[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 132 (Monday, July 27, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4509-S4512]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           TEXT OF AMENDMENTS

  SA 2498. Mr. McCONNELL (for Mr. Peters) proposed an amendment to the 
bill S. 881, to improve understanding and forecasting of space weather 
events, and for other purposes; as follows:

        Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
     following:

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Promoting Research and 
     Observations of Space Weather to Improve the Forecasting of 
     Tomorrow Act'' or the ``PROSWIFT Act''.

     SEC. 2. SPACE WEATHER.

       (a) Policy.--It shall be the policy of the United States to 
     prepare and protect against the social and economic impacts 
     of space weather phenomena by supporting actions to improve 
     space weather forecasts and predictions including: sustaining 
     and enhancing critical observations, identifying research 
     needs and promoting opportunities for research-to-operations 
     and operations-to-research collaborations both within and 
     outside of the Federal Government, advancing space weather 
     models, engaging with all sectors of the space weather 
     community, including academia, the commercial sector, and 
     international partners, and understanding the needs of space 
     weather end users.
       (b) Amendment to Title 51, United States Code.--Subtitle VI 
     of title 51, United States Code, is amended by adding after 
     chapter 605 the following:

[[Page S4510]]

  


                      ``CHAPTER 606--SPACE WEATHER

``Sec.
``60601. Space weather.
``60602. Integrated strategy.
``60603. Sustaining and advancing critical space weather observations.
``60604. Research activities.
``60605. Space weather data.
``60606. Space weather knowledge transfer and information exchange.
``60607. Pilot program for obtaining commercial sector space weather 
              data.
``60608. Space weather benchmarks.

