[House Report 118-61]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
118th Congress } { REPORT
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session } { 118-61
======================================================================
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COMMUNICATIONS
IMPROVEMENT ACT
_______
May 16, 2023.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Lucas, from the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 1496]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, to whom
was referred the bill (H.R. 1496) to upgrade the communications
service used by the National Weather Service, and for other
purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon
without amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
Purpose and Summary.............................................. 2
Background and Need for Legislation.............................. 2
Legislative History.............................................. 2
Committee Views.................................................. 2
Section-by-Section............................................... 2
Committee Consideration.......................................... 3
Roll Call Votes.................................................. 3
Application of Law to the Legislative Branch..................... 5
Statement of Oversight Findings and Recommendations of the
Committee...................................................... 5
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives............ 5
Duplication of Federal Programs.................................. 5
Federal Advisory Committee Act................................... 5
Unfunded Mandate Statement....................................... 5
Earmark Identification........................................... 5
Committee Cost Estimate.......................................... 5
New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and Tax Expenditures 6
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................ 6
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............ 7
Purpose and Summary
H.R. 1496 authorizes the National Weather Service (NWS) to
improve its current legacy instant messaging communications
system (referred to as `NWSChat') by upgrading to a cloud-based
commercial communications system.
Background and Need for Legislation
The National Weather Service provides weather, water, and
climate data, forecasts, warnings, and impact-based decision
support services for the protection of life and property, and
enhancement of the national economy. To communicate its
services with local officials and emergency responders, NWS
personnel use NWSChat, an instant messaging program utilized to
share critical warning decision expertise and weather
information. The current legacy communication system has
experienced dissemination issues, and the NWS has initiatied a
demonstration effort to migrate NWSChat to a new operational
environment. The National Weather Service Communications
Improvement Act would support NWS' ongoing efforts to improve
the reliability of their instant messaging service by requiring
the implementation of a commercial off-the-shelf solution.
Legislative History
In the 117th Congress, Representative Randy Feenstra
introduced H.R. 7361, the National Weather Service
Communications Improvement Act on April 1, 2022. It passed as
part of a package of suspension bills that received requests
for recorded votes (H. Res. 1254) on the House floor on July
27, 2022.
H.R. 1496 was introduced on March 9, 2023, by
Representative Feenstra (R-IA) with Representatives Ross (D-
NC), Miller (R-OH), Bonamici (D-OR), Crawford (R-AR), Carbajal
(D-CA), Miller-Meeks (R-IA), Jackson (D-NC), Hinson (R-IA),
Sorensen (D-IL), Gonzalez-Colon (R-PR), Foushee (D-NC), LaMalfa
(R-CA), Radewagen (R-AS), Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Carey (R-OH), and
Lee (D-PA).
Committee Views
The Committee notes that NWSChat is a critical tool but has
faced issues with dissemination of information with its current
legacy system. To address these issues, the NWS has already
started to transition to the use of commercial off-the-shelf
communication systems. This bill would provide the NWS with the
necessary authorization to continue its transition from its
current legacy system to a new system and increase the overall
performance and reliability of an instant messaging system.
Section-by-Section
Section 1. Short title
The short title of this legislation is ``National Weather
Service Communications Improvement Act.''
Section 2. National Weather Service communications
This section amends Title IV of the Weather Research and
Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 by directing the National
Weather Service to upgrade its current legacy instant message
service, commonly known as NWSChat, to a cloud-based commercial
off-the-shelf communications system. This section also
authorizes $3,000,000 for each of FY2024 through FY2027 from
amounts appropriated to NWS to carry out this Act.
Committee Consideration
On March 29, 2023, the Committee met in open session and
ordered reported favorably the bill, H.R. 1496, without
amendment, by roll call vote, a quorum being present.
Roll Call Votes
Clause 3(b) of rule XIII requires the Committee to list the
record votes on the motion to report legislation and amendments
thereto. The following reflects the record votes taken during
the Committee consideration:
Application of Law to the Legislative Branch
The Committee finds that H.R. 1496 does not relate to the
terms and conditions of employment or access to public services
or accommodations within the meaning of section 102(b)(3) of
the Congressional Accountability Act (Public Law 104-1).
