[House Hearing, 117 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]




 
                     ADVANCING EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE
                        AND STEWARDSHIP AT NOAA

=======================================================================

                                HEARING

                               BEFORE THE

                      SUBCOMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT

                                 OF THE

                      COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, SPACE,
                             AND TECHNOLOGY
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                    ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

                             FIRST SESSION

                               __________

                           SEPTEMBER 23, 2021

                               __________

                           Serial No. 117-30

                               __________

 Printed for the use of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
 
 
 
 
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       Available via the World Wide Web: http://science.house.gov
       
       
       
       
       
                        ______                       


             U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 
45-538PDF           WASHINGTON : 2022 
 
       
       
       
       

              COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, SPACE, AND TECHNOLOGY

             HON. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON, Texas, Chairwoman
ZOE LOFGREN, California              FRANK LUCAS, Oklahoma, 
SUZANNE BONAMICI, Oregon                 Ranking Member
AMI BERA, California                 MO BROOKS, Alabama
HALEY STEVENS, Michigan,             BILL POSEY, Florida
    Vice Chair                       RANDY WEBER, Texas
MIKIE SHERRILL, New Jersey           BRIAN BABIN, Texas
JAMAAL BOWMAN, New York              ANTHONY GONZALEZ, Ohio
MELANIE A. STANSBURY, New Mexico     MICHAEL WALTZ, Florida
BRAD SHERMAN, California             JAMES R. BAIRD, Indiana
ED PERLMUTTER, Colorado              DANIEL WEBSTER, Florida
JERRY McNERNEY, California           MIKE GARCIA, California
PAUL TONKO, New York                 STEPHANIE I. BICE, Oklahoma
BILL FOSTER, Illinois                YOUNG KIM, California
DONALD NORCROSS, New Jersey          RANDY FEENSTRA, Iowa
DON BEYER, Virginia                  JAKE LaTURNER, Kansas
CHARLIE CRIST, Florida               CARLOS A. GIMENEZ, Florida
SEAN CASTEN, Illinois                JAY OBERNOLTE, California
CONOR LAMB, Pennsylvania             PETER MEIJER, Michigan
DEBORAH ROSS, North Carolina         JAKE ELLZEY, TEXAS
GWEN MOORE, Wisconsin                VACANCY
DAN KILDEE, Michigan
SUSAN WILD, Pennsylvania
LIZZIE FLETCHER, Texas
                                 ------                                

                      Subcommittee on Environment

              HON. MIKIE SHERRILL, New Jersey, Chairwoman
SUZANNE BONAMICI, Oregon             STEPHANIE I. BICE, Oklahoma,
DAN KILDEE, Michigan                     Ranking Member
LIZZIE FLETCHER, Texas               ANTHONY GONZALEZ, Ohio
CHARLIE CRIST, Florida               RANDY FEENSTRA, Iowa
SEAN CASTEN, Illinois                CARLOS A. GIMENEZ, Florida

                         C  O  N  T  E  N  T  S

                           September 23, 2021

                                                                   Page

Hearing Charter..................................................     2

                           Opening Statements

Statement by Representative Mikie Sherrill, Chairwoman, 
  Subcommittee on Environment, Committee on Science, Space, and 
  Technology, U.S. House of Representatives......................    10
    Written Statement............................................    11

Statement by Representative Stephanie I. Bice, Ranking Member, 
  Subcommittee on Environment, Committee on Science, Space, and 
  Technology, U.S. House of Representatives......................    12
    Written Statement............................................    13

Statement by Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson, Chairwoman, 
  Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, U.S. House of 
  Representatives................................................    14
    Written Statement............................................    15

Statement by Representative Frank Lucas, Ranking Member, 
  Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, U.S. House of 
  Representatives................................................    16
    Written Statement............................................    17

                               Witnesses:

The Honorable Richard W. Spinrad, Ph.D., Under Secretary of 
  Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, and Administrator, National 
  Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
    Oral Statement...............................................    18
    Written Statement............................................    21

Discussion.......................................................    33

             Appendix I: Answers to Post-Hearing Questions

The Honorable Richard W. Spinrad, Ph.D., Under Secretary of 
  Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, and Administrator, National 
  Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.........................    54

            Appendix II: Additional Material for the Record

Opinion articles submitted by Representative Brian Babin, 
  Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, U.S. House of 
  Representatives
    ``NOAA is stalling U.S. space traffic management,'' Space 
      News.......................................................    66
    ``Getting Serious About the Office of Space Commerce,'' Space 
      News.......................................................    70


                         ADVANCING EARTH SYSTEM

                    SCIENCE AND STEWARDSHIP AT NOAA

                              ----------                              


                      THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2021

                  House of Representatives,
                       Subcommittee on Environment,
               Committee on Science, Space, and Technology,
                                                   Washington, D.C.

    The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:01 a.m., 
via Zoom, Hon. Mikie Sherrill [Chairwoman of the Subcommittee] 
presiding.

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


    Chairwoman Sherrill. The hearing will come to order. 
Without objection, the Chair is authorized to declare recess at 
any time. Pursuant to House Resolution 8, today the Committee 
is meeting virtually. I want to announce a couple reminders to 
the Members about the conduct of this remote hearing. First, 
Members should keep their video feed on as long as they are 
present in the hearing. Members are responsible for their own 
microphones. Please also keep your microphones muted, unless 
you are speaking. Finally, if Members have documents they wish 
to submit for the record, please e-mail them to the Committee 
Clerk, whose e-mail address was circulated prior to the 
hearing.
    Good morning. Welcome to today's Environment Subcommittee 
hearing to discuss the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration's (NOAA's) Earth System Science and Stewardship 
policies. I'd like to thank Ranking Member Bice for her 
bipartisan partnership at this hearing, as well as on recent 
legislation we've partnered together on, including the NOAA 
Weather Radio Modernization Act, which would expand and 
modernize a key tool in providing warnings on impending weather 
emergencies, as well as the VET RENT Act, which we'll be 
introducing soon, to ensure veterans who were housed in 
barracks-style housing have parity when competing for rental 
housing as civilians. I'd like to welcome NOAA Administrator 
Dr. Richard Spinrad to the Committee, and thank him for being 
here to testify about the vital work of this agency.
    The climate crisis, and its very real impacts that we're 
facing today, underscores the importance of NOAA's mission to 
``understand and predict changes in climate, weather, and 
oceans, and coasts, to share that knowledge and information 
with others, and to conserve and manage coastal and marine 
ecosystems and resources.'' Extreme weather events and billion-
dollar disasters are on the rise, and NOAA's environmental 
research, services, and stewardship activities are critical to 
saving lives and safeguarding our economy.
    Earlier this month, Hurricane Ida, which made landfall over 
1,000 miles away, caused historic and deadly levels of rainfall 
and flooding across my district and region in New Jersey. New 
Jerseyans are unfortunately no strangers to flooding, but an 
event of this magnitude shows us why we need to invest in 
resilience, and not just recovery. Climate change is causing 
storms like Ida to rapidly intensify and suck up more moisture, 
increasing flood risk. Supporting the work of NOAA's dedicated 
researchers and forecasters will help improve lead times for 
extreme weather and evacuation alerts, and to better understand 
how climate change impacts extreme events like Ida.
    Many Americans utilize NOAA's data, products, and services 
on a daily basis, often without even realizing it. The most 
obvious examples are the weather apps on our phones. In 
addition, brave firefighters rely on meteorological data to 
predict where the latest catastrophic inferno would--will 
spread. Farmers across the country use products like the U.S. 
Drought Monitor to be strategic about their irrigation and crop 
decisions. Local officials utilize NOAA's real-time ocean data 
to know when to issue a harmful algal bloom (HAB) warning and 
close beaches. NOAA's Regional Integrated Sciences and 
Assessments Program provides crucial climate products and tools 
for officials to make informed infrastructure planning 
decisions that will withstand a changing climate, and so much 
more.
    NOAA's only able to provide this, and many more types of 
useful information, because of its extensive network of Earth 
systems observations. These observational systems collect data 
from ships, aircraft, satellites, radar, and more. NOAA's 
scientists then process and analyze the data to provide 
forecasts and predictions in an accessible manner for all of us 
to benefit from. That is why my colleagues and I on the Science 
Committee must continue to support NOAA's work. That means 
understanding what the Agency needs to expand their current 
science and stewardship activities for future needs. It means 
providing the necessary high performance computing capabilities 
to both conduct research and run Earth systems models. It also 
means supporting NOAA's work force by increasing both hiring 
and diversity. And last, but most certainly not least, it means 
upholding scientific integrity.
    NOAA and the scientific enterprise overall took a beating 
over the last several years when it came to upholding 
scientific integrity. We must work collectively to restore 
America's faith in science and our invaluable Federal 
scientists. I am pleased that the Biden Administration and 
Congress have taken steps to provide major investments for NOAA 
in Fiscal Year 2022 and beyond. Passing these investments into 
law will be critical to advancing the agency's life-saving 
work, and help Americans across the country. I'm looking 
forward to hearing Administrator Spinrad's vision for advancing 
cutting edge science, and how we in Congress can support the 
Agency's mission in tackling the challenges we face today, and 
will face in the future.
    [The prepared statement of Chairwoman Sherrill follows:]

    Good morning, and welcome to today's Environment 
Subcommittee hearing to discuss the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Earth System Science and 
Stewardship priorities.
    I'd like to thank Ranking Member Bice for her bipartisan 
partnership at this hearing as well as on recent legislation 
we've partnered together on, including the NOAA Weather Radio 
Modernization Act, which would expand and modernize a key tool 
in providing warnings on impending weather emergencies, as well 
as the VET RENT Act, which I'll be introducing soon, to ensure 
veterans who were housed in barracks-style housing have parity 
when competing for rental housing as civilians.
    I would like to welcome NOAA Administrator Dr. Richard 
Spinrad to the Committee and thank him for being here to 
testify about the vital work of this agency.
    The climate crisis, and its very real impacts that we are 
facing today, underscores the importance of NOAA's mission to 
QUOTE ``understand and predict changes in climate, weather, 
oceans, and coasts, to share that knowledge and information 
with others, and to conserve and manage coastal and marine 
ecosystems and resources.'' Extreme weather events and billion-
dollar disasters are on the rise, and NOAA's environmental 
research, services, and stewardship activities are critical to 
saving lives and safeguarding our economy.
    Earlier this month, Hurricane Ida, which made landfall over 
a thousand miles away, caused historic and deadly levels of 
rainfall and flooding across my district and region in New 
Jersey. New Jerseyans are unfortunately no strangers to 
flooding, but an event of this magnitude shows us why we need 
to invest in resilience, and not just recovery. Climate change 
is causing storms like Ida to rapidly intensify and suck up 
more moisture, increasing flood risk. Supporting the work of 
NOAA's dedicated researchers and forecasters will help improve 
lead times for extreme weather and evacuation alerts and to 
better understand how climate change impacts extreme events 
like Ida.
    Many Americans utilize NOAA's data, products, and services 
on a daily basis, often without even realizing it. The most 
obvious examples are the weather apps on our phones. In 
addition, brave firefighters rely on meteorological data to 
predict where the latest catastrophic inferno will spread. 
Farmers across the country use products like the U.S. Drought 
Monitor to be strategic about their irrigation and crop 
decisions. Local officials utilize NOAA's real-time ocean data 
to know when to issue a harmful algae bloom warning and close 
beaches. NOAA's Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments 
Program provides crucial climate products and tools for 
officials to make informed infrastructure planning decisions 
that will withstand a changing climate. And so much more.
    NOAA is only able to provide this, and many more types of 
useful information, because of its extensive network of Earth 
systems observations. These observational systems collect data 
from ships, aircraft, satellites, radar, and more. NOAA's 
scientists then process and analyze the data to provide 
forecasts and predictions in an accessible manner for all of us 
to benefit from.
    That is why my colleagues and I on the Science Committee 
must continue to support NOAA's work. That means understanding 
what the agency needs to expand their current science and 
stewardship activities for future needs. It means providing the 
necessary high performance computing capabilities to both 
conduct research and run Earth systems models. It also means 
supporting NOAA's workforce by increasing both hiring and 
diversity.
    And last, but most certainly not least, it means upholding 
scientific integrity. NOAA and the scientific enterprise 
overall took a beating over the last several years when it came 
to upholding scientific integrity. We must work collectively to 
restore America's faith in science and our invaluable federal 
scientists.
    I am pleased that the Biden Administration and Congress 
have taken steps to provide major investments for NOAA in 
fiscal year 2022 and beyond. Passing these investments into law 
will be critical to advancing the agency's life-saving work and 
help Americans across the country.
    I am looking forward to hearing Administrator Spinrad's 
vision for advancing cutting edge science and how we, in 
Congress, can support the agency's mission in tackling the 
grand challenges we face today and will face in the future.