     ``Sec. 60601. Space weather

       ``(a) Findings.--
       ``(1) Space weather.--Congress makes the following findings 
     with respect to space weather:
       ``(A) Space weather phenomena pose a significant threat to 
     ground-based and space-based critical infrastructure, modern 
     technological systems, and humans working in space.
       ``(B) The effects of severe space weather on the electric 
     power grid, satellites and satellite communications and 
     information, aviation operations, astronauts living and 
     working in space, and space-based position, navigation, and 
     timing systems could have significant societal, economic, 
     national security, and health impacts.
       ``(C) Space-based and ground-based observations provide 
     crucial data necessary to understand, forecast, and prepare 
     for space weather phenomena.
       ``(D) Clear roles and accountability of Federal departments 
     and agencies are critical for efficient and effective 
     response to threats posed by space weather.
       ``(E) Space weather observation and forecasting are 
     essential for the success of human and robotic space 
     exploration.
       ``(F) In October 2015, the National Science and Technology 
     Council published a National Space Weather Strategy and a 
     National Space Weather Action Plan seeking to integrate 
     national space weather efforts and add new capabilities to 
     meet increasing demand for space weather information.
       ``(G) In March 2019, the National Science and Technology 
     Council published an updated National Space Weather Strategy 
     and Action Plan to enhance the preparedness and resilience of 
     the United States to space weather.
       ``(2) Role of federal agencies.--Congress makes the 
     following findings with respect to the role of Federal 
     agencies on space weather:
       ``(A) The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
     provides operational space weather monitoring, forecasting, 
     and long-term data archiving and access for civil 
     applications, maintains ground-based and space-based assets 
     to provide observations needed for space weather forecasting, 
     prediction, and warnings, provides research to support 
     operational responsibilities, and develops requirements for 
     space weather forecasting technologies and science.
       ``(B) The Department of Defense provides operational space 
     weather research, monitoring, and forecasting for the 
     Department's unique missions and applications.
       ``(C) The National Aeronautics and Space Administration 
     provides increased understanding of the fundamental physics 
     of the Sun-Earth system through basic research, space-based 
     observations and modeling, developing new space-based 
     technologies and missions, and monitoring of space weather 
     for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's space 
     missions.
       ``(D) The National Science Foundation provides increased 
     understanding of the Sun-Earth system through ground-based 
     measurements, technologies, and modeling.
       ``(E) The Department of the Interior collects, distributes, 
     and archives operational ground-based magnetometer data in 
     the United States and its territories, works with the 
     international community to improve global geophysical 
     monitoring, and develops crustal conductivity models to 
     assess and mitigate risks from space weather-induced electric 
     ground currents.
       ``(F) The Federal Aviation Administration provides 
     operational requirements for space weather services in 
     support of aviation and for coordination of these 
     requirements with the International Civil Aviation 
     Organization, and integrates space weather data and products 
     into the Next Generation Air Transportation System.
       ``(b) Coordination by Office of Science and Technology 
     Policy.--The Director of the Office of Science and Technology 
     Policy shall--
       ``(1) coordinate the development and implementation of 
     Federal Government activities conducted with respect to space 
     weather to improve the ability of the United States to 
     prepare for, avoid, mitigate, respond to, and recover from 
     potentially devastating impacts of space weather; and
       ``(2) coordinate the activities of the interagency working 
     group on space weather established under subsection (c).
       ``(c) Space Weather Interagency Working Group.--Not later 
     than 90 days after the date of enactment of the PROSWIFT Act, 
     the National Science and Technology Council shall establish 
     an interagency working group on space weather (in this 
     chapter referred to as the `interagency working group') to 
     coordinate executive branch actions that improve the 
     understanding and prediction of and preparation for space 
     weather phenomena, and coordinate Federal space weather 
     activities.
       ``(1) Membership.--The following entities shall be members 
     of the interagency working group:
       ``(A) The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
       ``(B) The National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
       ``(C) The National Science Foundation.
       ``(D) The Department of Defense.
       ``(E) The Department of the Interior.
       ``(F) Such other Federal agencies as the Director of the 
     Office of Science and Technology Policy deems appropriate.
       ``(2) Interagency agreements.--
       ``(A) The members of the interagency working group may 
     enter into one or more interagency agreements providing for 
     cooperation and collaboration in the development of space 
     weather spacecraft, instruments, technologies, and research 
     to operations and operations to research in accordance with 
     this chapter.
       ``(B) The Administrator of the National Aeronautics and 
     Space Administration and the Administrator of the National 
     Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall enter into one 
     or more interagency agreements providing for cooperation and 
     collaboration in the development of space weather spacecraft, 
     instruments, and technologies in accordance with this 
     chapter.
       ``(3) International, academic community, and commercial 
     sector collaboration.--Each Federal agency participating in 
     the space weather interagency working group established under 
     this subsection shall, to the extent practicable, increase 
     engagement and cooperation with the international community, 
     academic community, and commercial space weather sector on 
     the observational infrastructure, data, and scientific 
     research necessary to advance the monitoring, forecasting, 
     and prediction of, preparation for, and protection from, 
     space weather phenomena.
       ``(d) Space Weather Advisory Group.--
       ``(1) In general.--
       ``(A) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after the 
     date of the enactment of the PROSWIFT Act, the Administrator 
     of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in 
     consultation with other relevant Federal agencies, shall 
     establish a space weather advisory group (in this chapter 
     referred to as the `advisory group') for the purposes of 
     receiving advice from the academic community, the commercial 
     space weather sector, and space weather end users that 
     informs the interests and work of the interagency working 
     group.
       ``(B) Composition.--The advisory group shall be composed of 
     not more than 15 members appointed by the interagency working 
     group, of whom--
       ``(i) 5 members shall be representatives of the academic 
     community;
       ``(ii) 5 members shall be representatives of the commercial 
     space weather sector; and
       ``(iii) 5 members shall be nongovernmental representatives 
     of the space weather end user community.
       ``(C) Chair.--Not later than 30 days after the date on 
     which the last member of the advisory group is appointed 
     under subparagraph (B), the Administrator of the National 
     Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall appoint 1 member 
     as the Chair of the advisory group.
       ``(D) Terms.--The length of the term of each member of the 
     advisory group shall be 3 years beginning on the date on 
     which the member is appointed.
       ``(E) Term limits.--
       ``(i) In general.--A member of the advisory group may not 
     serve on the advisory group for more than 2 consecutive 
     terms.
       ``(ii) Chair.--A member of the advisory group may not serve 
     as the Chair of the advisory group for more than 2 terms, 
     regardless of whether the terms are consecutive.
       ``(2) Duties.--The advisory group shall advise the 
     interagency working group on the following:
       ``(A) Facilitating advances in the space weather enterprise 
     of the United States.
       ``(B) Improving the ability of the United States to prepare 
     for, mitigate, respond to, and recover from space weather 
     phenomena.
       ``(C) Enabling the coordination and facilitation of 
     research to operations and operations to research, as 
     described in section 60604(d).
       ``(D) Developing and implementing the integrated strategy 
     under section 60602 including subsequent updates and 
     reevaluations.
       ``(3) User survey.--
       ``(A) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the 
     establishment of the advisory group, the advisory group shall 
     conduct a comprehensive survey of the needs of users of space 
     weather products to identify the space weather research, 
     observations, forecasting, prediction, and modeling advances 
     required to improve space weather products.
       ``(B) Survey considerations.--The survey conducted under 
     subparagraph (A) shall--
       ``(i) assess the adequacy of current Federal Government 
     goals for lead time, accuracy, coverage, timeliness, data 
     rate, and data quality for space weather observations and 
     forecasting;
       ``(ii) identify options and methods to, in consultation 
     with the academic community and the commercial space weather 
     sector, improve upon the advancement of the goals described 
     in clause (i);
       ``(iii) identify opportunities for collection of new data 
     to address the needs of the space weather user community;
       ``(iv) identify methods to increase coordination of space 
     weather research to operations and operations to research;