Statement of Oversight Findings and Recommendations
of the Committee
In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII and clause
(2)(b)(1) of rule X, the Committee's oversight findings and
recommendations are reflected in the descriptive portions of
this report.
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives
In accordance with clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the goal of
H.R. 1496 is to authorize an improvement of National Weather
Service (NWS) communications abilities by replacing the current
legacy system, NWSChat, with a modern, cloud-based commercial
communications system. Upgrading to a commercial cloud
communications system alleviates the dissemination issues that
the current system has been having and allows for better
communication between NWS and local officials as well as their
emergency responders.
Duplication of Federal Programs
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(5) of rule XIII, the Committee
finds that no provision of H.R. 1496 establishes or
reauthorizes a program of the Federal Government known to be
duplicative of another Federal program, including any program
that was included in a report to Congress pursuant to section
21 of Public Law 111-139 or identified in the most recent
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance.
Federal Advisory Committee Act
The Committee finds that the legislation does not establish
or authorize the establishment of an advisory committee within
the definition of section 5(b) of the Federal Advisory
Committee Act.
Unfunded Mandate Statement
The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of Federal
mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform
Act.
Earmark Identification
Pursuant to clauses 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI, the
Committee finds that H.R. 1496 does not include any
congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff
benefits.
Committee Cost Estimate
Pursuant to clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII, the Committee
adopts as its own the cost estimate prepared by the Director of
the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority,
and Tax Expenditures
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII, the Committee
finds that H.R. 1496 would result in no new or increased budget
authority, entitlement authority, or tax expenditures or
revenues.
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate
With respect to the requirements of clause (3)(c)(3) of
rule XIII and section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate
for H.R. 1713 from the Director of Congressional Budget Office:
No H.R. 1496 would authorize the appropriation of $3
million annually over the 2024-2027 period for the National
Weather Service (NWS) to replace its current instant messaging
system with an updated, cloud-based system. The NWS uses
instant messages to share its expertise on making critical
warning decisions and other types of significant weather
information with public safety officials, emergency personnel,
and the media.
Based on spending patterns for similar activities, CBO
estimates that implementing H.R. 1496 would cost $11 million
over the 2023 2028 period and $1 million after 2028, assuming
appropriation of the authorized amounts.
The costs of the legislation, detailed in Table 1, fall
within budget function 300 (natural resources and environment).
TABLE 1.--ESTIMATED INCREASES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION UNDER H.R. 1496
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By fiscal year, millions of dollars--
----------------------------------------------------------
2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2023-2028
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Authorization........................................ 0 3 3 3 3 0 12
Estimated Outlays.................................... 0 2 2 3 3 1 11
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Aurora Swanson.
The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy
Director of Budget Analysis.
Phillip L. Swagel,
Director, Congressional Budget Office.
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (new matter is
printed in italics and existing law in which no change is
proposed is shown in roman):
WEATHER RESEARCH AND FORECASTING INNOVATION ACT OF 2017
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Weather
Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is
as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Definitions.
* * * * * * *
TITLE IV--FEDERAL WEATHER COORDINATION
* * * * * * *
Sec. 415. National Weather Service communications.
* * * * * * *
TITLE IV--FEDERAL WEATHER COORDINATION
* * * * * * *
SEC. 415. NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COMMUNICATIONS.
(a) System Upgrade.--The Director of the National Weather
Service shall improve the instant messaging service used by
National Weather Service personnel by implementing a commercial
off-the-shelf communications solution hosted on the public
cloud to serve as a replacement for the communications system
in use as of the date of the enactment of this section
(commonly referred to as ``NWSChat''). Such communications
solution shall satisfy requirements set forth by the Director
to best accommodate future growth and perform successfully with
increased numbers of users.
(b) Funding.--From amounts made available for Operations,
Research, and Facilities, the Director of the National Weather
Service shall allocate up to $3,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2024 through 2027 to carry out subsection (a).
(c) Limitation on Funding.--Amounts made available to carry
out subsection (a) shall be derived from amounts appropriated
or otherwise made available to the National Weather Service.
* * * * * * *
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