    Chairwoman Sherrill. The Chair now recognizes Ranking 
Member Bice for an opening statement.
    Mrs. Bice. Thank you, Chairwoman Sherrill, for holding this 
hearing today. I also want to welcome Administrator Spinrad, 
and thank him for his time today. Although we've had some great 
acting NOAA Administrators, it's been a few years since we had 
a confirmed administrator, so I want to congratulate you, Dr. 
Spinrad, and I look forward to working together.
    Last year there were 22 weather, water, and climate 
disasters in the United States that exceeded $1 billion in 
losses. Communities around the country have struggled through 
the effects of extreme events, including hurricanes, floods, 
droughts, wildfires, and the collapse of fisheries, and no one 
knows the lasting consequences of severe weather better than my 
constituents in Oklahoma, the very heart of Tornado Alley. 
Violent tornadoes, as well as hailstorms and large 
thunderstorms, can pop up quickly, leaving just minutes for 
people to find safety.
    While natural disasters can be devastating and life 
altering, the data, tools, and services NOAA provides can equip 
all Americans with better access to more timely warnings and 
support. The never-ending goal is to protect all lives and 
property. While weather forecasting and observations might be 
the most widely known outfit, NOAA has a wide-ranging mission, 
from fishery management to atmospheric observation. These 
products and services have a tremendous economic impact, and 
affect more than 1/3 of America's gross domestic product. The 
President's Fiscal Year 2022 budget request for NOAA was 6.98 
billion, a 22 percent increase from last year's enacted 
funding. With such a large increase proposed, I look forward to 
hearing from Administrator Spinrad on what his priorities are 
for the agency.
    While I am certainly not opposed to investing in NOAA's 
life-saving products, we must ensure that the administration is 
adequately preparing--prepared to handle an increased budget. 
This includes expedited hiring, upgrading infrastructure, 
ramping up new research projects, and a variety of other 
issues. A lump sum of money with no strings attached can be a 
curse before it is a blessing. Therefore, priorities must be 
set, and decisions must be made.
    When it comes to the specifics of the budget request, I was 
disappointed to see it did not include any details regarding 
the Earth Prediction Innovation Center, or EPIC. This Committee 
has had multiple hearings on EPIC, and its timely 
implementation has been a priority for Members on both sides of 
the aisle. It's a project that is absolutely critical to 
reclaiming and maintaining international leadership in 
numerical weather prediction.
    However, I was pleased to see NOAA's focus on increasing 
their higher-performance computing capabilities. Last year one 
of NOAA's systems, Hera, was ranked number 88 on the top 500 
list of fastest supercomputers in the world. A continued 
emphasis on computing will accelerate the development of 
weather modeling across NOAA and the National Weather Service. 
This, in turn, will improve the prediction of high impact 
weather events, and evaluate the potential future directions 
for models and data assimilation.
    I hope to hear more on how NOAA can collaborate with other 
agencies, including the Department of Energy, which houses 
three of the top five fastest supercomputers in the world. 
Cross-agency collaboration, especially with an agency that is 
the clear subject matter expert, is the most efficient use of 
taxpayer money, and we should encourage it as much as possible.
    Lastly, I look forward to discussing how NOAA will leverage 
existing centers, and scientific expertise, to inspire and 
support the next generation of STEM (science, technology, 
engineering, and mathematics) students. Oklahoma is proud to 
house a key component of NOAA's infrastructure, the National 
Weather Center. The work conducted in this center provides 
property and life-saving services for the entire country. But 
in order to attract and keep the next generation of talent 
filling that center, we must ensure that our buildings, 
instruments, and the entire infrastructure are world-class. The 
meteorologists, oceanographers, biologists, and other 
researchers shouldn't have to settle for outdated buildings, or 
cramped laboratories. Every Member of this Committee has 
priorities for their district, and I'm sure Administrator 
Spinrad has priorities of his own. I am excited to hear how 
NOAA plans to balance these, and how we in Congress can help 
maximize our return on investment. And, again, I want to thank 
Administrator Spinrad for testifying before the Committee 
today, and I look forward to engage--the engaging discussion. 
Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
    [The prepared statement of Mrs. Bice follows:]

    Thank you, Chairwoman Sherrill, for holding this hearing 
today. I also want to welcome Administrator Spinrad and thank 
him for his time today. Although we've had some great Acting 
Administrators at NOAA, it's been a few years since we've had a 
confirmed Administrator. So I want to congratulate you, Dr. 
Spinrad, and I look forward to working together.
    Last year, there were twenty-two weather, water, and 
climatic disasters in the United States that exceeded $1 
billion in losses. Communities around the country have 
struggled through the effects of extreme events, including 
hurricanes, floods, droughts, and wildfires.
    And no one knows the lasting consequences of severe weather 
better than my constituents in Oklahoma, the very heart of 
Tornado Alley. Violent tornados, as well as hailstorms and 
large thunderstorms, can pop up quickly, leaving just minutes 
for people to find safety. While natural disasters can be 
devastating and life altering, the data, tools, and services 
NOAA provides can equip all Americans with better access to 
more timely warnings and support. The never-ending goal is to 
protect all lives and property.
    While weather forecasting and observations might be the 
most widely known output, NOAA has a wide-ranging mission, from 
fisheries management to atmospheric observation. These products 
and services have a tremendous economic impact and affect more 
than one-third of America's gross domestic product. The 
President's Fiscal Year 2022 budget request for NOAA was $6.98 
billion, a 28 percent increase from last year's enacted 
funding. With such a large increase proposed, I look forward to 
hearing from Administrator Spinrad on what his priorities are 
for the agency.
    While I'm certainly not opposed to investing in NOAA's 
life-saving products, we must ensure that the Administration is 
adequately prepared to handle an increased budget. This 
includes expedited hiring, upgrading infrastructure, ramping up 
new research projects, and a variety of other issue. A lump sum 
of money with no strings attached can be a curse before it is a 
blessing. Therefore, priorities must be set, and decisions must 
be made.

    Chairwoman Sherrill. Thank you. And we're pleased to have 
the Full Committee Chairwoman, Ms. Johnson, with us today. The 
Chair now recognizes the Chairwoman for an opening statement.
    Chairwoman Johnson. Thank you very much, and good morning. 
I'd like to give a warm welcome to our witness, NOAA 
Administrator Dr. Richard Spinrad. He is testifying before the 
Committee for the first time since he officially took the helm 
of the agency. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration plays a critical role in protecting American 
lives, property, and economic prosperity. NOAA is a unique 
agency that performs cutting edge science, but also provides 
critical environmental service and stewardship. By looking at 
the Earth as a system, we are better able to understand how the 
weather, ocean, climate, and atmosphere interact. Based on that 
understanding, NOAA provides essential services and products 
that serve us all.
    Recently Americans have experienced an unprecedented string 
of natural disasters made worse by climate change. We've seen 
extreme heat and drought conditions out West that set the stage 
for this record-breaking wildfire season, and last month, 
Hurricane Ida rapidly intensified in the Gulf of Mexico before 
making landfall due to warmer water temperatures. In addition, 
warmer atmospheric conditions brought heavy precipitation 
leading to extraordinary flooding along the Gulf Coast, and all 
the way up to New England. This one devastating storm killed 
dozens and left countless others with property destroyed. Each 
year seems to have more multi-billion-dollar weather and 
climate disasters than the previous.
    NOAA's scientific observations, predictions, and warnings 
have always been vital to Americans across the country, but 
they're becoming increasingly important for helping Americans 
prepare for extreme events exacerbated by climate change. This 
Committee is steadfast in supporting NOAA as the authoritative 
source for weather and climate information, so I am glad that 
Chairwoman Sherrill spoke to the importance of this in her 
remarks. This Committee has worked in a bipartisan fashion to 
authorize R&D (research and development) activities that help 
reduce our emissions and mitigate climate change. NOAA's 
weather and climate programs also play an important role in 
addressing the climate crisis. NOAA data can be used to inform 
adaptation and resilience decisions at a community level. 
NOAA's scientists contribute to major climate reports that 
influence policy around the world, including the National 
Climate Assessments and the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on 
Climate Change) assessment reports.
    It is reassuring to see that the President has elevated the 
importance of NOAA within his administration. We have the first 
Senate-confirmed Administrator in over four years, who is also 
eminently qualified. The Administration has significantly 
increased its budget request for NOAA. NOAA also has a seat on 
multiple White House-level interagency working groups tackling 
our most pressing climate issues. I look forward to this 
hearing from my administrator about his goals to advance NOAA's 
mission of science, service, and stewardship. NOAA has an 
important role to play in addressing the climate crisis, and we 
are fortunate to have an experienced leader like this 
administrator to guide the agency.
    In closing, I again want to welcome you, Administrator, and 
this will be our first--many positive interactions we have with 
this Committee. With that, I yield back.
    [The prepared statement of Chairwoman Johnson follows:]