[[Page S4511]]

       ``(v) identify opportunities for new technologies, 
     research, and instrumentation to aid in research, 
     understanding, monitoring, modeling, prediction, forecasting, 
     and warning of space weather; and
       ``(vi) identify methods and technologies to improve 
     preparedness for potential space weather phenomena.
       ``(C) Coordination with agencies.--In carrying out the 
     requirements of this subsection, the advisory group shall 
     communicate and coordinate with the interagency working group 
     to ensure the needs of the governmental space weather user 
     community are adequately and appropriately identified by the 
     survey under subparagraph (A).
       ``(D) Briefing to congress.--Not later than 30 days after 
     the completion of the survey under subparagraph (A), the 
     advisory group shall provide to the Committee on Science, 
     Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives and the 
     Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 
     Senate a briefing on the results of the survey under 
     subparagraph (A).
       ``(E) Publication.--Within 30 days of the briefing to 
     Congress, the advisory group shall make the results of the 
     survey under subparagraph (A) publicly available.
       ``(F) Reevaluation.--The advisory group shall review and 
     assess the survey under subparagraph (A) not less than every 
     3 years and update, resubmit, and republish the survey in 
     accordance with the requirements of subparagraphs (D) and 
     (E).
       ``(4) Federal advisory committee act.--Section 14 of the 
     Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not 
     apply to the advisory group.

     ``Sec. 60602. Integrated strategy

       ``(a) In General.--The Director of the Office of Science 
     and Technology Policy, in collaboration with the interagency 
     working group and upon the advice of the advisory group, 
     shall develop a strategy for coordinated observation of space 
     weather among members of the interagency working group (in 
     this chapter, referred to as the `integrated strategy'). The 
     integrated strategy shall identify--
       ``(1) observations and measurements that must be sustained 
     beyond the lifetime of current ground-based and space-based 
     assets, as described under section 60603, that are essential 
     for space weather research, models, forecasting, and 
     prediction;
       ``(2) new observations and measurements that may 
     significantly improve space weather forecasting and 
     prediction; and
       ``(3) plans for follow-on space-based observations under 
     section 60603.
       ``(b) Considerations.--In developing the integrated 
     strategy in subsection (a), the Director of the Office of 
     Science and Technology Policy shall consider, as appropriate, 
     the following:
       ``(1) Potential contributions of commercial solutions, 
     prize authority, academic and international partnerships, 
     microsatellites, small satellite options, ground-based 
     instruments, and hosted payloads for observations identified 
     in section 60602(a)(2).
       ``(2) Work conducted before the date of enactment of the 
     PROSWIFT Act by the National Science and Technology Council 
     with respect to space weather.
       ``(3) The survey under section 60601(d).
       ``(4) Any relevant recommendations from the most recent 
     National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine 
     Decadal Survey for Solar and Space Physics (Heliophysics).
       ``(c) Review of Integrated Strategy.--
       ``(1) Review.--The Administrator of the National 
     Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Administrator of 
     the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in 
     consultation with Federal agencies participating in the 
     interagency working group, shall enter into an agreement with 
     the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine 
     to review the integrated strategy developed in this section.
       ``(2) Considerations.--The review from paragraph (1) shall 
     also consider the current state, capability, and feasibility 
     of the commercial space weather sector to provide new and 
     supplemental observations and measurements that may 
     significantly improve space weather forecasting and 
     prediction.
       ``(3) Transmittal.--The Director of the Office of Science 
     and Technology Policy, the Administrator of the National 
     Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the Administrator 
     of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall 
     transmit the integrated strategy and the results of the 
     review required under paragraph (1) to the Committee on 
     Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 
     Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
     Transportation of the Senate not later than 1 year after the 
     date of the completion of the survey under section 
     60601(d)(3). The integrated strategy and its review shall be 
     made publicly available within 30 days of submittal to 
     Congress.
       ``(d) Implementation Plan.--Not later than 180 days after 
     delivery of the review of the integrated strategy in 
     subsection (c)(3), the interagency working group shall 
     develop a plan to implement the integrated strategy, 
     including an estimate of the cost and schedule required for 
     implementation. Upon completion, the interagency working 
     group shall submit the implementation plan to the Committees 
     on Science, Space, and Technology and Armed Services of the 
     House of Representatives and the Committees on Commerce, 
     Science, and Transportation and Armed Services of the Senate. 
     The implementation plan shall be made publicly available 
     within 30 days of submittal to Congress.
       ``(e) Reevaluation.--The Director, in collaboration with 
     the interagency working group, shall update the integrated 
     strategy not later than 1 year after the reevaluation of the 
     user survey from section 60601(d)(3)(F) in accordance with 
     the requirements of subsections (a) through (d).

