
                                decision-making; and
                                    ``(II) developing standards and 
                                practices for the adoption and citation 
                                of digital object identifiers for 
                                datasets, models, and analytical tools.
            ``(2) Collaboration.--In carrying out this subsection, the 
        Under Secretary shall collaborate with such Federal partners 
        and stakeholders as the Under Secretary considers relevant--
                    ``(A) to develop standards to pursue maximum 
                interoperability of data, information, knowledge, and 
                tools across the Federal Government, convert historical 
                records into common digital formats, and improve access 
                and usability of data by partners and stakeholders;
                    ``(B) to identify and solicit relevant data from 
                Federal and international partners and other relevant 
                stakeholders, as the Under Secretary considers 
                appropriate; and
                    ``(C) to develop standards and practices for the 
                adoption and citation of digital object identifiers for 
                datasets, models, and analytical tools.''.
    (b) Wildland Fire Commission.--The Infrastructure Investment and 
Jobs Act (Public Law 117-58; 135 Stat. 429) is amended--
            (1) in section 70202--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (J), by striking ``; 
                        and'' and inserting a semicolon;
                            (ii) in subparagraph (K), by striking the 
                        period at the end and inserting a semicolon; 
                        and
                            (iii) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(L) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
                Transportation of the Senate; and
                    ``(M) the Committee on Science, Space, and 
                Technology of the House of Representatives.''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (6)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``; 
                        and'' and inserting a semicolon;
                            (ii) in subparagraph (C), by striking the 
                        period at the end and inserting ``; and''; and
                            (iii) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(D) The Secretary of Commerce, acting through the 
                Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and 
                Atmosphere.''; and
            (2) in section 70203(b)(1)(B)--
                    (A) in the matter preceding clause (i), by striking 
                ``9'' and inserting ``not fewer than 10'';
                    (B) in clause (i)--
                            (i) in subclause (IV), by striking ``; 
                        and'' and inserting a semicolon;
                            (ii) in subclause (V), by adding ``and'' at 
                        the end; and
                            (iii) by adding at the end the following:
                                    ``(VI) the National Oceanic and 
                                Atmospheric Administration;'';
                    (C) in clause (iv), by striking ``; and'' and 
                inserting a semicolon; and
                    (D) by adding at the end the following:
                            ``(vi) if the Secretaries determine it to 
                        be appropriate, 1 or more representatives from 
                        the relevant line offices of the National 
                        Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; and''.
    (c) Wildfire Technology Modernization.--Section 1114 of the John D. 
Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act (43 U.S.C. 
1748b-1) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (c)(3), by inserting ``the National 
        Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,'' after ``Federal 
        Aviation Administration,'';
            (2) in subsection (e)(2)--
                    (A) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as 
                subparagraph (C); and
                    (B) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the 
                following:
                    ``(B) Consultation.--
                            ``(i) In general.--In carrying out 
                        subparagraph (A), the Secretaries shall consult 
                        with the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans 
                        and Atmosphere regarding any development of 
                        impact-based decision support services that 
                        relate to wildlife-related activities of the 
                        National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
                        Administration.
                            ``(ii) Definition of impact-based decision 
                        support services.--In this subparagraph, the 
                        term `impact-based decision support services' 
                        means scientific advice and interpretative 
                        services the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
                        Administration provides to help core partners, 
                        such as emergency personnel and public safety 
                        officials, make decisions when the information 
                        impacts the lives and livelihoods of the people 
                        of the United States.''; and
            (3) in subsection (f)--
                    (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as 
                subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, and moving 
                such subparagraphs, as so redesignated, 2 ems to the 
                right;
                    (B) by striking ``The Secretaries'' and inserting 
                the following:
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretaries''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(2) Collaboration.--In carrying out paragraph (1), the 
        Secretaries shall collaborate with the Under Secretary of 
        Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere to improve coordination, 
        utility of systems and assets, and interoperability of data for 
        smoke prediction, forecasting, and modeling.''.
    (d) Digital Presence.--
            (1) In general.--The Under Secretary shall develop and 
        maintain a comprehensive, centralized, and publicly accessible 
        digital presence designed to promote findability, 
        accessibility, interoperability, usability, and utility of the 
        services, tools, data, and information produced by the program 
        established under section 102(a).
            (2) Digital platform and tools.--In carrying out paragraph 
        (1), the Under Secretary shall seek to ensure the digital 
        platform and tools of the Administration integrate geospatial 
        data, decision support tools, training, and best practices to 
        provide real-time fire weather forecasts and address fire-
        related issues and needs.
    (e) High-Performance Computing.--
            (1) In general.--The Under Secretary shall seek to acquire 
        sufficient high-performance computing resources and capacity 
        for research, operations, and data storage in support of the 
        program established under section 102(a).
            (2) Considerations.--In acquiring high-performance 
        computing capacity under paragraph (1), the Under Secretary 
        shall consider requirements needed for--
                    (A) conducting research, development, and testbed 
                experiments;
                    (B) the transition of research and testbed 
                developments into operations;
                    (C) sustaining capabilities in operations;
                    (D) capabilities existing in other Federal agencies 
                and the commercial sector; and
                    (E) skilled workforce development.

SEC. 105. SURVEYS AND ASSESSMENTS.