    Good morning. I would like to give a warm welcome to our 
witness, NOAA Administrator Dr. Richard Spinrad. He is 
testifying before the Committee for the first time since he 
officially took the helm of the agency.
    The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration plays a 
critical role in protecting American lives, property, and 
economic prosperity. NOAA is a unique agency that performs 
cutting edge science, but also provides critical environmental 
service and stewardship. By looking at the Earth as a system, 
we are better able to understand how the weather, ocean, 
climate, and atmosphere interact. Based on that understanding, 
NOAA provides essential services and products that serve us 
all.
    Recently, Americans have experienced an unprecedented 
string of natural disasters made worse by climate change. We've 
seen extreme heat and drought conditions out West that set the 
stage for this record-breaking wildfire season.
    Last month, Hurricane Ida rapidly intensified in the Gulf 
of Mexico before making landfall, due to warmer water 
temperatures.
    In addition, warmer atmospheric conditions brought heavy 
precipitation leading to extraordinary flooding along the Gulf 
Coast and all the way up to New England. This one devastating 
storm killed dozens and left countless others with their 
property destroyed. Each year seems to have more multi-billion-
dollar weather and climate disasters than the previous.
    NOAA's scientific observations, predictions, and warnings 
have always been vital to Americans across the country. But 
they are becoming increasingly important for helping Americans 
prepare for extreme events exacerbated by climate change. This 
Committee is steadfast in supporting NOAA as the authoritative 
source for weather and climate information. I am glad 
Chairwoman Sherrill spoke to the importance of this in her 
remarks.
    This Committee has worked in a bipartisan fashion to 
authorize R&D activities that help reduce our emissions and 
mitigate climate change. NOAA's weather and climate programs 
also play an important role in addressing the climate crisis. 
NOAA data can be used to inform adaptation and resilience 
decisions at a community level. NOAA's scientists contribute to 
major climate reports that influence policy around the world, 
including the National Climate Assessments and the IPCC 
assessment reports.
    It is reassuring to see the President elevate the 
importance of NOAA within his Administration. We have the first 
Senate-confirmed Administrator in over four years, who is also 
eminently qualified. The Administration has significantly 
increased its budget request for NOAA. NOAA also has a seat on 
multiple White House-level interagency working groups tackling 
our most pressing climate issues.
    I look forward to hearing from Administrator Spinrad today 
about his goals to advance NOAA's mission of science, service, 
and stewardship. NOAA has an important role to play in 
addressing the climate crisis, and we are fortunate to have an 
experienced leader like Administrator Spinrad to guide the 
agency.
    In closing, I again want to welcome you to the Committee, 
Administrator Spinrad.
    I hope this will be the first of many positive interactions 
you have with this Committee. With that, I yield back the 
balance of my time.

    Chairwoman Sherrill. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. We're 
also pleased to have the Full Committee Ranking Member, Mr. 
Lucas, with us today, so the Chair now recognizes Ranking 
Member Lucas for an opening statement.
    Mr. Lucas. Thank you, Chairwoman Sherrill, and I echo my 
colleagues, welcome to Administrator Spinrad. It's great to 
have you here today. NOAA has a broad array of 
responsibilities, ranging from weather forecasting and climate 
prediction to ocean and atmospheric observation. NOAA's work 
benefits America's farmers and ranchers. Coastal communities, 
disaster personnel, land use planners, weather forecasters, and 
everyday citizens rely on NOAA's daily work. NOAA's in-house 
research is groundbreaking, and the publicly available 
environmental data they collect has an immense economic impact. 
That's why I'm eager to hear from Administrator Dr. Rick 
Spinrad today.
    As NOAA's former Chief Scientist, and head of the Office of 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR), I know that the 
administrator is very familiar with this Committee, and the 
work we do. In fact, to give you a sense of how intertwined our 
paths have been, Administrator Spinrad was present in his 
official OAR capacity at the 2006 dedication of the National 
Weather Center in Norman, Oklahoma. There's a great picture of 
him right next to Jim Cantore that I'll have to share someday 
with everyone. All of this is to say I believe the 
administrator speaks the Science Committee's language.
    While we might not agree on the exact way to do certain 
things, I think we can engage in a meaningful discussion where 
both sides are heard and valued. At the end of the day, weather 
is non-partisan. Severe events don't travel along party lines. 
That's why I will remind my colleagues, just I have done in 
years past when Republicans were in control, the 
administration's top priority should be aligned with NOAA's 
core priority, protecting life and property. So today I look 
forward to hearing from the administrator on how he envisions 
advancing NOAA's mission, and improving its ability to save 
lives.
    One issue I'd like to address today is commercial data 
supply. NOAA provides tools, data, and operations that are 
capable to--literally--applicable to literally every single 
district in the country. Whether it's a rancher in Oklahoma, 
fishing captain in Florida, a firefighter in Oregon, they all 
depend on information NOAA provides. But as more private sector 
companies enter the picture, with the ability to gather their 
own environmental and weather data, NOAA must seek to balance 
its capacities with supplemental commercial data. Simply put, 
NOAA's no longer the only provider in the market, and 
oftentimes NOAA's collection of data costs more than that 
acquired of the same quantity of data from a private sector 
company.
    I can't assume--I literally say that we can't assume an 
endless increasing budget. At some point the balloon will pop. 
Believe me, I want NOAA to be successful across its mission 
areas. We can best ensure that by prioritizing funding, and 
standing up programs to acquire data that private industry 
cannot collect, while preparing for a commercially competitive 
future. Again, I want to thank Administrator Spinrad for being 
here today, Chairman Sherrill for having this hearing, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
    [The prepared statement of Mr. Lucas follows:]

    Thank you, Chairwoman Sherrill. And I echo my colleagues' 
welcome to Administrator Spinrad. It's great to have you here 
today.
    NOAA has a broad array of responsibilities ranging from 
weather forecasting and climate prediction, to ocean and 
atmospheric observation. NOAA's work benefits America's farmers 
and ranchers, coastal communities, and disaster personnel. Land 
use planners, weather forecasters, and everyday citizens rely 
on NOAA's work daily. NOAA's in-house research is 
groundbreaking and the publicly available environmental data 
they collect has an immense economic impact.
    That is why I am eager to hear from NOAA Administrator Dr. 
Rick Spinrad today. As NOAA's former Chief Scientist and head 
of the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR), I know 
that the Administrator is very familiar with this Committee and 
the work we do. In fact, to give you a sense of how intertwined 
our paths have been, Administrator Spinrad was present in his 
official OAR capacity at the 2006 dedication of the National 
Weather Center in Norman, Oklahoma. There's a great picture of 
him right next to Jim Cantore that I'll have to share with 
everyone some time.
    All of this is to say I believe that the Administrator 
speaks the Science Committee's language. While we might not 
agree on the exact way to do certain things, I think we can 
engage in a meaningful discussion where both sides are heard 
and valued. At the end of the day, weather is nonpartisan. 
Severe events don't travel along party lines.
    That is why I will remind my colleagues--just as I have 
done in years past when Republicans were in control--that the 
Administration's top priority should be aligned with NOAA's 
core priority: protecting life and property. So today, I look 
forward to hearing from the Administrator on how he envisions 
advancing NOAA's mission and improving its ability to save 
lives.
    One issue I'd like to address today is commercial data 
supply. NOAA provides tools, data, and operations that are 
applicable to every single district in the country. Whether 
it's a rancher in Oklahoma, a fishing captain in Florida, or a 
firefighter in Oregon, they are all dependent on information 
NOAA provides.
    But as more private sector companies enter the picture with 
the ability to gather their own environmental and weather data, 
NOAA must seek to balance its capabilities with supplemental 
commercial data. Simply put, NOAA is no longer the only 
provider in the market. And, often times, NOAA's collection of 
data costs more than acquiring the same quality of data from a 
private sector company.
    We can't assume an endlessly increasing budget. At some 
point, the balloon will pop. Believe me, I want NOAA to be 
successful across its mission areas. We can best ensure that by 
prioritizing funding and standing up programs to acquire data 
that private industry cannot yet collect while preparing for a 
commercially competitive future.
    Again, I want to thank Administrator Spinrad for being here 
today and Chairwoman Sherrill for having this hearing. I yield 
back the balance of my time.

    Chairwoman Sherrill. Thank you, Ranking Member Lucas. At 
this time I'd like to give the opportunity for Representative 
Bonamici to introduce her fellow Oregonian, and I yield to Ms. 
Bonamici.
    Ms. Bonamici. Thank you Chairwomen and Ranking Members. It 
is really a pleasure to introduce Dr. Richard Spinrad, the 
current Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration, and a fellow Oregonian. Dr. Spinrad is an 
internationally renowned scientist and leader, with more than 
35 years' experience. In 2014 then-President Obama nominated 
Dr. Spinrad as NOAA's Chief Scientist. From 2003 until 2010 he 
served as the head of NOAA's Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Research and the National Ocean Service. Dr. Spinrad has also 
held leadership positions at the U.S. Office of Naval Research 
and Oceanographer of the Navy, and was awarded Distinguished 
Civilian Service Award, the Navy's highest award for civilians.
    Throughout his career Dr. Spinrad has held multiple faculty 
positions, including most recently as a Professor of 
Oceanography at Oregon State University. Earlier this year I 
had the honor of introducing Dr. Spinrad at his confirmation 
hearing in front of the Senate Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation Committee. Dr. Spinrad's successful confirmation 
makes him the 11th NOAA Administrator, the first Senate-
confirmed leader, as Ranking Member Bice mentioned, since 
January of 2017, and the third from Oregon State. Now, as 
Members of this Committee, especially Representative Gonzalez, 
know, my alma mater is the University of Oregon, and yet I am 
extremely proud of Oregon State University here.
    Since assuming the position of NOAA Administrator in June, 
Dr. Spinrad has been a force, preserving and strengthening 
NOAA's core mission of science, service, and stewardship. In 
July NOAA established a climate council, which will be 
comprised of senior leaders across the agency and entrusted 
with coordinating climate work across NOAA. The council is also 
tasked with advancing equitable delivery of NOAA's science to 
all communities, and especially those most severely affected by 
climate change. Additionally, last week NOAA announced $41 
million in grants for Coastal, Oceanic, and Great Lakes 
Observation Program, and that's going to help the scientific 
community and others better stand--better understand our 
invaluable coasts and respond to climate change.
    I want to thank Dr. Spinrad for spending time with this 
Committee this morning. I look forward to hearing more about 
the important work NOAA is--as our Nation's premier climate 
science agency. Thank you again, Chair Sherrill, and I yield 
back the balance of my time.
    Chairwoman Sherrill. Thank you. As our witness should know, 
you will have five minutes for your spoken testimony. Your 
written testimony will be included in the record for the 
hearing. When you've completed your spoken testimony, we will 
begin with questions. Each Member will have five minutes to 
question the witness. With that, I'm pleased to turn it over to 
Administrator Spinrad.