     ``Sec. 60603. Sustaining and advancing critical space weather 
       observations

       ``(a) Policy.--It is the policy of the United States to--
       ``(1) establish and sustain a baseline capability for space 
     weather observations and to make such observations and data 
     publicly available; and
       ``(2) obtain enhanced space weather observations, as 
     practicable, to advance forecasting and prediction 
     capability, as informed by the integrated strategy in section 
     60602.
       ``(b) Sustaining Baseline Space-based Observational 
     Capabilities.--
       ``(1) The Administrator of the National Aeronautics and 
     Space Administration shall, in cooperation with the European 
     Space Agency and other international and interagency 
     partners, maintain operations of the Solar and Heliospheric 
     Observatory/Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph 
     (referred to in this section as `SOHO/LASCO') for as long as 
     the satellite continues to deliver quality observations.
       ``(2) The Administrator of the National Aeronautics and 
     Space Administration shall prioritize the reception of SOHO/
     LASCO data.
       ``(3) The Administrator of the National Oceanic and 
     Atmospheric Administration shall maintain, for as long as is 
     practicable, operations of current space-based observational 
     assets, including but not limited to the Geostationary 
     Operational Environmental Satellites system, and the Deep 
     Space Climate Observatory.
       ``(c) Backup Space-based Observational Capability.--The 
     Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
     Administration, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense 
     and the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space 
     Administration, shall work with Federal and international 
     partners in order to secure reliable backup baseline 
     capability for near real-time coronal mass ejection imagery, 
     solar wind, solar imaging, coronal imagery, and other 
     relevant observations required to provide space weather 
     forecasts.
       ``(d) SOHO/LASCO Operational Contingency Plan.--The 
     Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
     Administration shall develop an operational contingency plan 
     to provide continuous space weather forecasting in the event 
     of an unexpected SOHO/LASCO failure, and prior to the 
     implementation of the backup space-based baseline 
     observational capability in section 60603(c).
       ``(e) Briefing.--Not later than 120 days after the date of 
     enactment of the PROSWIFT Act, the Administrator of the 
     National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall provide 
     a briefing to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 
     of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
     Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate on the 
     plan to secure reliable backup baseline capability described 
     in subsection (c) and the SOHO/LASCO operational contingency 
     plan developed under subsection (d).
       ``(f) Sustaining Ground-based Observational Capability.--
     The Director of the National Science Foundation, the Director 
     of the United States Geological Survey, the Secretary of the 
     Air Force, and, as practicable in support of the Air Force, 
     the Secretary of the Navy, shall each--
       ``(1) maintain and improve ground-based observations of the 
     Sun, as necessary and advisable, to help meet the needs 
     identified in the survey under section 60601(d)(3); and
       ``(2) continue to provide space weather data through 
     ground-based facilities, including radars, lidars, 
     magnetometers, neutron monitors, radio receivers, aurora and 
     airglow imagers, spectrometers, interferometers, and solar 
     observatories.
       ``(g) Considerations.--In implementing subsections (b), 
     (c), and (d), the Administrators of the National Aeronautics 
     and Space Administration and the National Oceanic and 
     Atmospheric Administration, the Directors of the National 
     Science Foundation and United States Geological Survey, and 
     the Secretaries of the Air Force and the Navy shall 
     prioritize cost-effective and reliable solutions.
       ``(h) Ground-based Observational Data.--The Director of the 
     National Science Foundation shall--
       ``(1) make available to the public key data streams from 
     the platforms and facilities described in subsection (d) for 
     research and to support space weather model development;
       ``(2) develop experimental models for scientific purposes; 
     and
       ``(3) support the transition of the experimental models to 
     operations where appropriate.
       ``(i) Enhanced Space-based Observations.--The Administrator 
     of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in 
     coordination with the Secretary of Defense, should develop 
     options to build and deploy space-based observational 
     capabilities, beyond the baseline capabilities referenced in 
     subsection (b), that may improve space weather measurements 
     and observations. These supplemental observational 
     capabilities could include commercial solutions,