    (a) Post-Fire Surveys and Assessments .--
            (1) Annual post-fire-weather-season survey and 
        assessment.--
                    (A) In general.--During the second winter following 
                the date of the enactment of this Act, and each year 
                thereafter, the Under Secretary shall conduct a post-
                fire-weather-season survey and assessment.
                    (B) Elements.--After conducting a post-fire-
                weather-season survey and assessment under subparagraph 
                (A), the Under Secretary shall--
                            (i) investigate any gaps in data collected 
                        during the assessment;
                            (ii) identify and implement strategies and 
                        procedures to improve program services and 
                        information dissemination;
                            (iii) update systems, processes, 
                        strategies, and procedures to enhance the 
                        efficiency and reliability of data obtained 
                        from the assessment;
                            (iv) evaluate the accuracy and efficacy of 
                        physical fire weather forecasting information 
                        for each incident included in the survey and 
                        assessment; and
                            (v) assess and refine performance measures, 
                        as needed.
            (2) Surveys and assessments following individual wildfire 
        events.--The Under Secretary may conduct surveys and 
        assessments following individual wildfire events as the Under 
        Secretary determines necessary.
            (3) Goal.--In carrying out activities under this 
        subsection, the Under Secretary shall seek to increase the 
        number of post-wildfire community impact studies, including by 
        surveying individual and collective responses and incorporating 
        other applicable topics of social science research.
            (4) Annual briefing.--Not less frequently than once each 
        year, the Under Secretary shall provide a briefing to the 
        appropriate committees of Congress that provides--
                    (A) an overview of the fire season; and
                    (B) an outlook for the fire season for the coming 
                year.
            (5) Coordination.--In conducting any survey or assessment 
        under this subsection, the Under Secretary shall coordinate 
        with Federal, State, and local partners, Indian tribes, the 
        Native Hawaiian Community, private entities, and such 
        institutions of higher education as the Under Secretary 
        considers relevant in order to--
                    (A) improve operations and collaboration; and
                    (B) optimize data collection, sharing, integration, 
                assimilation, and dissemination.
            (6) Data availability.--The Under Secretary shall make the 
        data and findings obtained from each assessment conducted under 
        this subsection available to the public in an accessible 
        digital format as soon as practicable after conducting the 
        assessment.
            (7) Service improvements.--The Under Secretary shall make 
        best efforts to incorporate the results and recommendations of 
        each assessment conducted under this subsection into the 
        research and development plan and operations of the 
        Administration.
    (b) Joint Assessment and Plan for Automated Surface Observing 
System.--
            (1) In general.--The Under Secretary, in collaboration with 
        the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration and 
        the Secretary of Defense, shall--
                    (A) conduct an assessment of resources, personnel, 
                procedures, and activities necessary to maximize the 
                functionality and utility of the automated surface 
                observing system of the United States that identifies--
                            (i) key system upgrades needed to improve 
                        observation quality and utility for weather 
                        forecasting, aviation safety, and other users;
                            (ii) improvements needed in observations 
                        within the planetary boundary layer, including 
                        mixing height;
                            (iii) improvements needed in public 
                        accessibility of observational data;
                            (iv) improvements needed to reduce latency 
                        in reporting of observational data;
                            (v) relevant data to be collected for the 
                        production of forecasts or forecast guidance 
                        relating to atmospheric composition, including 
                        particulate and air quality data related to 
                        wildfires, and aviation safety;
                            (vi) areas of concern regarding operational 
                        continuity and reliability of the system, which 
                        may include needs for on-night staff, 
                        particularly in remote and rural areas and 
                        areas where system failure would have the 
                        greatest negative impact to the community;
                            (vii) stewardship, data handling, data 
                        distribution, and product generation needs 
                        arising from upgrading and changing the 
                        automated surface observation systems;
                            (viii) possible solutions for areas of 
                        concern identified under clause (vi), including 
                        with respect to the potential use of backup 
                        systems, power and communication system 
                        reliability, staffing needs and personnel 
                        location, and the acquisition of critical 
                        component backups and proper storage location 
                        to ensure rapid system repair necessary to 
                        ensure system operational continuity; and
                            (ix) research, development, and transition 
                        to operations needed to develop advanced data 
                        collection, quality control, and distribution 
                        so that the data are provided to models, users, 
                        and decision support systems in a timely 
                        manner; and
                    (B) develop and implement a plan that addresses the 
                findings of the assessment conducted under subparagraph 
                (A), including by seeking and allocating resources 
                necessary to ensure that system upgrades are 
                standardized across the Administration, the Federal 
                Aviation Administration, and the Department of Defense 
                to the extent practicable.
            (2) Standardization.--Any system standardization 
        implemented under paragraph (1)(B) shall not impede activities 
        to upgrade or improve individual units of the system.
            (3) Remote automatic weather station coordination.--The 
        Under Secretary, in collaboration with relevant Federal 
        agencies and the National Interagency Fire Center, shall assess 
        and develop cooperative agreements to improve coordination, 
        interoperability standards, operations, and placement of remote 
        automatic weather stations for the purpose of improving utility 
        and coverage of remote automatic weather stations, automated 
        surface observation systems, smoke monitoring platforms, and 
        other similar stations and systems for weather and climate 
        operations.
            (4) Report to congress.--
                    (A) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the 
                date of the enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary, 
                in collaboration with the Administrator of the Federal 
                Aviation Administration and the Secretary of Defense, 
                shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress 
                a report that--
                            (i) details the findings of the assessment 
                        required by subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1); 
                        and
                            (ii) the plan required by subparagraph (B) 
                        of such paragraph.
                    (B) Elements.--The report required by subparagraph 
                (A) shall include a detailed assessment of 
                appropriations required--
                            (i) to address the findings of the 
                        assessment required by subparagraph (A) of 
                        paragraph (1); and
                            (ii) to implement the plan required by 
                        subparagraph (B) of such paragraph.

SEC. 106. INCIDENT METEOROLOGIST SERVICE.

    (a) Establishment.--The Under Secretary shall establish and 
maintain an Incident Meteorologist Service within the National Weather 
Service (in this section referred to as the ``Service'').
    (b) Inclusion of Existing Incident Meteorologists.--The Service 
shall include--
            (1) the incident meteorologists of the Administration as of 
        the date of the enactment of this Act; and
            (2) such incident meteorologists of the Administration as 
        may be appointed after such date.
    (c) Functions.--The Service shall provide--
            (1) on-site impact-based decision support services to 
        Federal, State, and local government emergency response 
        agencies, Indian tribes, and the Native Hawaiian Community 
        preceding, during, and following significant weather-related 
        events, such as wildland fires, that threaten human life, 
        property, or the economy; and
            (2) support to Federal, State, and local government 
        decision makers, partners, and stakeholders, Indian tribes, 
        Tribal organizations, the Native Hawaiian Community, and Native 
        Hawaiian organizations for seasonal planning and pre-fire 
        mitigation activities.
    (d) Deployment.--The Service shall be deployed--
            (1) as determined by the Under Secretary; or
            (2) at the request of the head of another Federal agency 
        and with the approval of the Under Secretary.
    (e) Staffing and Resources.--In establishing and maintaining the 
Service, the Under Secretary shall identify, acquire, and maintain 
adequate levels of staffing and resources to meet user needs.
    (f) Support for Incident Meteorologists.--The Under Secretary shall 
provide resources, access to real-time fire weather forecasts, 
training, administrative and logistical support, and access to 
professional counseling or other forms of support as the Under 
Secretary considers appropriate for the betterment of the emotional and 
mental health and well-being of incident meteorologists and other 
employees of the Administration so long as the need for such resources, 
training, access, or support is due to the response of such employees 
to high-impact and extreme fire weather events.

