[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 133 (Friday, August 1, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Page S5344]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 3604. Mr. HICKENLOOPER submitted an amendment intended to be 
proposed by him to the bill S. 2296, to authorize appropriations for 
fiscal year 2026 for military activities of the Department of Defense, 
for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department 
of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal 
year, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as 
follows:

        At the end of subtitle B of title III, add the following:

     SEC. 320A. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMERCIAL WEATHER DATA PROGRAMS 
                   OF RECORD WITHIN DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE 
                   AND DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY.

       (a) Establishment.--Not later than September 30, 2027, the 
     Secretary of the Air Force and the Secretary of the Navy 
     shall each establish a program of record within the 
     Department of the Air Force and the Department of the Navy, 
     respectively--
       (1) to acquire and use commercial weather data--
       (A) to support operational weather forecasting; and
       (B) to enhance mission planning and execution in data-
     sparse and contested environments;
       (2) to integrate such data into the meteorological and 
     decision-support frameworks of the Department of the Air 
     Force and the Department of the Navy; and
       (3) to ensure resilience against adversarial advancements 
     in space-based environmental monitoring.
       (b) Submission to Congress.--Not later than March 1, 2026, 
     the Secretary of the Air Force and the Secretary of the Navy 
     shall submit to the congressional defense committees--
       (1) a transition plan to carry out the requirements under 
     subsection (a), including cost projections and requirements 
     through fiscal year 2031 under the future-years defense 
     program submitted to Congress by the Secretary of Defense 
     pursuant to section 221 of title 10, United States Code;
       (2) an acquisition strategy to carry out such requirements, 
     considering middle tier or major capability pathways under 
     Department of Defense Instruction 5000.85 (relating to major 
     capability acquisition), or successor instruction; and
       (3) budget justification materials to carry out such 
     requirements, to be included with the budget of the President 
     for that fiscal year submitted under section 1105(a) of title 
     31, United States Code.
       (c) Fiscal Year 2026 Planning and Transition Activities.--
     The Secretary of the Air Force and the Secretary of the Navy 
     may use amounts available to the Secretary concerned for 
     fiscal year 2026--
       (1) to develop transition plans and acquisition strategies 
     to carry out the requirements under subsection (a);
       (2) to conduct technical assessments of commercial weather 
     data capabilities; and
       (3) to support pilot integration and requirements 
     definition in coordination with the Joint Staff, commanders 
     of relevant combatant commands, and the weather enterprise of 
     the Air Force.
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