[[Page S4512]]

     prize authority, academic partnerships, microsatellites, 
     ground-based instruments, and opportunities to deploy the 
     instrument or instruments as a secondary payload on an 
     upcoming planned launch.

     ``Sec. 60604. Research activities

       ``(a) Basic Research.--The Director of the National Science 
     Foundation, the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and 
     Space Administration, and the Secretary of Defense, shall--
       ``(1) continue to carry out basic research on heliophysics, 
     geospace science, and space weather; and
       ``(2) support competitive, peer-reviewed proposals for 
     conducting research, advancing modeling, and monitoring of 
     space weather and its impacts, including the science goals 
     outlined in decadal surveys in solar and space physics 
     conducted by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, 
     and Medicine.
       ``(b) Multidisciplinary Research.--
       ``(1) Findings.--Congress finds that the multidisciplinary 
     nature of solar and space physics creates funding challenges 
     that require coordination across scientific disciplines and 
     Federal agencies.
       ``(2) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that 
     science centers could coordinate multidisciplinary solar and 
     space physics research. The Administrator of the National 
     Aeronautics and Space Administration and Director of the 
     National Science Foundation should support competitively 
     awarded grants for multidisciplinary science centers that 
     advance solar and space physics research, including research-
     to-operations and operations-to-research processes.
       ``(3) Multidisciplinary research.--The Director of the 
     National Science Foundation, the Administrator of the 
     National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the 
     Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space 
     Administration, shall each pursue multidisciplinary research 
     in subjects that further the understanding of solar physics, 
     space physics, and space weather.
       ``(c) Science Missions.--The Administrator of the National 
     Aeronautics and Space Administration should implement 
     missions that meet the science objectives identified in solar 
     and space physics decadal surveys conducted by the National 
     Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
       ``(d) Research to Operations; Operations to Research.--The 
     interagency working group shall, upon consideration of the 
     advice of the advisory group, develop formal mechanisms to--
       ``(1) transition the space weather research findings, 
     models, and capabilities of the National Aeronautics and 
     Space Administration, the National Science Foundation, the 
     United States Geological Survey, and other relevant Federal 
     agencies, as appropriate, to the National Oceanic and 
     Atmospheric Administration and the Department of Defense;
       ``(2) enhance coordination between research modeling 
     centers and forecasting centers; and
       ``(3) communicate the operational needs of space weather 
     forecasters of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
     Administration and Department of Defense, as appropriate, to 
     the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the 
     National Science Foundation, and the United States Geological 
     Survey.

     ``Sec. 60605. Space weather data

       ``(a) In General.--The Administrator of the National 
     Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Director of the 
     National Science Foundation shall continue to--
       ``(1) make space weather-related data obtained for 
     scientific research purposes available to space weather 
     forecasters and operations centers; and
       ``(2) support model development and model applications to 
     space weather forecasting.
       ``(b) Research.--The Administrator of the National Oceanic 
     and Atmospheric Administration shall make space weather-
     related data obtained from operational forecasting available 
     for research.