SEC. 107. EMERGENCY RESPONSE ACTIVITIES.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Basic pay.--The term ``basic pay'' includes any 
        applicable locality-based comparability payment under section 
        5304 of title 5, United States Code, any applicable special 
        rate supplement under section 5305 of such title, or any 
        equivalent payment under a similar provision of law.
            (2) Covered employee.--The term ``covered employee'' means 
        an employee of the Department of Commerce, the Department of 
        Agriculture, or the Department of the Interior.
            (3) Covered services.--The term ``covered services'' means 
        services that are performed by a covered employee while 
        serving--
                    (A) as a wildland firefighter or a fire management 
                response official, including a regional fire director, 
                a deputy regional fire director, and a fire management 
                officer;
                    (B) as an incident meteorologist accompanying a 
                wildland firefighter crew; or
                    (C) on an incident management team, at the National 
                Interagency Fire Center, at a Geographic Area 
                Coordinating Center, or at an operations center.
            (4) Premium pay.--The term ``premium pay'' means premium 
        pay paid under a provision of law described in the matter 
        preceding paragraph (1) of section 5547(a) of title 5, United 
        States Code.
            (5) Relevant congressional committees.--The term ``relevant 
        congressional committees'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
                Transportation of the Senate;
                    (B) the Committee on Homeland Security and 
                Governmental Affairs of the Senate;
                    (C) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 
                Forestry of the Senate;
                    (D) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
                    (E) the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 
                of the Senate;
                    (F) the Committee on Oversight and Reform of the 
                House of Representatives;
                    (G) the Committee on Natural Resources of the House 
                of Representatives;
                    (H) the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 
                of the House of Representatives;
                    (I) the Committee on Agriculture of the House of 
                Representative; and
                    (J) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
                Representatives.
            (6) Secretary concerned.--The term ``Secretary concerned'' 
        means--
                    (A) the Secretary of Commerce, with respect to an 
                employee of the Department of Commerce;
                    (B) the Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to 
                an employee of the Department of Agriculture; and
                    (C) the Secretary of the Interior, with respect to 
                an employee of the Department of the Interior.
    (b) Waiver.--
            (1) In general.--Any premium pay received by a covered 
        employee for covered services shall be disregarded in 
        calculating the aggregate of the basic pay and premium pay for 
        the covered employee for purposes of applying the limitation on 
        premium pay under section 5547(a) of title 5, United States 
        Code.
            (2) Calculation of aggregate pay.--Any pay that is 
        disregarded under paragraph (1) shall be disregarded in 
        calculating the aggregate pay of the applicable covered 
        employee for purposes of applying the limitation under section 
        5307 of title 5, United States Code, during calendar year 2025.
            (3) Limitation.--A covered employee may not be paid premium 
        pay under this subsection if, or to the extent that, the 
        aggregate of the basic pay and premium pay (including premium 
        pay for covered services) of the covered employee for a 
        calendar year would exceed the rate of basic pay payable for a 
        position at level II of the Executive Schedule under section 
        5313 of title 5, United States Code, as in effect at the end of 
        that calendar year.
            (4) Treatment of additional premium pay.--If the 
        application of this subsection results in the payment of 
        additional premium pay to a covered employee of a type that is 
        normally creditable as basic pay for retirement or any other 
        purpose, that additional premium pay shall not be--
                    (A) considered to be basic pay of the covered 
                employee for any purpose; or
                    (B) used in computing a lump-sum payment to the 
                covered employee for accumulated and accrued annual 
                leave under section 5551 or 5552 of title 5, United 
                States Code.
            (5) Effective period.--This subsection shall be in effect 
        during calendar year 2024 and apply to premium pay payable 
        during that year.
    (c) Amendment.--Section 5542(a)(5) of title 5, United States Code, 
is amended by inserting ``, the Department of Commerce,'' after 
``Interior''.
    (d) Plan To Address Needs.--
            (1) Development and implementation.--Not later than March 
        30, 2025, the Secretaries referred to in subsection (a)(6), in 
        consultation with the Director of the Office of Management and 
        Budget and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, 
        shall jointly develop and implement a plan that addresses the 
        needs of the Department of Commerce, the Department of 
        Agriculture, and the Department of the Interior, as applicable, 
        to hire, appoint, promote, or train additional covered 
        employees who carry out covered services such that sufficient 
        covered employees are available throughout each fiscal year, 
        beginning in fiscal year 2025, without the need for waivers of 
        premium pay limitations.
            (2) Submittal.--Not later than 30 days before the date on 
        which the Secretaries implement the plan developed under 
        paragraph (1), the Secretaries shall submit the plan to the 
        relevant congressional committees.
            (3) Limitation.--The plan developed under paragraph (1) 
        shall not be contingent on any Secretary receiving amounts 
        appropriated for fiscal years beginning in fiscal year 2025 in 
        amounts greater than amounts appropriated for fiscal year 2023.
    (e) Policies and Procedures for Health, Safety, and Well-Being.--
The Secretary concerned shall maintain policies and procedures to 
promote the health, safety, and well-being of covered employees.

SEC. 108. SUBMISSIONS TO CONGRESS REGARDING THE FIRE WEATHER SERVICES 
              PROGRAM, INCIDENT METEOROLOGIST WORKFORCE NEEDS, AND 
              NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WORKFORCE SUPPORT.

    (a) Report to Congress.--Not later than 18 months after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary shall submit to the 
appropriate committees of Congress--
            (1) the plan described in subsection (b);
            (2) the assessment described in subsection (c); and
            (3) the assessment described in subsection (d).
    (b) Fire Weather Services Program Plan.--
            (1) Elements.--The plan submitted under subsection (a)(1) 
        shall detail--
                    (A) the observational data, modeling requirements, 
                ongoing computational needs, research, development, and 
                technology transfer activities, data management, 
                skilled-personnel requirements, engagement with 
                relevant Federal emergency and land management agencies 
                and partners, and corresponding research, development, 
                and operational resources and timelines necessary to 
                achieve the functions described in subsection (b) of 
                section 102 and the priorities described in subsection 
                (c) of such section; and
                    (B) plans and needs for all other activities and 
                requirements under this title and the amendments made 
                by this title.
            (2) Submittal of annual budget for plan.--Following 
        completion of the plan submitted under subsection (a)(1), the 
        Under Secretary shall, not less frequently than once each year 
        concurrent with the submission of the budget by the President 
        to Congress under section 1105 of title 31, United States Code, 
        submit to Congress a proposed budget corresponding with the 
        elements detailed in the plan.
    (c) Incident Meteorologist Workforce Needs Assessment.--
            (1) In general.--The Under Secretary shall conduct a 
        workforce needs assessment on the current and future demand for 
        additional incident meteorologists for wildfires and other 
        high-impact fire weather events.
            (2) Elements.--The assessment required by paragraph (1) 
        shall include the following:
                    (A) A description of staffing levels as of the date 
                on which the assessment is submitted under subsection 
                (a)(2) and projected future staffing levels.
                    (B) An assessment of the state of the research, 
                development, and operational infrastructure of the 
                National Weather Service as of the date on which the 
                assessment is submitted and future needs of such 
                infrastructure in order to meet current and future 
                demands, including with respect to information 
                technology support and logistical and administrative 
                operations.
            (3) Considerations.--In conducting the assessment required 
        by paragraph (1), the Under Secretary shall consider user needs 
        and feedback from relevant stakeholders.
    (d) Support Services Assessment.--
            (1) In general.--The Under Secretary shall conduct a 
        workforce support services assessment with respect to employees 
        of the National Weather Service engaged in emergency response.
            (2) Elements.--The assessment required by paragraph (1) 
        shall include the following:
                    (A) An assessment of need for further support of 
                employees of the National Weather Service engaged in 
                emergency response through services provided by the 
                Public Health Service.
                    (B) A detailed assessment of appropriations 
                required to secure the level of support services needed 
                as identified in the assessment described in 
                subparagraph (A).
            (3) Additional support services.--Following the completion 
        of the assessment required by paragraph (1), the Under 
        Secretary shall seek to acquire additional support services to 
        meet the needs identified in the assessment.