         TESTIMONY OF THE HONORABLE RICHARD W. SPINRAD,

               PH.D., UNDER SECRETARY OF COMMERCE

         FOR OCEANS AND ATMOSPHERE, AND ADMINISTRATOR,

        NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION

    Dr. Spinrad. Chair Sherrill, Ranking Member Bice, Members 
of the Subcommittee, as well as Chair Johnson and Ranking 
Member Lucas, thank you for the opportunity to testify today 
regarding my priorities for the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration. Special thanks also to 
Representative Bonamici for that very kind introduction. Thank 
you.
    One week from today marks my 100th day as Administrator of 
NOAA. This is my third tour of duty at NOAA. Previously I 
served as Chief Scientist during the Obama Administration, and 
before that I led our Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Research in the National Ocean Service. The urgency with which 
NOAA's working to address our Nation's most pressing challenges 
is like never before. From combatting the climate crisis, and 
bolstering the equitable delivery of climate science and 
services, reinforcing scientific integrity, and rebuilding our 
scientific work force, ensuring our agency is diverse, 
equitable, inclusive, and accessible, to promoting economic 
development, while maintaining environmental stewardship, the 
NOAA work force has been firing on all cylinders to meet the 
increasing demands of our Nation.
    That mission is science, service, and stewardship, to 
understand and predict changes in climate, weather, oceans, and 
coasts, to share that knowledge with others, and to conserve 
and manage coastal and marine ecosystems and resources. As NOAA 
Administrator, I'd like to share with you my main priorities in 
pursuit of this mission, and in alignment with the goals of the 
Biden/Harris Administration.
    The first pillar of that mission, our science, is at the 
core of our agency, and is the foundation for smart policy and 
decisionmaking. From the depths of the ocean to the surface of 
the Sun, we are observing and collecting data, and turning 
those data into Earth system models, information, tools, and 
forecasts. NOAA's trusted data are the basis for your weekend 
weather forecasts, provide our constituents with harmful algal 
bloom warnings, and feed into our models that predict wildlife 
and wildfire smoke movement in real time. It is essential that 
NOAA's data and information adhere to the principles of 
scientific integrity to maintain our trusted status, and issue 
life-saving weather forecasts and warnings, as well as our 
climate predictions and projections. The Biden/Harris 
Administration has made upholding scientific integrity a main 
priority, and I've already taken steps to ensure NOAA not only 
meets but exceeds those expectations, including by requiring 
all NOAA political appointees to complete scientific integrity 
training.
    The second pillar of our mission is service, and I have 
made it one of my top priorities to expand NOAA's role as the 
primary authoritative provider of Federal climate products and 
services that can be applied to a diverse range of missions. 
Just as NOAA is the authoritative provider of weather 
forecasts, navigational charts, and fishery stock assessments, 
we play a unique role in that not only do we collect data and 
conduct research, but we are mandated to make it operational.
    This means we must provide the public and our Federal, 
State, tribal, and industry partners with actionable 
environmental information to make decisions in the face of 
climate change. These decisions can range from municipalities 
looking to ensure new construction will be resilient to sea 
level rise, flooding, and heavy precipitation, large insurance 
companies seeking to incorporate climate risk into their 
insurance policies, or a resident of New Orleans wondering if 
they should rebuild or relocate after the latest hurricane. My 
vision is that, no matter the need, people will know they can 
turn to NOAA for reliable, easy to use climate information. We 
are seeing increasing demands for this kind of information. As 
demonstrated by the record-setting summer of extreme heat, 
drought, wildfires, floods, hurricanes, and other extreme 
events, the climate crisis is upon us, and requires a whole of 
government response.
    The third pillar of our mission is stewardship. Stewardship 
means that we conserve our lands, waters, and natural 
resources, protecting people and the environment now, and for 
generations to come. As an agency under the Department of 
Commerce, NOAA is dedicated to promoting economic development, 
while maintaining environmental stewardship. The two can go 
hand in hand. We create opportunities for sustainable economic 
growth across the country, including by providing training for 
the next generation of climate-ready workers. This aligns with 
another of my top priorities, to advance the new blue economy, 
which means looking to the ocean for data and information that 
can be applied to sustainable business development in new and 
traditional ocean-based sectors. The new blue economy offers 
opportunities for climate-smart innovation and economic growth.
    To fully realize NOAA's mission, I've made equity a central 
focus to ensure that equity is not something that we do, but 
rather everything we do. This will better position NOAA to help 
tackle the climate crisis, produce better science, deliver 
better services, be better stewards of the environment and the 
economy, and build a more inclusive work force. Thank you all 
for again inviting me here today, and I look forward to 
answering any questions you may have.
    [The prepared statement of Dr. Spinrad follows:]
    
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]    
        
