[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 105 (Tuesday, June 23, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3124-S3125]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 6001. Mr. BENNET (for himself and Mr. Hickenlooper) submitted an 
amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 4784, to 
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2027 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 title X, add the following:

[[Page S3125]]

  


     SEC. 1094. REPORT ON THE NATIONAL SECURITY IMPORTANCE OF THE 
                   NATIONAL CENTER FOR ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH.

       (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
       (1) Extreme weather, geomagnetic storms, and atmospheric 
     variability pose severe, difficult to predict threats to 
     Department of Defense installations, global military 
     logistics, and troop readiness.
       (2) The National Center for Atmospheric Research (referred 
     to in this section as ``NCAR'') serves as a critical national 
     security asset by providing advanced atmospheric modeling, 
     space weather forecasting, and supercomputing capabilities 
     that are directly utilized by the Air Force Weather Agency, 
     the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the 
     intelligence community, the Naval Meteorology and 
     Oceanography Command, and the 45th Weather Squadron of the 
     Space Force.
       (3) NCAR's flagship infrastructure, including the Mesa 
     Laboratory in Boulder, Colorado, and the NCAR-Wyoming 
     Supercomputing Center, provides the foundational 
     computational physics necessary to simulate complex 
     battlefield environments, ensure satellite communications 
     integrity, and protect domestic defense infrastructure.
       (4) Fragmentation, divestment, or arbitrary, politically-
     motivated structural changes to NCAR's unified facilities 
     would create critical gaps in United States weather 
     intelligence, directly undermining the tactical advantages of 
     the Armed Forces.
       (b) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, in 
     consultation with the Administrator of the National Oceanic 
     and Atmospheric Administration, shall submit to the 
     congressional defense committees a report assessing the 
     Department of Defense's reliance on the capabilities of NCAR.
       (c) Elements.--The report required under subsection (b) 
     shall include the following:
       (1) An evaluation of how Department of Defense predictive 
     weather models and space weather forecasting rely on NCAR-
     developed community models and supercomputing infrastructure.
       (2) An evaluation of the impact of NCAR-developed 
     environmental intelligence and forecasting infrastructure on 
     tactical troop safety, including an assessment of how the 
     degradation or disruption of such infrastructure could 
     increase risks to service members during--
       (A) live-fire training exercises, munitions-handling, and 
     fueling operations;
       (B) high-altitude aviation and low-altitude helicopter 
     operations in degraded visual environments; and
       (C) deployments in areas subject to extreme weather, severe 
     turbulence, or microburst wind shear.
       (3) A risk assessment of the potential impacts on military 
     installations, aviation safety, and naval operations if NCAR 
     facilities, including the Mesa Laboratory and the NCAR-
     Wyoming Supercomputing Center, face structural divestment, 
     fragmentation, or closure.
       (4) A description of any specialized research aircraft or 
     observational platforms operated by NCAR that support 
     Department of Defense test and evaluation missions.
       (d) Form.--The report required by subsection (b) shall be 
     submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified 
     annex.
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