SEC. 109. FIRE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY WORKING GROUP; STRATEGIC PLAN.

    (a) Fire Science and Technology Working Group.--
            (1) Establishment.--Not later than 90 days after the date 
        of the enactment of this Act, the Executive Director of the 
        Interagency Committee for Advancing Weather Services 
        established under section 402 of the Weather Research and 
        Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8542) (in this 
        section referred to as the ``Interagency Committee'') shall 
        establish a working group, to be known as the ``Fire Science 
        and Technology Working Group'' (in this section referred to as 
        the ``Working Group'').
            (2) Chair.--The Working Group shall be chaired by the Under 
        Secretary, or designee.
            (3) General duties.--
                    (A) In general.--The Working Group shall seek to 
                build efficiencies among the agencies listed under 
                section 111(c)(1) and coordinate the planning and 
                management of science, research, technology, and 
                operations related to science and support services for 
                wildland fire prediction, detection, forecasting, 
                modeling, resilience, response, management, and 
                assessments.
                    (B) Input.--The Working Group shall solicit input 
                from non-Federal stakeholders.
    (b) Strategic Plan.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 18 months after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Interagency Committee shall 
        prepare and submit to Congress a strategic plan for interagency 
        coordination, research, and development that will improve the 
        assessment of fire environments and the understanding and 
        prediction of wildland fires, associated smoke, and the impacts 
        of such fires and smoke, including--
                    (A) at the wildland-urban interface;
                    (B) on communities, buildings, and other 
                infrastructure;
                    (C) on ecosystem services and watersheds;
                    (D) social and economic impacts;
                    (E) by developing and encouraging the adoption of 
                science-based and cost-effective measures--
                            (i) to enhance community resilience to 
                        wildland fires;
                            (ii) to address and mitigate the impacts of 
                        wildland fires and associated smoke; and
                            (iii) to restore natural fire regimes in 
                        fire-dependent ecosystems;
                    (F) by improving the understanding and mitigation 
                of the effects of weather and long-term drought on 
                wildland fire risk, frequency, and severity;
                    (G) through integrations of social and behavioral 
                sciences in public safety fire communication;
                    (H) by improving the forecasting and understanding 
                of prescribed fires and the impacts of such fires, and 
                how those impacts may differ from impacts of wildland 
                fires that originate from an unplanned ignition; and
                    (I) consideration and adoption of any 
                recommendations included in the report required by 
                section 111(c).
            (2) Plan elements.--The strategic plan required by 
        paragraph (1) shall include the following:
                    (A) A description of the priorities and needs of 
                vulnerable populations.
                    (B) A description of high-performance computing, 
                visualization, and dissemination needs.
                    (C) A timeline and guidance for implementation of--
                            (i) an interagency data sharing system for 
                        data relevant to performing fire assessments 
                        and modeling fire risk and fire behavior;
                            (ii) a system for ensuring that the fire 
                        prediction models of relevant agencies can be 
                        interconnected; and
                            (iii) to the maximum extent practicable, 
                        any recommendations included in the report 
                        required by section 111(c).
                    (D) A plan for incorporating and coordinating 
                research and operational observations, including from 
                infrared technologies, microwave, radars, satellites, 
                mobile weather stations, and uncrewed aerial systems.
                    (E) A flexible framework to communicate clear and 
                simple fire event information to the public.
                    (F) Integration of social, behavioral, risk, and 
                communication research to improve the fire operational 
                environment and societal information reception and 
                response.

SEC. 110. FIRE WEATHER RATING SYSTEM.

    (a) In General.--The Under Secretary shall, in collaboration with 
the Chief of the United States Forest Service, the Director of the 
United States Geological Survey, the Director of the National Park 
Service, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, 
and such stakeholders as the Under Secretary considers appropriate--
            (1) evaluate the system used as of the date of the 
        enactment of this Act to rate the risk of wildfire; and
            (2) determine whether updates to that system are required 
        to ensure that the ratings accurately reflect the severity of 
        fire risk.
    (b) Update Required.--If the Under Secretary determines under 
subsection (a) that updates to the system described in paragraph (1) of 
such subsection are necessary, the Under Secretary shall update that 
system.

SEC. 111. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE REPORTS.

    (a) Report on Fire Weather Services Program.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 3 years after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the 
        United States shall submit to Congress a report on the program 
        established under section 102(a).
            (2) Elements.--The report required by paragraph (1) shall--
                    (A) evaluate the performance of the program by 
                establishing initial baseline capabilities and tracking 
                progress made toward fully operationalizing the 
                functions described in section 102(b); and
                    (B) include such other recommendations as the 
                Comptroller General determines are appropriate to 
                improve the program.
    (b) Report on Interagency Bodies for Wildfire Forecasting, 
Prevention, Planning, and Management.--Not later than 1 year after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the 
United States shall submit to Congress a report that--
            (1) identifies all Federal interagency bodies established 
        for the purpose of wildfire forecasting, prevention, planning, 
        and management (such as wildfire councils, commissions, and 
        workgroups), including--
                    (A) the Wildland Fire Leadership Council;
                    (B) the White House Wildfire Resilience Interagency 
                Group;
                    (C) the Wildland Fire Management Policy Committee;
                    (D) the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management 
                Commission;
                    (E) the Joint Science Fire Program;
                    (F) the National Interagency Coordination Center;
                    (G) the National Predictive Services Oversight 
                Group;
                    (H) the Interagency Council for Advancing 
                Meteorological Services;
                    (I) the National Wildfire Coordinating Group;
                    (J) the National Multi-Agency Coordinating Group; 
                and
                    (K) the Mitigation Framework Leadership Group;
            (2) evaluates the roles, functionality, and utility of such 
        interagency bodies;
            (3) evaluates the progress, performance, and implementation 
        of such interagency bodies;
            (4) assesses efficacy and identifies potential overlap and 
        duplication of such interagency bodies in carrying out 
        interagency collaboration with respect to wildfire prevention, 
        planning, and management; and
            (5) includes such other recommendations as the Comptroller 
        General determines are appropriate to streamline and improve 
        wildfire forecasting, prevention, planning, and management, 
        including recommendations regarding the interagency bodies for 
        which the addition of the Administration is necessary to 
        improve wildfire forecasting, prevention, planning, and 
        management.
    (c) Report on Interagency Coordination.--Not later than 1 year 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of 
the United States shall submit to Congress a report that identifies--
            (1) the authorities, roles, and science and support 
        services relating to wildland fire prediction, detection, 
        forecasting, modeling, resilience, response, management, and 
        assessment provided by--
                    (A) the Department of Commerce, including the 
                Administration and the National Institute of Standards 
                and Technology;
                    (B) the National Aeronautics and Space 
                Administration;
                    (C) the Department of the Interior;
                    (D) the Department of Agriculture;
                    (E) the National Science Foundation;
                    (F) the Department of Energy;
                    (G) the Federal Emergency Management Agency;
                    (H) the Department of Transportation;
                    (I) the Environmental Protection Agency; and
                    (J) the Department of Defense; and
            (2) recommended areas in and mechanisms by which the 
        agencies listed under paragraph (1) could support and improve--
                    (A) coordination between Federal agencies, State 
                and local governments, Indian tribes, Tribal 
                organizations, the Native Hawaiian Community, Native 
                Hawaiian organizations, and other relevant 
                stakeholders, including through examination of possible 
                public-private partnerships;
                    (B) research and development, including 
                interdisciplinary research, related to fire 
                environments, wildland fires, associated smoke, and the 
                impacts of such environments, fires, and smoke, in 
                furtherance of a coordinated interagency effort to 
                address wildland fire risk reduction;
                    (C) data management and stewardship, the 
                development and coordination of data systems and 
                computational tools, and the creation of a centralized, 
                integrated data collaboration environment for agency 
                data, including historical data, relating to weather, 
                fire environments, wildland fires, associated smoke, 
                and the impacts of such environments, fires, and smoke, 
                and the assessment of wildland fire risk mitigation 
                measures;
                    (D) interoperability, usability, and accessibility 
                of the scientific data, data systems, and computational 
                and information tools of the agencies listed under 
                paragraph (1);
                    (E) coordinated public safety communications 
                relating to fire weather events, fire hazards, and 
                wildland fire and smoke risk reduction strategies; and
                    (F) secure and accurate real-time data, alerts, and 
                advisories to wildland firefighters and other decision 
                support tools for wildland fire incident command posts.
    (d) Report on Automated Surface Observing System.--Not later than 4 
years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 
General of the United States shall submit to Congress a report that--
            (1) evaluates the functionality, utility, reliability, and 
        operational status of the automated surface observing system 
        across the Administration, the Federal Aviation Administration, 
        and the Department of Defense;
            (2) evaluates the progress, performance, and implementation 
        of the plan required by section 105(b)(1)(B);
            (3) assesses the efficacy of cross-agency collaboration and 
        stakeholder engagement in carrying out the plan and provides 
        recommendations to improve such activities;
            (4) evaluates the operational continuity and reliability of 
        the system, particularly in remote and rural areas and areas 
        where system failure would have the greatest negative impact to 
        the community, and provides recommendations to improve such 
        continuity and reliability;
            (5) assesses Federal coordination regarding the remote 
        automatic weather station network, air resource advisors, and 
        other Federal observing assets used for weather and climate 
        modeling and response activities, and provides recommendations 
        for improvements; and
            (6) includes such other recommendations as the Comptroller 
        General determines are appropriate to improve the system.