    Chairwoman Sherrill. Well, thank you. At this point we will 
begin our first round of questions. The Chair recognizes 
herself for five minutes.
    Dr. Spinrad, flooding is the most common and widespread of 
all weather-related natural disasters in the United States, and 
in North Jersey we've seen the devastating effects of repeat 
flooding events for business owners and community members. 
Earlier this month we saw devastating and deadly flooding 
brought by the remnants of Hurricane Ida. Unfortunately, our 
forecasts were not as accurate as they can be, and that's due 
in large part to outdated precipitation data. In fact, one 
woman in my district, whose house flooded, and who had to be 
rescued by boat, along with her young children during the 
storm, said to me, you know, at five o'clock I heard that we 
were going to be fine, that the storm was going to pass to the 
west. So that's why I introduced a package of bipartisan bills 
to address flooding called the FLOODS Act and the PRECIP Act. 
Dr. Spinrad, can you speak to the importance of having long 
term, accurate, and complete weather data and climate data? 
What's NOAA doing to ensure communities get the information 
they need to improve safety and resilience?
    Dr. Spinrad. Thank you, Chair Sherrill. And I concur 
completely with the premise that you've stated in your question 
with regard to the need for improved forecasts. You know, when 
we look at what happened in the northeast with both Hurricanes 
Henri and Ida, we saw, for example, in Central Park a 100 year 
old record for rain rate, rainfall rate, broken twice, one with 
Hurricane Henri, where we saw 1.3 inches per hour, and then 
just a few days later--a week--two weeks later we saw Hurricane 
Ida come through, where we got over 3 inches of rain in the New 
York/New Jersey area in an hour. So we certainly recognize that 
this is a critical area that we need to focus on.
    We've made a lot of improvement in forecasts--overall 
forecasts for severe storms. With respect to floods 
specifically--and I should point out this is all based on our 
concept of impact-based decision support, so we want to make 
sure where we make the improvements in flood forecasts, for 
example, they are specific to where the impacts are greatest in 
lives and property. Part of this is going to be about 
increasing the resolution of forecasts.
    So what we have recognized is that, especially with 
flooding, how fine a grid one has in the models that are used 
by forecasters to predict where flooding is going to occur is 
critical. Perhaps more critical than many other environmental 
phenomena. To do that means advanced capabilities in high 
performance computing, it means taking advantage of newer kinds 
of observations, more sophisticated radars, and doing research 
on high resolution processes. I'd also point out it means, 
especially in the case of flooding, probably upping our game, 
with respect to working with our sister agencies. Part of the 
flooding equation, if you will, is a really good understanding 
of the topography and the landscape, which makes close 
coordination with our colleagues and agencies like the U.S. 
Geological Survey.
    And then the last piece, I think, to do this fine tuning, 
the higher resolution that's required, for example, to provide 
the accurate forecast for the constituent that you just 
described, is making sure that the great research that we're 
doing in our laboratories, and with our colleagues in academia, 
is effectively transition. We can't afford to say, yes, 20 
years from now we're going to have a great research product for 
you. And so I'm moving that aggressively to try to institute 
processes that allow us to test beds evaluations, get that 
product, if you will, out of the laboratory, into the weather 
forecast office much sooner than we might have done in the 
past.
    Chairwoman Sherrill. I applaud you for those efforts. 
They're incredibly necessary, certainly in Northern Jersey, and 
other areas across the country. So in April we held a hearing 
on the importance of working toward climate equity, and the 
need for improved climate services provided by the Federal 
Government. We heard from witnesses about the growing need for 
authoritative, actionable climate information delivered in an 
accessible manner. This is critical to helping communities 
across America make informed decisions, and you sort of, I 
think, alluded to this in your discussion about getting that 
information out.
    So I have just a few seconds, and we can come back, 
depending on the length of the hearing, but I'd love to 
understand your vision for expanding NOAA's delivery of climate 
services to ensure that every American business and 
organization has equitable access to information, tools, 
services they need to adapt to the changing climate, and what 
additional mandates would NOAA need to achieve this vision? And 
I'll take my answer for the record at this point. I may come 
back to you after others have had time to ask a question. Thank 
you so much for your testimony.
    Dr. Spinrad. Thank you.
    Chairwoman Sherrill. Now I'd like to recognize our Ranking 
Member, Mrs. Bice.
    Mrs. Bice. Thank you, Chairwoman. Dr. Spinrad, earlier this 
week I introduced legislation, co-sponsored by Congresswoman 
Sherrill, that focuses on the NOAA weather radio. Many people 
don't know this alert system exists, but in Oklahoma we are all 
too familiar with the life-saving capabilities these small 
radios have. Also, many of us are very familiar with the 
beeping it makes, maybe in the middle of the night, to make 
sure you're aware that there are thunderstorms headed your way. 
While maintaining the existing system is certainly a priority, 
I worry about the ever-digitized future, where a handheld radio 
is viewed as obsolete. Can you talk about the future of NOAA 
weather radio, and the potential for upgrades? Specifically, 
can you touch on transitioning to IP (Internet Protocol)-based 
communications, backup continuity options like satellites, and 
alternative options to reach the most remote areas of the 
country?
    Dr. Spinrad. Yes. Thank you, Ranking Member Bice. This is a 
critical capability that NOAA brought to the fore a couple of 
decades ago. And I would make one quick point with respect to 
NOAA weather radio, it had started as NOAA Weather Radio, that 
it was going to provide weather information. It has been such a 
success that, as I think you know, it's now expanded to a vast 
array of warning capabilities, including being used for Amber 
Alerts for lost children, for example. So the tool has proven 
its worth extraordinarily. It reaches 95 percent of the 
American population right now, which is terrific, but it's not 
good enough. And, in fact, that last mile, and, if you will, to 
some extent, the digital gap that a lot of the population 
faces, is what we are trying to address.
    You talked about the modernization, and brought up the--
what I would say are two of the main components that we are 
working on right now. One is the incorporation through internet 
providers so that we do, in fact, expand the capability. We 
also are looking at the increased number of transmitters out 
there. It turns out we can get from 95 to 97 percent of the 
American population with somewhere between about 50 and 100 new 
transmitters out there. So we know there are certain things we 
can do with current technology. And then, finally, yes, 
absolutely, we are looking at the expanded capabilities for 
satellite-based backup for NOAA weather radio. This is where 
the commercial sector is going. It makes perfect sense. It's 
part of our current thinking about moving forward.
    And I would simply close by adding that it's my 
expectation, as Administrator, that, just as we have seen NOAA 
weather radio going from, if you will, just weather forecasts 
to a broader array of capabilities, I foresee NOAA weather 
radio in the future to be, effectively, NOAA Environmental 
Radio, that it'll be providing all range of environmental 
forecasts and predictions for the full spectrum of hazards and 
other natural events that we have to be warning people about. 
So there is a lot of opportunity for expanded capability and 
modernization of NOAA weather radio.
    Mrs. Bice. Perfect. Well, speaking of modernization, as 
both Ranking Member Lucas and myself mentioned in our opening 
statements, which should tell you about the importance of it, 
Oklahoma is the home to the National Weather Center. It houses 
NOAA's National Severe Storms Laboratory and the Storm 
Prediction Center. The work being done there is absolutely 
essential to predicting and alerting the public of severe 
weather, but also understanding the root causes of severe 
weather, and exploring innovative ways to use that knowledge to 
improve forecasts and warnings.
    But as these extreme events become more common, the need 
for more equipment, more full-time employees, and more space to 
operate is becoming urgent. Do you believe the National Weather 
Center is in need of expansion and upgrades, and what would an 
investment in the Center do for training the next generation of 
meteorologists?
    Dr. Spinrad. Thank you for that question. And I would point 
out that, as Ranking Member Lucas brought up in his opening 
statement, I am very proud of the fact that my name is on that 
building. I was the head of the Office of Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Research when the building was put up, and have 
followed its progress ever since. I've been there many, many 
times. And in the spirit of your question, just this past week 
I had a long conversation with Dr. Berrien Moore, whom I think 
you probably know from the university. I've known Berrien for 
years and years, and he brought up the issue of potential 
expansion. I shared with him that I think the model that was 
originally invoked to establish the National Weather Center is 
just as valid now as it was then.
    What I would like to do is undertake the effort to try to 
figure out what are the expansion requirements and 
opportunities for NOAA'S facilities. And NOAA has both research 
and operational facilities at the Weather Center, so I am fully 
prepared to pursue that question in close conjunction with our 
colleagues at the university, and also, interestingly, with 
some of the private sector inhabitants, if you will, occupants 
of some of the facilities right near the Center. So I look 
forward to having that discussion, and I do think there is 
opportunity for consideration of expansion potential.
    Mrs. Bice. Thank you, Dr. Spinrad, and Congresswoman 
Sherrill. I yield back.
    Chairwoman Sherrill. Thank you, Representative Bice. I now 
recognize the Chairwoman of the Full Committee, Ms. Johnson, 
for five minutes.
    Chairwoman Johnson. Thank you very much. Doctor, a March 
report by this Committee's majority staff found that NOAA's 
overall work force declined by almost nine percent over the 
last decade. And, further, the report found that NOAA, 
particularly in its STEM work force, suffers from gender and 
racial minority staffing disparities. These findings are deeply 
concerning to me, and I'm committed to working with my 
colleagues to ensure that NOAA's work force, and the rest of 
the Federal science enterprise, reflects the diversity of 
America. Can you please discuss how NOAA is working to address 
the staffing declines and staff diversity issues identified in 
this report? And what is the Agency doing to attract and retain 
more minority scientists and staff, and in particular African-
American scientists for staff, or how would you--how are you 
working to create a culture of inclusion? And is there anything 
Congress can do to help to move these efforts along?
    Dr. Spinrad. Thank you for that question, Chair Johnson. I 
share all of the concerns you have described. To state quite 
bluntly, too much of NOAA's work force looks like me. And in 
the past the answer has been, well, we'll fix that over the 
next several generations. No, that's not good enough. 80 
percent of our work force is White, 67 percent is male. Those 
numbers are changing slightly, and there are specific things 
that we are doing.
    With respect to the hiring process, I can tell you we have 
staffed more aggressively to bring in human capital experts to 
help move the process of hiring, accelerate it, if you will, 
and we've seen dramatic improvement, in terms of the time it 
takes to get somebody into the Federal Government. We're also 
looking aggressively at direct hire authorities. I would point 
out NOAA has one of the strongest educational programs with 
historically Black colleges and universities and minority 
serving institutions. We are not taking enough advantage of 
that direct connection, if you will. So, through education 
partnership programs, we're looking at how we can expand direct 
hire authority, give some of the graduates of some of these 
minority serving institutions opportunities to come on board 
more quickly.
    I would also point out that we have dramatically enhanced 
the visibility and engagement with our employee resource 
groups. We now have a dozen of these for targeted areas of 
underrepresented communities within the work force. I've begun 
a dialog with them. We are working aggressively with our Office 
of Inclusion and Civil Rights to identify where the specific 
areas are that we can enhance the hiring activity. So there's a 
number of ``programmatic'', and systemic, and, if you will, 
policy areas where I'm moving to try to make very clear that we 
cannot wait for a generational change. There are things that we 
need to do right now. The other part, of course, is ensuring 
that in the hiring process we make sure we have diverse 
selection panels, and that we make a specific emphasis on 
recruitment of under-represented populations within the work 
force.
    Chairwoman Johnson. Thank you very much. Scientific 
integrity is at the heart of NOAA's work, and is vital to 
ensuring the public's trust in Federal science and scientists. 
However, some deficiencies in NOAA's scientific integrity 
policy were exposed in a June 2020 report by the National 
Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) following Hurricane 
Dorian and the Sharpiegate incident. I understand that NOAA's 
scientific integrity police was updated in January, but it 
remains unclear what specific steps NOAA is taking to implement 
the recommendations from the NAPA report. Can you explain that 
briefly?
    Dr. Spinrad. Absolutely. I take scientific integrity very 
seriously. I was, in fact, the co-author of NOAA's original 
scientific integrity policy some 12 years ago, when we had 
serious concerns about political influence on the science. That 
policy was held up as one of the examples of one of the better 
policies among Federal agencies for many years. I was not with 
the government back when that policy was tested a few years 
ago, in the incident that you described, but I will share with 
you that I was an outside complainant, referencing that 
particular activity, and I saw where the scientific integrity 
policy had some flaws. And so, coming in as NOAA Administrator, 
I am making sure that we are actively participating in the 
effort being led by the President's science advisor, Eric 
Lander, to take best practices among all the Federal agency 
scientific integrity policies, establish them as the norm, and 
develop a governmentwide approach to scientific integrity. So 