     ``Sec. 60606. Space weather knowledge transfer and 
       information exchange

       ``Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of 
     the PROSWIFT Act, the Administrator of the National Oceanic 
     and Atmospheric Administration, in collaboration with the 
     Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space 
     Administration and the Director of the National Science 
     Foundation, shall enter into an arrangement with the National 
     Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to establish 
     a Space Weather Government-Academic-Commercial Roundtable to 
     facilitate communication and knowledge transfer among 
     Government participants in the space weather interagency 
     working group established under section 60601(c), the 
     academic community, and the commercial space weather sector 
     to--
       ``(1) facilitate advances in space weather prediction and 
     forecasting;
       ``(2) increase coordination of space weather research to 
     operations and operations to research; and
       ``(3) improve preparedness for potential space weather 
     phenomena.

     ``Sec. 60607. Pilot program for obtaining commercial sector 
       space weather data

       ``(a) Establishment.--Not later than 12 months after the 
     date of enactment of the PROSWIFT Act, the Administrator of 
     the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration may 
     establish a pilot program under which the Administrator will 
     offer to enter into contracts with one or more entities in 
     the commercial space weather sector for the provision to the 
     Administrator of space weather data generated by such an 
     entity that meets the standards and specifications published 
     under subsection (b).
       ``(b) Data Standard and Specifications.--Not later than 18 
     months after the date of enactment of the PROSWIFT Act, the 
     Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
     Administration, in consultation with the Secretary of 
     Defense, may publish standards and specifications for ground-
     based, ocean-based, air-based, and space-based commercial 
     space weather data and metadata.
       ``(c) Contracts.--
       ``(1) In general.--Within 12 months after the date of 
     transmission of the review of the integrated strategy to 
     Congress under section 60602(c)(3) and taking into account 
     the results of the review, the Administrator of the National 
     Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration may offer to enter, 
     through an open competition, into at least one contract with 
     one or more commercial space weather sector entities capable 
     of providing space weather data that--
       ``(A) meets the standards and specifications established 
     for providing such data under subsection (b); and
       ``(B) is provided in a manner that allows the Administrator 
     of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to 
     calibrate and evaluate the data for use in space weather 
     research and forecasting models of the National Oceanic and 
     Atmospheric Administration, the Department of Defense, or 
     both.
       ``(2) Assessment.--If one or more contract is entered into 
     under paragraph (1), not later than 4 years after the date of 
     enactment of the PROSWIFT Act, the Administrator of the 
     National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall assess, 
     and submit to the Committees on Science, Space, and 
     Technology and Armed Services of the House of Representatives 
     and the Committees on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 
     and Armed Services of the Senate, a report on the extent to 
     which the pilot program has demonstrated data provided under 
     contracts described in paragraph (1) meet the standards and 
     specifications established under subsection (b) and the 
     extent to which the pilot program has demonstrated--
       ``(A) the viability of assimilating the commercially 
     provided data into National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
     Administration space weather research and forecasting models;
       ``(B) whether, and by how much, the data so provided add 
     value to space weather forecasts of the National Oceanic and 
     Atmospheric Administration and the Department of Defense; and
       ``(C) the accuracy, quality, timeliness, validity, 
     reliability, usability, information technology security, and 
     cost-effectiveness of obtaining commercial space weather data 
     from commercial sector providers.

     ``Sec. 60608. Space weather benchmarks

       ``The interagency working group established under section 
     60601(c) shall periodically review and update the benchmarks 
     described in the report of the National Science and 
     Technology Council entitled `Space Weather Phase 1 
     Benchmarks' and dated June 2018, as necessary, based on--
       ``(1) any significant new data or advances in scientific 
     understanding that become available; or
       ``(2) the evolving needs of entities impacted by space 
     weather phenomena.''.
       (c) Technical and Conforming Amendments.--
       (1) The table of chapters of title 51, United States Code, 
     is amended by adding after the item relating to chapter 605 
     the following:

``606. Space Weather.......................................60601''.....

       (2) Section 809 of the National Aeronautics and Space 
     Administration Authorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18388) 
     and the item relating to that section in the table of 
     contents under section 1(b) of that Act (Public Law 111-267; 
     124 Stat. 2806) are repealed.

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