SEC. 112. COOPERATION AND COORDINATION.

    (a) Cooperation.--Each Federal agency shall cooperate and 
coordinate with the Under Secretary, as appropriate, in carrying out 
this title and the amendments made by this title.
    (b) Coordination.--
            (1) In general.--In meeting the requirements under this 
        title and the amendments made by this title, the Under 
        Secretary shall coordinate, and as appropriate, establish 
        agreements with Federal and external partners to fully use and 
        leverage existing assets, systems, networks, technologies, and 
        sources of data.
            (2) Inclusions.--Coordination carried out under paragraph 
        (1) shall include coordination with--
                    (A) the agencies represented at the National 
                Interagency Fire Center;
                    (B) the Predictive Services Program of the National 
                Interagency Coordination Center;
                    (C) the National Wildfire Coordinating Group; and
                    (D) relevant interagency bodies identified in the 
                report required by section 111(b).
            (3) Consultation.--In carrying out this subsection, the 
        Under Secretary shall consult with Federal partners including--
                    (A) the National Aeronautics and Space 
                Administration;
                    (B) the Department of the Interior;
                    (C) the Federal Emergency Management Agency;
                    (D) the National Science Foundation;
                    (E) the United States Geological Survey;
                    (F) the Department of Agriculture;
                    (G) the Environmental Protection Agency;
                    (H) the Department of Energy;
                    (I) the Department of Defense;
                    (J) the National Institute of Standards and 
                Technology; and
                    (K) such other departments and agencies as the 
                Under Secretary considers relevant.
    (c) Process for Annual Coordination With Non-Federal Entities.--Not 
later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Under Secretary shall develop and submit to the appropriate committees 
of Congress a process for annual coordination with State and local 
governments, Indian tribes, Tribal organizations, and the Native 
Hawaiian Community to assist the development of improved fire weather 
products and services.
    (d) International Coordination.--
            (1) In general.--The Under Secretary may develop 
        collaborative relationships and agreements with foreign 
        partners and counterparts to address transboundary issues 
        pertaining to wildfires, fire weather, smoke, air quality, and 
        associated conditions and hazards or other relevant 
        meteorological phenomena, as appropriate, to facilitate full 
        and open exchange of data and information.
            (2) Consultation.--In carrying out activities under this 
        subsection, the Under Secretary shall consult with the 
        Department of State and such other Federal partners as the 
        Under Secretary considers relevant.

SEC. 113. GENERAL PROVISIONS.

    (a) Avoidance of Duplication.--
            (1) In general.--The Under Secretary shall ensure, to the 
        greatest extent practicable, that activities carried out under 
        this title and the amendments made by this title are not 
        duplicative of activities supported by other parts of the 
        Administration or other relevant Federal agencies.
            (2) Coordination.--In carrying out activities under this 
        title and the amendments made by this title, the Under 
        Secretary shall coordinate with the Administration and heads of 
        other Federal research agencies--
                    (A) to ensure those activities enhance and 
                complement, but do not constitute unnecessary 
                duplication of, efforts; and
                    (B) to ensure the responsible stewardship of funds.
    (b) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this title may be construed--
            (1) to satisfy any requirement for government-to-government 
        consultation with Indian tribes; or
            (2) to affect or modify any treaty or other right of any 
        Indian tribe.

SEC. 114. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated to the 
Administration to carry out this title and the amendments made by this 
title--
            (1) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2025;
            (2) $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2026;
            (3) $27,000,000 for fiscal year 2027;
            (4) $36,000,000 for fiscal year 2028; and
            (5) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2029.
    (b) Prohibition.--None of the amounts authorized to be appropriated 
by subsection (a) may be used to unnecessarily duplicate activities 
funded under title VIII of division D of the Infrastructure Investment 
and Jobs Act (Public Law 117-58; 135 Stat. 1094).

   TITLE II--USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE BY NATIONAL OCEANIC AND 
           ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION FOR WEATHER FORECASTING

SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS.