that's one thing, taking the best of class programs, if you 
will.
    The other is one of the things we learned was that, within 
NOAA, and specifically the Department of Commerce, our parent 
department, we needed to see bolstering of department policies 
as well. So I have been in discussion with our Deputy Secretary 
Graves about how NOAA can work with the ensure the department's 
policies are strong and effective as well. The third thing I 
would bring up is that, from the day I arrived, I insisted that 
we make all political appointees at NOAA take the scientific 
integrity training, and demonstrate an awareness of, and 
familiarity of, and respect for NOAA's scientific integrity 
policy. And I can tell you that, as of today, every one of our 
appointees has taken that scientific integrity training, 
including myself.
    Chairwoman Johnson. Thank you very much, and thank you, Ms. 
Sherrill. I yield.
    Chairwoman Sherrill. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. I now 
recognize the Ranking Member of the Full Committee, Mr. Lucas, 
for five minutes.
    Mr. Lucas. Thank you. Administrator Spinrad, my bill, the 
Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017, is the 
birthplace of NOAA's Commercial Weather Data Program, so, as 
you might imagine, I'm quite invested in its success. So can 
you--as you can imagine, I was thrilled when NOAA ordered its 
third delivery order in August, but I'm concerned that we could 
be leaving valuable data on the table. As I understand it, 
companies that were not in orbit at the time NOAA initiated its 
Commercial Data Buy Program are not eligible to participate 
until a new proposal is initiated, potentially a year from now. 
So, after successfully testing and verification by NOAA, what 
recourse does a commercial company have to immediately engage 
with NOAA to provide this life-saving data for weather 
forecasts?
    Dr. Spinrad. Thank you for that question, Ranking Member 
Lucas. I would point out that I do share your appreciation for 
and desire to see a more strong exploitation of commercial 
data. There's a cautionary note, of course, with regard to the 
use of commercial data, and that is we need to make sure that 
it meets the standards that are applied, and also that it's--
it--sustainable. The--in the worst case scenario, we end up 
developing products and services that are critically dependent 
on the provision of commercial data, and then, for a variety of 
economic or business reasons, those data are not available 
downstream.
    So part of the exercise, part of what we do in the 
evaluation process that we are now undertaking, with respect, 
for example, to the data you alluded to, which is actually data 
looking at something called radio occultation, how satellite 
data changes as it goes through the atmosphere, we're getting 
3,000 profiles a day. It's really exciting to see how we're 
going to use that data, how it will improve the forecast. Once 
those assessments are made--and it will take a little bit of 
time for the research to be done, for the demonstration of the 
efficacy and impact of those data, we're going to want to make 
sure that we have established processes and mechanisms to 
ensure the data quality, the data accuracy, and the sustained 
availability of those data.
    All of that is fully consistent with the Weather Act, and 
everything that you've built into the Weather Act. And I am 
eager, in the spirit of being in the Department of Commerce, to 
bolster economic development, to see that we can come to a 
place where there is a clear enterprise approach to acquiring 
commercial data, ensuring its accuracy, and its--ensuring its 
sustainability.
    Mr. Lucas. I appreciate that, and as long as it's an 
ongoing process, I--that--I think that's--on a similar note I 
want to talk about space weather data. This Committee passed 
the PROSWIFT Act last Congress, and I was keen to include an 
amendment allowing NOAA to enter into contracts to acquire 
commercial space weather data. In a meeting with my staff, NOAA 
informed us that space weather data capacities were included in 
the Commercial Weather Data Program's most recent request for 
information (RFI). A number of companies responded, but none 
met NOAA's mission need. The RFI was sent out in September, 
before the PROSWIFT Act, and it wasn't signed into the law 
until October. So, while NOAA may have been proactive, I don't 
believe their updated responsibilities for space weather-
related research forecasting and capacity perhaps were fully 
considered in the RFI. So, Administrator, can you comment on--
or can you commit to publish another RFI or request proposals 
that would be related to this space weather commercial data?
    Dr. Spinrad. So, Ranking Member Lucas, what I would like to 
do is get back to you on the specifics of how that played out, 
but you have my commitment to look into that and see what the 
appropriate next step would be.
    Mr. Lucas. That's all I can ask. Thank you, Mr. 
Administrator. Yield back, Madam Chair.
    Chairwoman Sherrill. Thank you, Ranking Member Lucas. And 
now I'm going to defer to Committee Counsel for the order of 
recognition.
    Staff. Ms. Bonamici is recognized.
    Ms. Bonamici. Thank you so much. Dr. Spinrad, I want to 
talk about hypoxia. For many years now hypoxic zones have been 
observed in the coastal waters off the Pacific Northwest. The 
location of these hypoxic zones changes on a yearly basis, so 
predicting them could be challenging. Ocean temperatures are 
warming, there could be a decrease in the water's ability to 
retain oxygen, and that makes it worse. So this year Oregon 
grappled with one of the most intense and prolonged hypoxic 
seasons to date. These episodes not only disrupt ecosystems by 
killing off marine species, they also disrupt, as you are well 
aware, the coastal economies. Escalating episodes of hypoxia 
are threatening Oregon's prized Dungeness crabs, for example. 
That--they--that industry has been responsible for an average 
of $39-1/2 million in--of annual value over the past couple of 
decades.
    So, Dr. Spinrad, what are some of the biggest challenges 
NOAA faces right now in monitoring, predicting, and preventing 
hypoxia, and what can Congress do? And in addition to providing 
sufficient appropriations in the Fiscal Year 2022 cycle, what 
can Congress do to address these challenges?
    Dr. Spinrad. Yes, thank you for that question, 
Congresswoman Bonamici. And I am very familiar with the issues, 
as I think many Oregonians are, and many folks in the U.S. are 
as well, because it affects seafood prices and availability.
    Ms. Bonamici. Right.
    Dr. Spinrad. The quick--or I shouldn't say quick, but the 
fundamental issue here is observational capability, that we are 
building out capabilities for measuring hypoxia. This is one of 
those phenomena for which the observational capability was 
needed many years ago, but it's now only currently really 
getting hardened and firmed up. And, in fact, we're working 
with fishing communities due to--you may be aware that some of 
the crabbers off the Oregon coast now include dissolved oxygen 
sensors on their crab pots----
    Ms. Bonamici. Right, right.
    Mr. Spinrad [continuing]. As a device for making these 
observations. So we're incorporating that within the Integrated 
Ocean Observing System, IOOS, as one of the many parameters 
that are being observed. Research investments into the 
predictability is the--one of the tough nuts to crack. It's one 
thing to say this is what happened yesterday in the ocean, and 
it's another thing to say, be prepared, this is going to happen 
next week. So we're doing extensive research through our 
cooperative institutes, with the fishery science centers, with 
the universities in the Pacific Northwest. And, I should point 
out, we also have the authority for developing the harmful 
algal blooms and hypoxia events of national significance----
    Ms. Bonamici. Right, right.
    Mr. Spinrad [continuing]. Strategy. And that--thank you for 
the support on that. We will be putting out the Federal 
Register notice on that draft policy very soon. And so I think, 
once we see what kind of comments we get back, and what kind of 
input we get back, and people understand what is NOAA's 
responsibility, what is EPA's (Environmental Protection 
Agency's) responsibility, I think we will have a better handle 
on specifically how we want to address this, both from a 
policy----
    Ms. Bonamici. Yes.
    Mr. Spinrad [continuing]. Appropriations, and 
programmatic----
    Ms. Bonamici. Thank you, Dr. Spinrad. That's really 
helpful. I want to ask you to--I really appreciate that NOAA's 
engaged in the extensive efforts to prepare, adapt to, and 
mitigate the worst effects of climate--the climate crisis, 
particularly on oceans, coasts, fisheries, estuaries. So I want 
to ask you about the Climate Council. The council reflects, of 
course, as you mentioned, the Biden Administration's whole of 
government approach. So I want to ask, how are things going, is 
the council fully formed and operating, and what are its 
priorities?
    Dr. Spinrad. Yes, thank you for that. So the NOAA Climate 
Council is the only council that reports directly to me. We 
have a lot of councils for facilities, for human resources, for 
many things. This council was set up shortly after I arrived as 
administrator, and it is the leader career folks from the 
agency, the people in charge of the weather service, the ocean 
service, the satellites, the assistant administrators. Already 
we have used this council to establish priorities as we 
formulate our Fiscal Year '23 budget form--and has helped build 
the equity framework for climate products and services. So I 
now have in front of me, if you will, a guidance document that 
this council has developed.
    We're also using this council to engage the rest of 
government. So we invited the Special Envoy for Climate, John 
Kerry, his office, to come talk with our----
    Ms. Bonamici. Great.
    Mr. Spinrad [continuing]. NOAA Climate Council as well, and 
we're doing the same thing within the Department of Commerce. 
So it serves as a two-way communication mechanism, and a 
strategic body to define policies and priorities for the 
agency.
    Ms. Bonamici. That's very encouraging. And in my remaining 
time, I want to follow up on Chairwoman Johnson's question. We 
had many conversations in this--in the Subcommittee, but also 
in the Full Committee, over the years on diversifying the work 
force in the sciences, and one of the things in particular is--
that I've been aware of is the lack of women in jobs, 
particularly at NOAA, and of getting women in the field, but 
also keeping them there. So I want to ask you, Dr. Spinrad, 
will you commit to carrying on the policies and practices that 
Dr. Sullivan, when she was NOAA Administrator, put in place to 
help address sexual harassment, which has been a problem 
particularly on research vessels?
    Dr. Spinrad. Absolutely, is my short answer. I'll go one 
further than my good colleague, and mentor in many respects, 
Kathy Sullivan. We've already set up a SASH, Sexual Assault/
Sexual Harassment, Council. We have built in many processes, 
especially with the NOAA corps and our ships, to make sure that 
we have prevented that. We have established an office for 
workplace violence prevention and response, so we have done--
we've taken a lot of actions in setting up facilities and 
mechanisms. I am going to make a very strong message--have made 
a very strong message in that regard.
    And I've got to point out that for, I'm pretty sure it's 
the first time in NOAA history, half of assistant 
administrators are women right now, and we will have an 
opportunity shortly, because the head of the National Weather 
Service, Lou Uccellini, a national icon in weather, has 
announced his retirement. We may have an----
    Ms. Bonamici. Wow.
    Mr. Spinrad [continuing]. Opportunity to have a woman in 
that position as well. So we are moving on aggressively, and 
doing things, and setting policy----
    Ms. Bonamici. Thank you for that commitment. And my time 
has expired. I yield back. Thank you.
    Staff. Mr. Feenstra is recognized.
    Mr. Feenstra. Thank you, Chair Sherrill, and Ranking Member 
Bice. Mr. Spinrad, thank you for taking the time to speak with 
us today. My office has had the pleasure of working with your 
staff at NOAA on ideas for potential legislation, and are 
excited to continue these conversations with you. Administrator 
Spinrad, I've been working on legislation to establish research 
and testing programs to mitigate the impact of radar 
obstructions on detection and prediction capabilities. These 
obstructions were addressed in a fall 2019 joint study on the 
impact of wind farms on weather radar. As you know, radar 
forecasting and detection can be affected by nearby buildings, 
terrain, and wind turbines. That said, it is crucial that we do 
not restrict the growth of clean wind energy by putting 
excessive red tape on wind farm construction.
    Administrator Spinrad, my potential legislation would focus 
on researching and testing options, like new processing 
algorithms, phased array radar, commercial data, and other 
technologies. It would involve consultation with private 
industry, academia, NOAA, the FAA (Federal Aviation 
Administration), and the DOD (Department of Defense), among 
other groups. Has NOAA or other national weather services 
conducted research on specific technology-based options to 
reduce obstruction issues when developing NEXRAD (Next-
Generation Radar), or other systems?
    Dr. Spinrad. Yes. Thank you for that question, and I 
especially appreciate your invoking the issues with our 
colleagues at DOD and FAA, who share similar concerns. And, as 
a consequence, we have a wind turbine radar interference 
working group that is addressing those issues that's chaired by 
the Department of Energy. I would say that there are a couple 
of potential approaches. You alluded to one, that is beam-
forming using the current NEXRAD systems in slightly different 
manners. We are researching that. I would also point out, as a 
bit of an aside, I worked for Navy many years, and I became 
fascinated with the use of phased array radar by the Navy as a 
potential weather radar for many years. Going on 20 years now 
I've been a strong advocate of the potential application of 
phased array radar as a potential replacement for NEXRAD. So, 
in conjunction with your question, it's not just how do we use 
NEXRAD, what are the approaches we might take, but can we use 
the next generation of radars, liked phased array, as a 
solution, while balancing the growth of the renewable energy 
industry.
    Mr. Feenstra. Thanks for those comments, Mr. Spinrad. I 
greatly appreciate that type of collaboration. And, you know, 
we need to all work together on this. And I would just simply 
ask, would you and other members of your team at NOAA be open 
to joining with my office, and other representatives from the 
wind energy industry, to have a fruitful discussion on 
potential legislative solutions for mitigating the effects of 
radar obstructions?
    Dr. Spinrad. Of course. We'd be more than happy to 
cooperate.
    Mr. Feenstra. Well, I'm very grateful for that, and thank 
you. This is such a big topic. My district is No. 1 
agriculture--or No. 1 wind producer in the country, so thank 
you for that.
    Dr. Spinrad. Thank you.