    In this title:
            (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
        Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
        Administration, also known as the Under Secretary of Commerce 
        for Oceans and Atmosphere.
            (2) Artificial intelligence.--The term ``artificial 
        intelligence''--
                    (A) has the meaning given that term in section 5002 
                of the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act 
                of 2020 (15 U.S.C. 9401); and
                    (B) includes machine learning, neural networks, and 
                natural language processing.
            (3) Artificial intelligence weather model.--The term 
        ``artificial intelligence weather model'' means a weather model 
        based primarily on artificial intelligence technology to 
        project future Earth system conditions based on machine 
        learning using weather forecasting training datasets.
            (4) Curate.--The term ``curate'', with respect to a 
        dataset, means--
                    (A) to collect and maintain the dataset--
                            (i) to ensure and document its quality; and
                            (ii) to provide metadata on its provenance; 
                        and
                    (B) to update the dataset periodically, as 
                appropriate and practicable.
            (5) Numerical weather model.--The term ``numerical weather 
        model'' means a weather model based primarily on coupled Earth 
        System processes that uses numerical computation to forecast 
        future Earth system conditions.
            (6) Observational data.--The term ``observational data'' 
        means data and metadata from actual observations of 
        environmental conditions, including remote sensing and in situ 
        platforms.
            (7) Synthetic data.--The term ``synthetic data'' means data 
        produced from a model or statistical method in order to fill 
        gaps in observational data.
            (8) Weather forecasting training dataset.--The term 
        ``weather forecasting training dataset''--
                    (A) means a dataset that contains continuous global 
                observational data and synthetic data for Earth system 
                variables relevant to weather forecasting, aviation 
                weather, marine weather, and hydrology and water 
                management; and
                    (B) may include model reanalysis and forecasts 
                initialized through a data assimilation system.

SEC. 202. PURPOSE.

    The purpose of this title is to--
            (1) improve accuracy and timeliness of weather, water, and 
        space weather forecasts and effective dissemination of critical 
        information;
            (2) strengthen analytic capacity to inform resource 
        deployments in response to and to mitigate harm from weather, 
        water, and space weather hazards through the mandated 
        exploration and use of artificial intelligence by Federal 
        agencies;
            (3) strengthen public-private partnerships to accelerate 
        adoption and outcomes of the use of artificial intelligence in 
        response to and to mitigate such harm; and
            (4) strengthen public-private partnerships in highly 
        technical, high-risk, and high-reward fields related to 
        weather, water, and space weather forecasts.

SEC. 203. EARTH SYSTEM FORECASTING AND INFORMATION DELIVERY.

    (a) Training Datasets.--Not later than 4 years after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Administrator, in consultation with the 
Secretary of Energy, the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and 
Space Administration, the Director of the National Science Foundation, 
the Director of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, the 
Interagency Council on Advancing Meteorological Services, other 
appropriate Federal advisory committees as determined by the 
Administrator, and such other technical experts as the Administrator 
considers appropriate, shall develop and curate comprehensive weather 
forecasting training datasets with relevant Earth system data, quality 
information, and metadata necessary for weather forecasting.
    (b) Use of Existing Datasets.--In order to speed the development of 
the weather forecasting training datasets required under subsection 
(a), the Administrator shall assess, and to the greatest extent 
practicable build on, existing Earth system reanalysis datasets of the 
Federal Government.
    (c) Artificial Intelligence Weather Model.--
            (1) Global model.--In carrying out this section, the 
        Administrator, in consultation with appropriate Federal 
        advisory committees as determined by the Administrator, may 
        develop and test a global weather model based on artificial 
        intelligence technologies utilizing data of the National 
        Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to the extent possible.
            (2) Regional and local models.--In addition to a global 
        weather model under paragraph (1), the Administrator may 
        experiment with regional and local weather models based on 
        artificial intelligence technologies.
    (d) Use of Artificial Intelligence to Disseminate Information.--In 
coordination with an artificial intelligence weather model or models 
developed under subsection (c), the Administrator may explore the use 
of artificial intelligence to enhance the dissemination of information 
with respect to weather and evaluate the effectiveness of communication 
for improved public understanding and preparedness.
    (e) Continued Support for Observations, Basic Research, and 
Numerical Weather Models.--Notwithstanding the requirements of this 
section, the Administrator shall continue to support and advance the 
activities of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration--
            (1) to collect and acquire traditional and novel 
        observational data relevant for artificial intelligence and 
        numerical weather, water, and space weather forecasting;
            (2) to advance research on the Earth system and numerical 
        weather model forecasting;
            (3) to develop and advance numerical Earth system modeling 
        for predictions;
            (4) to develop weather model data post-processing 
        techniques; and
            (5) to improve data assimilation techniques.
    (f) Observing System Coverage.--In carrying out this section, the 
Administrator may evaluate the use of cost functions in data-driven 
machine learning model training to balance inequities in observing 
system coverage and data poor areas.
    (g) Uncertainty Quantification Research.--In carrying out this 
section, the Administrator shall develop uncertainty quantification 
research, as well as trustworthy artificial intelligence methods and 
processes for the purpose of accurate environmental risk and hazard 
communications of probabilistic predictions and forecasts.
    (h) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, and not less frequently than every 2 years thereafter 
through 2035, the Administrator 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 the activities conducted under this section.

SEC. 204. ADVANCED ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE APPLICATIONS FOR WEATHER AND 
              INFORMATION DELIVERY.

    The Administrator shall explore advanced applications of artificial 
intelligence to improve weather forecasts and information delivery, 
such as by--
            (1) improving data assimilation;
            (2) accounting for coupled Earth system processes;
            (3) using artificial intelligence weather models to 
        generate ensemble forecasts to more accurately assess flow-
        dependent forecast uncertainties; and
            (4) improving impact-based decision support to diverse 
        users and communities for greater societal benefits based on 
        those forecasts.

SEC. 205. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ON USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE 
              WEATHER, WATER, AND SPACE WEATHER MODELS.

    (a) In General.--The Administrator shall provide--
            (1) technical assistance, data access, and support for 
        forecasters, scientists, social scientists, and engineers to 
        test and evaluate the use and effectiveness of the artificial 
        intelligence models of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
        Administration, including within the testbeds of the 
        Administration;
            (2) best practices on providing forecasts based on outputs 
        from artificial intelligence weather models and numerical 
        weather models, or a combination thereof; and
            (3) support for emergency managers to make operational 
        decisions based on outputs from artificial intelligence weather 
        models and numerical weather models, or a combination thereof.
    (b) Assessment of Weather Models.--
            (1) In general.--The Administrator shall support the 
        development of a common framework for the assessment of 
        numerical weather models and artificial intelligence weather 
        models by comparing model output and observational data over a 
        period of time in the past through the use of such 
        methodologies as the Administrator considers appropriate.
            (2) Best practices.--In carrying out this subsection, the 
        Administrator may develop and disseminate best practices in 
        collaboration with--
                    (A) the National Institute of Standards and 
                Technology, the National Aeronautics and Space 
                Administration, the National Science Foundation, and 
                the Department of Energy;
                    (B) academic and research institutions; and
                    (C) the private sector.
    (c) Technical Assistance.--In carrying out this section, the 
Administrator shall provide technical assistance, best practices, and 
support required under subsection (a) through the National Weather 
Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
    (d) Independent Study on the Impacts of Artificial Intelligence 
Weather, Water, and Space Weather Models.--The Administrator may enter 
into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences or another 
entity as determined appropriate by the Administrator to assess the 
impacts of artificial intelligence weather models on the weather 
enterprise and make recommendations to improve the integration of such 
models in operational forecasting.

SEC. 206. FIRE ENVIRONMENT MODELING PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Administrator, in coordination with the 
Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the United 
States Fire Administrator, and in consultation with the Administrator 
of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Secretary of 
Energy, the Director of the National Science Foundation, the Director 
of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, appropriate Federal 
advisory committees as determined by the Administrator, and such other 
technical experts as the Administrator considers appropriate, shall 
develop a program to use artificial intelligence to analyze available 
data on the built and natural environments--
            (1) to provide forecasts, data, and information on the 
        impacts of such environments on the lives and livelihoods of 
        the people of the United States, integrating social science 
        informed research and development;
            (2) to detect wildfires as early as possible; and
            (3) to forecast wildland and built environment fire 
        potential, fire propagation, and possible impacts based on an 
        analysis of the elements influencing fire danger, fire 
        behavior, weather conditions, terrain, and observations of the 
        fire environment.
    (b) Training Dataset.--In carrying out this section, Federal, 
State, Tribal, and local land management agencies may gather 
observational data and synthetic data on the built and natural 
environments collected across the United States to develop and curate a 
related artificial intelligence-ready training dataset for purposes of 
training the artificial intelligence technology used in furtherance of 
this section.
    (c) Data Acquisition.--In carrying out this section, the 
Administrator may contract to acquire relevant data.
    (d) Weather Integration.--In carrying out this section, the 
Administrator shall integrate outputs from weather and other 
environmental models and data.

SEC. 207. PARTNERSHIPS FOR TRANSFORMATIONAL INNOVATION.

    (a) In General.--The Administrator shall explore novel structures 
for partnerships with private, academic, and international entities for 
research and development of transformative innovation in weather 
forecasting and other environmental forecasts--
            (1) to further the understanding of weather, water, and 
        space weather, and their societal impact;
            (2) to advance the science of weather and water 
        forecasting, including seasonal and subseasonal forecasting; 
        and
            (3) to develop, evaluate, and transition artificial 
        intelligence weather, water, and hazard forecasting 
        applications to operations.
    (b) Co-investment.--Subject to applicable law, the Administrator 
shall consider and adopt novel co-investment strategies with the 
private academic and international sectors to carry out subsection (a), 
including--
            (1) non-Federal Government contributions to resource and 
        support high-risk, high-return research and development in 
        environmental forecasting, data science, artificial 
        intelligence, and related fields;
            (2) shared rights to intellectual property from research 
        and development activities under this section; and
            (3) other approaches to sharing resources and results under 
        this section.

SEC. 208. AVAILABILITY OF DATASET.

    (a) In General.--The Administrator shall develop and implement a 
plan to make available to the public, at no cost and subject to 
applicable law and policy, the following:
            (1) Operational artificial intelligence weather models 
        developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
        Administration.
            (2) Artificial intelligence weather models that are not 
        operational models, including experimental and developmental 
        models, as the Administrator determines appropriate.
            (3) Applicable information and documentation for artificial 
        intelligence weather models described in paragraphs (1) and 
        (2), including a description of intended model outputs.
            (4) Subject to section 210, all data owned by the Federal 
        Government and data that the Administrator has the legal right 
        to redistribute that are associated with artificial 
        intelligence weather models made available to the public 
        pursuant to the plan and used in operational forecasting by the 
        Administration, including--
                    (A) relevant metadata; and
                    (B) data used for operational artificial 
                intelligence weather models used by the Administration.
    (b) Accommodations.--In developing and implementing the plan under 
subsection (a), the Administrator may make such accommodations as the 
Administrator considers appropriate to ensure that the public release 
of any artificial intelligence weather model, information, 
documentation, or data pursuant to the plan does not jeopardize--
            (1) national security;
            (2) intellectual property or redistribution rights, 
        including under titles 17 and 35, United States Code;
            (3) any trade secret or commercial or financial information 
        subject to section 552(b)(4) of title 5, United States Code;
            (4) any models or data that are otherwise restricted by 
        contract or other written agreement; or
            (5) the mission of the Administration to protect lives and 
        property.
    (c) Report.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit to 
        Congress a report, in both unclassified and classified form, 
        regarding the risks to the economic and intellectual security 
        of the United States from foreign countries of concern through 
        access by those countries to weather data in the United States.
            (2) Elements.--The report required under paragraph (1) 
        shall include--
                    (A) a full analysis of the national, intellectual, 
                and economic security implications for the United 
                States with respect to intellectual property theft or 
                cyber or human espionage through access to weather 
                data; and
                    (B) conclusions of the Administrator and 
                recommendations for legislative and administrative 
                action, if any.
            (3) Foreign country of concern defined.--In this 
        subsection, the term ``foreign country of concern'' has the 
        meaning given that term in section 9901 of the William M. (Mac) 
        Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 
        2021 (15 U.S.C. 4651).

SEC. 209. RETENTION OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT EXPERTISE.

    Subject to applicable law, the Administrator shall consider novel 
methods to recruit, retrain, and retain expert personnel to support 
activities under this title, including by--
            (1) using methods to be competitive with salaries outside 
        the Federal Government;
            (2) developing staff exchange programs and training 
        programs; and
            (3) leveraging diverse hiring strategies.

SEC. 210. PROTECTION OF NATIONAL SECURITY INTERESTS.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, 
the Administrator, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, as 
appropriate, may withhold models or data used under this title if the 
Administrator determines doing so to be necessary to protect the 
national security interests of the United States.
    (b) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this title shall be construed 
to supersede any other provision of law governing the protection of the 
national security interests of the United States.

SEC. 211. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary 
to carry out this title.

                  TITLE III--NATIONAL MESONET PROGRAM

SEC. 301. NATIONAL MESONET PROGRAM.