    Mr. Feenstra. And I yield back.
    Staff. Mr. Kildee is recognized.
    Mr. Kildee. I guess I needed to unmute. Thank you very 
much, Chairwoman Sherrill, for hosting this hearing, and, Dr. 
Spinrad, thank you so much for your presence and your 
testimony. I come from Michigan, where the Great Lakes are 
quite literally our lifeblood. The lakes outline our 
boundaries, they define who we are as a state, and we have 
10,000 miles of Great Lake shoreline in this region. They're 
central to our livelihood, they're central to our economy. Part 
of my district that I represent includes the Lake Huron 
shoreline, which is a part of this really vibrant coastal 
economy.
    According to NOAA, Michigan's coastal economy employs 1.75 
million people each year, $92 billion in wages, and the Great 
Lakes fishing industry is critical to the health of these 
communities across the region. According to the Great Lakes 
Fishery Commission, commercial, recreational, tribal fisheries 
generate $7 billion in economic activity annually, and support 
75,000 jobs throughout the region. So we look to strengthen and 
bolster our coastal communities. As we do that, one of the 
things that has evolved is fish farming, aquaculture.
    Now, when done correctly, this is important, when done 
properly, aquaculture can create a high-quality food source 
that's abundant and affordable. However, and importantly, when 
done improperly, it can do much more harm than good. And we've 
seen in Michigan proposals for net pen aquaculture in the Great 
Lakes. There's even one aquaculture operation on the Au Sable 
River, which, if you know, it contains the so-called holy 
waters of trout fishing, a very sensitive ecosystem that 
supports trout. These operations can create massive pollution, 
they can spread disease, they can spawn invasive species. They 
can threaten this multi-billion fishery in the Great Lakes.
    At one time NOAA--the NOAA Sea Grant Program was 
encouraging aquaculture operations in the Great Lakes, and 
that's why, here in Congress, I have introduced legislation to 
ban harmful aquaculture practices in both the Great Lakes and 
in federally designated wild and scenic rivers, which would 
include the Au Sable, in my district. So, Dr. Spinrad, if you 
could discuss the role of aquaculture in NOAA's concept of a 
new blue economy, and commit to us that ensuring that 
aquaculture is not used directly within the Great Lakes, or in 
the wild and scenic rivers, like the Au Sable? Could you 
comment on that?
    Dr. Spinrad. Yes. Thank you, Representative Kildee. And I 
think--I was listening very carefully to the way you asked your 
question, and you used one phrase--you said when aquaculture is 
done properly it may have benefits, and I think that's really 
the sweet spot for what NOAA can bring to the table. And, by 
the way, as you well know, we're very proud of our resources, 
the Sea Grant Program, but also the Great Lakes Environmental 
Research Lab, which provides our main access for research 
activity in all of the Great Lakes.
    Properly, in my opinion, means that the science has been 
done in a credible, peer-reviewed, valuable manner to assess 
what is the real impact, what are the real environmental or 
ecological consequences of any particular approach. That is our 
responsibility, to drive what States and other local 
authorities may do then to interpret that science with 
establishing policies associated with aquaculture. It's the 
same argument that I would make with respect to offshore 
aquaculture in the open ocean, that we have a responsibility 
for ensuring that the determination of what is proper is based 
on the best possible scientific information we can collect.
    And that's where I'm confident that, between Sea Grant, our 
Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab, we have the horsepower 
and the intellectual capacity to do those kinds of studies, 
that will provide the answers that policymakers like yourself 
will need to make the right decisions.
    Mr. Kildee. Well, I appreciate that very much, Dr. Spinrad. 
And I wonder if you--in the few remaining seconds we have, if 
you might comment on other ways we can improve the blue economy 
in these coastal communities within the Great Lakes?
    Dr. Spinrad. Well, my short answer, sir, is to listen. We, 
the feds, are doing that right now. We're doing a number of 
regional climate equity roundtables to hear what are the 
answers to exactly the question you raised specific to the 
Great Lakes. I'll be in Detroit in I think the second week in 
October to do exactly that. And I don't want to presume or 
predesignate what we think the answer is for building out the 
blue economy in the Great Lakes. I've got my own personal 
views, based on my experience, but I really want to listen to 
the municipalities, the industries, the local communities, the 
stakeholders, your constituents, and hear what they think they 
need in order to build out the blue economy on the coasts of 
the--on the shores of the Great Lakes.
    Mr. Kildee. Well, again, thank you so much, I appreciate 
this. I appreciate the hearing, Madam Chair, and I yield back.
    Staff. Mr. Casten is recognized.
    Mr. Casten. Thank you. Mr. Spinrad, thank you so much for 
coming, and thanks to the Committee. I want to chat a little 
bit about methane monitoring. As you know, I see you nodding 
your head, you know, depending on the timeframe, we're talking 
about 30 to 80 times as potent a greenhouse gas as 
CO2. I'm sure you're aware we are currently debating 
some rules about possibly putting a fee on the release of 
methane. And the nature of that fee is outside the jurisdiction 
of this Committee. The way we calculate the methane emissions 
are potentially outside the jurisdiction of this Committee, if 
we're talking about using, you know, company meters, and meting 
those out at production, collection, distribution, and 
consumption facilities. But it's my understanding, and please 
correct me if I'm wrong, that there's potentially as much as a 
60 percent gap between the amount of methane we calculate from 
bottom-up analyses of meters to top-down analyses from the 
satellites under your control, and therefore, to some degree, 
our jurisdiction.
    And, you know, some of that is because of malfunctions in 
the meter, some of that's malfunctions and burps that come out. 
And what I'm wondering is if you could educate us a little bit, 
first on the degree to which, you know, either ground or 
satellite-based systems you have contract methane, and 
specifically to what degree you have the granularity to 
actually get down and locate the point of methane release. And 
let me stop there, I'll have some follow up questions, but I 
see you nodding your head, and welcome your general thoughts on 
that question.
    Dr. Spinrad. Yes. Thank you so much, Congressman Casten. 
The first thing I'd like to do is commit to get a technical 
briefing to your staff on exactly that. We've got some 
wonderful scientists working, especially in our laboratory in 
Boulder, on observational technologies, and I'd like to have 
them talk specifically about what I know to be some of the 
highly geographically variable--variations in that difference 
that you described. So maybe 60 percent in one place, and, 
like, ten in another, what are the reasons for that? Part of it 
also is the dynamics of what's driving the distribution of the 
methane so that you may not be able to observe it with one 
particular technology or another.
    You already started to go down the answer that I was going 
to bring up, and that is the bottom-up, top-down approach. So 
we interpreter bottom-up, effectively, to mean, give me a list 
of all the sources. You've got, you know, so many cattle 
operations, you've got so many big buildings, you've got so 
many sources in a particular area. Do the math, that means you 
should have so many tons of methane emitted per day. The top-
down is that you are using atmospheric observations to actually 
make these measurements and try to conclude what the total 
emission is in a particular area. The gap between that bottom-
up and top-down is highly variable as well, and so that's where 
our research is our trying to figure out how to close the gap. 
A lot of it depends on understanding the chemical dynamics and 
the physical dynamics of how the methane moves around, and how 
it changes.
    You are absolutely right, it's a very potent greenhouse 
gas, but it has a much, much shorter half-life, if you will, 
than carbon dioxide, which is why it's--some of those 
variations are dependent on the times on observations were 
made. So it's a rich area for research, and I'd love to make 
sure we've got your staff access to our capabilities.
    Mr. Casten. Well, let's definitely do that. And I want to 
just--not to pick on the point, but I understand that, you 
know, the methane is going to move through the atmosphere, and 
you're going to try to figure it out, but is--with the data you 
have, or, if you'd prefer, with the data you could have, 
subject to future technologies and future funding--do you have 
the technical ability, at least in theory, in a fiscally 
uncapped world, to go down and identify the specific location 
of a methane release, or is that an insoluble problem? Are we 
always going to be stuck depending on these bottoms-up meters 
that don't quite tie out?
    Dr. Spinrad. It--my impression is that we have the 
technical capability, it's a pragmatic question of can you 
deploy that number of sensors to make the kinds of observations 
you're talking about? I could characterize, for example, to the 
millidegree what the difference in temperature is between my 
home in Falls Church and Capitol Hill, but to do so I'd want to 
have many, many different temperature sensors between Falls 
Church and Capitol Hill. Similarly, with methane, our ability 
to pinpoint is going to depend on the intensity of 
observational systems that we've got in place.
    Mr. Casten. OK. Well, I appreciate that, and let's follow 
up. I'll find, as I'm sure you can appreciate--I want to make 
sure that if we're going to go through and, you know, and 
create these monetization of pollution externalities, which I 
think is a good, market-focused thing to do, that we're 
including everybody in that mix. And as long as there's a gap, 
we have a problem, and I don't know at this point whether 
that's a science problem or an algebra problem, but look 
forward to the continued conversations----
    Dr. Spinrad. Very good.
    Mr. Casten. Thank you. I yield back.
    Staff. Mr. Crist is recognized.
    Mr. Crist. Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Thank you, Dr. 
Spinrad, for being with us today. I represent Pinellas County 
in Florida, which is located in the Tampa Bay area. Pinellas is 
surrounded on three sides by water, so literally it's a 
peninsula on the peninsula of Florida. So, as you can imagine, 
I've worked a lot with NOAA. It is critical to my district, and 
Florida as a whole. For that reason, I've been a longtime 
supporter of the agency, have worked closely with NOAA on a 
number of issues, including addressing red tide. You may be 
aware of a bill I introduced last Congress that focused on the 
prevention and control of harmful algae blooms, so I was 
pleased to see NOAA's recent announcement of a new funding 
opportunity to create Harmful Algae Bloom Control Technologies 
Incubator. Can you tell me more about this new opportunity, and 
what NOAA is seeking to accomplish by it?
    Dr. Spinrad. Yes. Thank you, Congressman Crist. Thank you 
for your support over the years, really appreciate that. This 
is an exciting opportunity. It's reflected in a $7-1/2 million 
Federal funding opportunity that we put out for Harmful Algal 
Bloom Control Technology Incubator. And, as the name suggests, 
we're going to solicit the best ideas for controlling 
technologies. What does best mean? What we're going to look 
for, obviously, is technical feasibility. Is it a sound 
scientific concept? We also want to look for environmental 
acceptability. There may be solutions to mitigate harmful algal 
blooms that add more damage to the environment than the blooms 
themselves, so we want to look for that environmental 
acceptability. And then, of course, the feasibility, if you 
will, in terms of scalability. What works in a laboratory may 
not necessarily work in a larger scale environment. So the 
technical feasibility, the environmental reliability, if you 
will, and then the scalability are the three main things that 
we're going to look for in the proposals that we get. And I'm 
hoping we get overwhelmed with proposals.
    Mr. Crist. Well, as you know, this summer's red tide 
outbreak in Tampa Bay, and along Florida's Gulf Coast, has been 
the worst algae bloom observed in years, and I just read news 
accounts this morning it's returning again off Anna Maria 
Island. That's why I wrote to Governor DeSantis, urging him to 
request that NOAA determine the outbreak as a ``harmful algae 
bloom event of national significance'', which would then unlock 
Federal funds for assessment and mitigation. Congress gave 
NOAA--I'm sorry? Excuse me. Congress gave NOAA and the EPA this 
authority in 2019, but, despite the growing problem of harmful 
algae blooms, NOAA and the EPA have yet to utilize this 
authority. Why hasn't NOAA used this authority yet, if you're 
aware?
    Dr. Spinrad. So the short answer is that we are moving out 
on that. We have developed or are developing the draft policy 
for HABs and hypoxia, that's of national significance, and a 
Federal Register notice inviting comments from the public on 
that policy should be coming out very soon. So we have moved 
out on that, and we are working closely with our partners at 
EPA, who share some responsibilities, especially on freshwater, 
on that. So we have moved out, sir.
    Mr. Crist. Thank you, sir. As you know, Florida is home to 
several NOAA facilities. Unfortunately, many of the facilities 
are in dire need of repairs and upgrades, including the 
following, Southeast Fisheries Science Center, National 
Hurricane Center, Atlanta Oceanographic and Meteorological 
Laboratory in Miami. The impacts of climate change on these 
facilities makes the situation even more urgent. Can you 
provide me with an update on NOAA's plans for facility repairs 
and relocations, particularly in the southeast?
    Dr. Spinrad. Yes, thank you. I would like a bit of a 
placeholder, because I think we would probably want to spend a 
little bit more time with you and your staff to get some 
detailed responses to that, but I can tell you, as somebody 
who's worked for NOAA for, gosh, almost 20 years now, I've been 
to almost every NOAA facility, including those in Southeast 
Florida, over many, many years, and I share concerns about 
sustaining capabilities. We can't be asking our scientists to 
doing work in facilities where their safety, and their ability 
to get clean power and clean water is compromised. So we have 
undertaken a number of regional assessments of our facilities 
to see where are the priorities for investment. We have a $400 
million deferred maintenance bill at NOAA, and we're just 
having a hard time just keeping up.
    We are hoping something--some of the moves on the Hill, 
with respect to infrastructure, will help resolve that, but 
specifically what facilities, and what priority, and where to 
spend are part of this comprehensive study. We've done four of 
the regional studies, we've got two more that we will do as 
tabletop exercises in the next several months.
    Mr. Crist. Great. Thank you very much, Doctor. I see I'm 
running out of time, so I will yield back. Thank you, Madam 
Chair.
    Staff. Mr. Babin is recognized.
    Mr. Babin. Yes. Thank you very much. Thank you Madam Chair, 
Ranking Member, and Dr. Spinrad, thank you for appearing today 
as well. I'm the Ranking Member on the Space and Aeronautics 
Subcommittee of this same Full Committee. While most of NOAA 
falls under the Environment Subcommittee's jurisdiction, the 
Office of Space Commerce, or OSC, falls under the Space 
Subcommittee's jurisdiction. The Committee has a long history 
of oversight legislation related to space situational 
awareness, or SSA. Last year the National Academy of Public 
Administration issued an independent report that concluded, No. 
1, the Department of Commerce is best suited to perform SSA 
tasks within the Federal Government, and that OSC views STM, 
space traffic management, as predominantly a data management 
function, rather than as a prescriptive regulatory role. And 
three, the Department of Commerce, with its proven ability to 
effectively manage large, diverse, and complex data sets, 
provides essential technical expertise and other support to the 
Office of Space Commerce for space situational awareness and 
traffic management tasks.
    As a result of the NAPA report's findings, the 
Appropriations Act of Fiscal Year 2021 approved the merger of 
the Office of Space Commerce with the Office of Commercial 
Remote Sensing Regulatory Affairs, and also provided $10 
million to initiate a pilot program and initiate an open data 
architecture for space situational awareness. Rather than using 
these funds to carry out the law, it appears that NOAA, that's 
you all, is using these Fiscal Year 2021 funds to pay for more 
studies to revisit the topics of the NAPA study. These funding 
cuts come on top of personnel changes that threaten the 
Department of Commerce's ability to meet its space situational 
awareness responsibilities. So, Madam Chairwoman, I would like 
to add two op-eds from the Space News to the record, if you 
don't mind, please. Two op-eds, Madam Chair, I'd like to have 
entered into the record.
    Chairwoman Sherrill. Without objection.
    Mr. Babin. All right. Thank you. One is by Brian Weeden 
from the Secure World Foundation, titled ``Getting Serious 
About the Office of Space Commerce'', and the other is by Dr. 
Scott Pace, the director of G.W. Space Policy Institute, and a 
former Executive Director of the National Space Council, titled 
``NOAA Is Stalling U.S. Space Traffic Management''. Dr. 
Spinrad, will you commit to implementing United States 
executive branch policy in carrying out the laws related to 
space situational awareness?
    Dr. Spinrad. Thank you, Ranking Member, and I really 
appreciate you raising this issue. I will tell you, this is a 
subject that I have embraced since I was confirmed at the end 
of June, and I'm having regular meetings with the Deputy 
Secretary of Commerce to address all of the issues you've 
identified. I want to point out that we are taking some very 
specific actions. I would note, for example, that the data 
repository associated with space situational awareness that you 
alluded to, there will be an interagency--or a demonstration 
conducted here very shortly, within the next several weeks, for 
our agency partners, and it's our intent then to, based on that 
demonstration, bring it up to Congress so that you can observe 
what we've done consistent with the law itself.
    We're also looking, based on the NAPA report, at a number 
of alternatives for the organizational design. The merger that 
you alluded to is one that requires careful consideration of 
the operational responsibilities and regulatory 
responsibilities. Now, we do that at NOAA. We do that in 
fisheries, we do that in coastal zone management. We just want 
to make sure we're--we get it right. So we're looking at 
alternatives. We'll have that analysis of alternatives ready 
very shortly. And I would point out that the space traffic 
management is a little bit of a different animal, in terms of 
need for authorities, do we have the authorities for actually 
engaging in space traffic management, and we are looking at 
that as well.
    I would close by simply saying that there's another op-ed 
that you may to take a look at that Deputy Secretary Don Graves 
and I wrote to Space News subsequent to the two that you've----
    Mr. Babin. OK.
    Mr. Spinrad [continuing]. Identified, where we tried to 
clarify what we are doing, consistent with the law.
    Mr. Babin. Well, before I run out of time, I asked this 
question because the authority of the Office of Space Commerce 
resides with the Secretary of Commerce, not with NOAA, and 
certainly not NESDIS (National Environmental Satellite, Data, 
and Information Service), it is long past time to return that 
office to the Department of Commerce so that they can leverage 
all of the expertise in that department, and coordinate with 
other agencies and nations on a level playing field. So I hope 
we can see some expedition happening there. Thank you, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
    Staff. Mr. McNerney is recognized.
    Mr. McNerney. Well, I thank the Chair, and, Dr. Spinrad, 
thank you for appearing today, and for your dedication to the 
scientific enterprise. It's really inspiring to see someone 
that's so long in the business and still enthusiastic. See, a 
much better understanding is needed of the stratospheric 
composition and chemistry for more accurate modeling of the 
climate system dynamics. The GeoXO Satellite Constellation is 
scheduled to launch in the early 2030's, including the GeoXO 
Central, which has an atmospheric composition sensor. Dr. 
Spinrad, will this satellite, as currently planned, help build 
a baseline understanding of the stratospheric aerosols?
    Dr. Spinrad. Yes.
    Mr. McNerney. And how would the resulting data contribute 
to climate science?
    Dr. Spinrad. So part of climate science--a lot of people 
tend to think of climate science as purely a physical 
phenomenon, it's about temperature, or winds, or water. But a 
lot of the initial conditions, if you will, that set off what's 
going to happen are driven by atmospheric chemistry in the most 
fundamental manner. Depending on what the particulates are that 
are in the atmosphere, they either reflect sunlight, resulting 
in local cooling, or they may absorb sunlight, which will 
result in local heating. So having a good understanding of the 
chemical construct of the particulates in the makeup of the 
atmosphere is a critical initial component to understanding 
climate.
    Mr. McNerney. Very good. Well, unfortunately, the GeoXO 
Constellation Satellite launch is still a decade away, but 
there's an urgent need for actionable data right now. How can 
NOAA improve its monitoring and modeling of the atmospheric 
composition in the short term with the tools and equipment that 
are currently available?
    Dr. Spinrad. So we have a couple capabilities, one of 
which, of course, is--thank you to the Hill's support for 
acquisition of another--or of a Gulfstream 550--G-550. We will 
be putting in for an additional G-550. These aircraft, of 
course, allow us to do relatively high-altitude stratospheric 
observations, so having that platform alone will be a major 
improvement in our observational capabilities.
    Mr. McNerney. Very good. What additional resources and 
police changes does NOAA need to advance its Earth systems 
science and stewardship mission?
    Dr. Spinrad. I think we actually have a lot of authority. 
We have 200 different authorities to conduct a lot of these 
activities, which in itself is an issue we could talk about at 
some point. But I believe part of this also boils down to 
understanding what the nature of the inter-agency dynamic is, 
which is why I've been rather vocal about NOAA having a lead as 
the primary authoritative source for climate products and 
services, just as we are for weather, navigational charts, 
fishery stock assessments. I think that's a required 
capability.
    Mr. McNerney. Well, good, so jurisdictional battles that 
aren't restricted to Congress. So major advances have been made 
in our ability to monitor air quality from satellites, and this 
is of particular importance to my district, which has among the 
worst air quality in the Nation. I'm excited to see NOAA 
partnering on the launch of the TEMPO (Tropospheric Emissions: 
Monitoring Pollution) satellite instrument, which will monitor 
air quality during daylight hours at a much higher spatial 
resolution. Can you describe how NOAA is contributing to this 
mission, and how advanced tropospheric air quality monitoring 
will contribute to the agency's decisionmaking?
    Dr. Spinrad. Yes. I would like to get back to you on that, 
please, Congressman, because I think that requires a detailed 
technical element, and I'd like to be able to make sure we get 
that right.
    Mr. McNerney. OK, very good. Well, you know, I spent my 
career developing wind energy technology, and I'm excited to 
see that offshore wind is being considered in the West Coast, 
but, because of the deeper waters, we require new technology. 
Is NOAA preparing for upcoming lease sales on offshore West 
Coast projects, which could come as early as next year?
    Dr. Spinrad. It--we're working very closely with our 
colleagues at Interior, specifically the Bureau of Ocean Energy 
Management, on exactly those issues, and we have ongoing 
discussions with respect to some of the leases on the West 
Coast right now, yes.
    Mr. McNerney. Very good, exciting. Well, with that, I'm 
going to yield back. Thank you.
    Staff. Ms. Lofgren is recognized.
    Ms. Lofgren. First, thank you for letting me pop on, even 
though I'm not a Member of this Subcommittee, to ask just a few 
questions about the wildfire situation. This has been just a 
catastrophe in the West, and in our home State of California, 
and certainly Federal resources are needed to address the risk. 
I think sometimes we underestimate how improving modeling data 
could actually help in this situation, so I have just a couple 
questions. First, how will the next generation of NOAA 
satellites improve wildfire detection and monitoring? Also, 
what other spaced-based observation capabilities for near-real 
time detection has NOAA explored? Have we thought about small 
satellite constellations? And then, finally, what is NOAA doing 
on interagency collaboration when it comes to wildfire modeling 
and detection, as--not just, you know, with other agencies, but 
also with non-Federal partners to improve prevention and 
response?
    Dr. Spinrad. Yes, thank you for that question, 
Congresswoman Lofgren. I hail from Oregon. My home in Central 
Oregon was within just a few miles of some of the biggest fires 
this year, so this, for me, is a very personal issue. And, by 
the way, if I can briefly state, I used NOAA information to 
make a decision to spend money to do a fuel abatement effort on 
my property, so this touches people at the very personal level, 
right in their pocketbook. So I resonate very much with the 
tone of your question.
    At NOAA we are responsible, as you indicated, for the 
detection side, using our satellites, and also aircraft 
capability, and one of the dramatic improvements, noted, in 
fact, by the President just a few months ago, is our lightning 
mapper. A relatively new capability, but now that we've got 
higher and higher resolution for detecting lightning, we can, 
to a certain extent, predict where the fires are going to 
initiate. Then, of course, comes the human element, where our 
incident meteorologists are on scene with the firefighters. We 
need to continue training those incident meteorologists.
    A lot of people believe forecasts are mechanical, done by 
machines or done by computers, and then spit out. It's actually 
the people that make the difference. And the last part of our 
responsibility is in the--if you will, the effects of the fire, 
the smoke. We have new products that we're developing that will 
allow high resolution accurate forecasts of where the smoke is 
going to go. You had asked about the research component. We are 
excited about a Fiscal Year 2022 element that we've got to 
establish a fire weather test bed, so it'll be a $15 million 
investment to conduct the kind of research you're talking 
about, but also operationalize it for those incident 
meteorologists. And the last comment I'll make is this--is that 
the highest level of concern at the White House, in the 
administration, which is why we have the interagency working 
group on fire that's looking at the best processes to develop 
for research and operations, to mitigate and protect the public 
from these--what are going to be in increased frequency and 
intensity of these events in the future.
    Ms. Lofgren. Thank you very much for that insight. I'm 
wondering, in addition to the high-level interagency work, what 
capacity do you have to work with other actors? For example, 
you know, in the State of California we have OES (Office of 
Emergency Services), and we have--and Oregon does as well, and 
even private sector individuals are getting involved. Do you 
have the legal authority, do you have the resources, to do all 
of that, and what's the status?
    Dr. Spinrad. It--we do have a lot of authorities. We have a 
lot of capability. In fact, in the President's summit on fire 
back a couple of months ago, I made the personal commitment to 
the Governors that if they need embedded fire meteorologists, 
we're ready to provide that. We also have people embedded in 
the Interagency Fire Center up in Boise. So we do have that 
capability, where there--there are no constraints with respect 
to our work with the private sector. And I would say engagement 
has not been an issue for us, with respect to fires.
    Ms. Lofgren. OK. I thank you so very much. Unfortunately, 
we used to have a fire season. It's now virtually year-round 
because of climate change, and not only does it affect, you 
know, California, and the wildlife, and the loss of property 
and life, but the smoke comes all the way to the East Coast, so 
it's an issue for the whole country. And I thank you for your 
information. I yield back.
    Chairwoman Sherrill [continuing]. Was our last Member. So, 
before bringing the hearing to a close, I want to thank the 
Administrator for testifying before our Committee today. The 
record will remain open for two weeks for additional statements 
from the Members, and for any additional questions the 
Committee may ask of the witnesses. The witness is excused, and 
the hearing is now adjourned. Thank you so much.
    [Whereupon, at 11:29 a.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned.]

                               Appendix I

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                   Answers to Post-Hearing Questions



                   Answers to Post-Hearing Questions
Responses by the Honorable Richard W. Spinrad, Ph.D.

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                              Appendix II

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                   Additional Material for the Record




        Opinion articles submitted by Representative Brian Babin
        
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