    (a) Program.--The Under Secretary shall maintain the National 
Mesonet Program (referred to in this section as the ``Program''), which 
shall--
            (1) obtain observations to improve understanding of and 
        forecast capabilities for atmospheric, drought, fire, and water 
        events, with a prioritization on leveraging available 
        commercial, academic, and other non-Federal Government 
        environmental data to enhance coordination across the private, 
        public, and academic sectors of the weather enterprise in the 
        United States;
            (2) establish means to integrate greater density and more 
        types of environmental observations into the Program on an 
        annual basis, including by encouraging local and regional 
        networks of environmental monitoring stations, in situ sensor 
        networks, including soil moisture and ground-based profilers, 
        and satellite constellations, to participate in the Program; 
        and
            (3) establish memoranda of understanding with networks 
        outside of the scope of the Program in furtherance of this 
        section.
    (b) Program Elements.--In carrying out the Program, the Under 
Secretary shall--
            (1) increase data density by--
                    (A) improving and increasing the quantity and 
                density of environmental observations used by the 
                Administration and the National Weather Service to 
                support baseline forecasts, including nowcasts, 
                warnings, and forecasts with increased resolution that 
                protect individuals, businesses, agricultural 
                production, food security, military, and government 
                agencies in the United States, and enabling such 
                individuals and entities to operate in a safe, 
                efficient, and orderly manner;
                    (B) yielding increased quantities of boundary-layer 
                data to improve numerical weather prediction 
                performance, including in subseasonal to seasonal 
                timescales;
                    (C) identifying available terrestrial or marine 
                environmental data, or quantifiable gaps in such data, 
                to improve the understanding of air-sea interactions; 
                and
                    (D) supporting the National Weather Service in 
                reaching its target of a 30-minute warning time for 
                severe weather through better predictive model 
                algorithms driven by increasingly effective 
                observations;
            (2) monitor local meteorological conditions by--
                    (A) acquiring soil and moisture data to monitor 
                soil moisture, vegetation water content, and moisture 
                loss from evaporation, in support of operational 
                forecasting, the National Integrated Drought 
                Information System, and local commercial, agricultural, 
                and emergency management needs;
                    (B) supporting the National Coordinated Soil 
                Moisture Monitoring Network in acquiring soil moisture 
                and related data to support the development of 
                decision-support products and other information 
                services; and
                    (C) expanding and enhancing environmental 
                observational networks in the roadway environment to 
                provide real-time road weather and surface conditions 
                for surface transportation and related economic 
                sectors; and
            (3) administer the Program by--
                    (A) obtaining data in furtherance of this section 
                only when demonstrably cost effective and meeting or 
                exceeding data quality standards available to the 
                National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
                (referred to in this section as the 
                ``Administration'');
                    (B) subject to the requirement in subparagraph (A), 
                leveraging existing networks of environmental 
                monitoring stations, including supplemental radar 
                systems, to increase the quantity and density of 
                environmental observations and data available to the 
                Administration;
                    (C) providing 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 Government 
                sources;
                    (D) coordinating with existing data developed by 
                the Administration and used for forecasts, including 
                data from the National Environmental Satellite, Data, 
                and Information Service, the Integrated Ocean Observing 
                System, the Global Ocean Monitoring and Observing 
                Program, the National Data Buoy Center, and the 
                National Ocean Service; and
                    (E) identifying and communicating to the Office of 
                Oceanic and Atmospheric Research and other partners 
                priorities of research and development needed to 
                advance observations in the Program.
    (c) Financial and Technical Assistance.--
            (1) In general.--In furtherance of the Program, in a fiscal 
        year, the Under Secretary may award not less than 15 percent of 
        the amount appropriated for the Program for that fiscal year 
        for financial assistance to State, Tribal, private, and 
        academic entities seeking to build, expand, or upgrade 
        equipment and capacity of mesonet systems.
            (2) Other federal awards.--Financial assistance under this 
        subsection may be made in coordination with and in addition to 
        awards from other Federal agencies.
            (3) Agreements.--Before receiving financial assistance 
        under paragraph (1), the State, Tribal, private, or academic 
        entity seeking financial assistance under this subsection shall 
        enter into an agreement with the Under Secretary to provide 
        data to the Program, subject to verification by the Program of 
        the relative operational value and evaluation of the cost of 
        such data, for use in weather prediction, severe weather 
        warnings, and emergency response.
            (4) Assistance and other support.--The Under Secretary may 
        provide--
                    (A) technical assistance, project implementation 
                support, and guidance to State, Tribal, private, and 
                academic entities seeking financial assistance under 
                this subsection; and
                    (B) technical and financial assistance for 
                maintenance of monitoring stations in underrepresented 
                or remote areas of the country where it is financially 
                unfeasible for 1 entity to operate such stations 
                without such assistance.
            (5) Terms.--In providing financial assistance under this 
        subsection, the Under Secretary shall establish terms to ensure 
        that each State, Tribal, private, or academic entity that 
        receives financial assistance under this subsection receives a 
        level of support commensurate with the quality and other 
        characteristics of the data to be provided.
            (6) Determination.--A State, Tribal, private, or academic 
        entity may only receive financial assistance under this 
        subsection if the Under Secretary determines such entity will 
        provide sufficient financial support from non-Federal 
        Government sources and fully maintain the quality of the 
        mesonet system and associated data standards required by the 
        Program for a period of not less than 5 years.
            (7) Priority.--The Under Secretary shall prioritize 
        providing assistance under paragraph (1) to not fewer than 1 
        entity in a remote area or an area that has a lack of 
        environmental monitoring stations described in subsection 
        (a)(2).
    (d) Advisory Committee.--
            (1) In general.--The Under Secretary shall ensure the 
        Program has an active advisory committee of subject matter 
        experts to make recommendations to the Administration on the 
        identification, implementation, procurement, and tracking of 
        data needed to supplement the Program, and recommend 
        improvements, expansions, and acquisitions of available data.
            (2) Designation of existing committee.--The Under Secretary 
        may designate an existing advisory committee, subcommittee, or 
        working group of the Federal Government, including the Science 
        Advisory Board of the Administration, to carry out the 
        requirement under paragraph (1).
            (3) Academic expertise.--The advisory committee under 
        paragraph (1), in consultation with the Program, shall include 
        expertise from 1 or more institutions of higher education (as 
        defined in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
        U.S.C. 1001)) to assist the advisory committee to identify, 
        evaluate, and recommend potential partnerships, regional or 
        subregional consortia, and collaborative methods that would 
        expand the number of participants and volume of data in the 
        Program.
    (e) Regular Briefings.--
            (1) In general.--Not less frequently than annually through 
        2035, the Under Secretary shall provide regular briefings to 
        the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 
        Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of 
        the House of Representatives on all activities under the 
        Program.
            (2) Briefing content.--Each briefing required under 
        paragraph (1) shall include information relating to the 
        following:
                    (A) Efforts to implement the activities described 
                in subsection (b).
                    (B) Any financial or technical assistance provided 
                pursuant to subsection (c).
                    (C) Efforts to address recommendations received 
                from the advisory committee under subsection (d), if 
                any.
                    (D) The potential need and associated benefits of a 
                coastal and ocean mesonet, or other emerging areas of 
                weather data needs.
                    (E) Progress toward eliminating gaps in weather 
                observation data in States and regions of the United 
                States.
                    (F) Any other topic the Under Secretary determines 
                relevant.
    (f) Definitions.--In this section, the terms ``seasonal'', 
``State'', ``subseasonal'', ``Under Secretary'', and ``weather 
enterprise'' have the meanings given those terms in section 2 of the 
Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 
8501).
    (g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Under Secretary such sums as may be necessary to 
carry out this section.
                                                       Calendar No. 514

118th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                                S. 4343

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

  To establish and maintain a coordinated program within the National 
  Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that improves wildfire, fire 
weather, fire risk, and smoke related forecasting, detection, modeling, 
observations, and service delivery, and to address growing needs in the 
           wildland-urban interface, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                           September 17, 2024

                       Reported with an amendment