[Senate Report 118-141]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


118th Congress }                                                { Report
 1st Session   }                  SENATE                        { 118-141
                                                                
_______________________________________________________________________

                                     


              NOAA WEATHER RADIO MODERNIZATION ACT OF 2023

                               __________

                              R E P O R T

                                 of the

           COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION

                                   on

                                S. 1416




               December 19, 2023.--Ordered to be printed
               
               
               
                               ______

             U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 
 49-010          WASHINGTON : 2023 
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
       SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION
                    one hundred eighteenth congress
                             first session

                   MARIA CANTWELL, Washington, Chair
AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota             TED CRUZ, Texas
BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii                 JOHN THUNE, South Dakota
EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts      ROGER WICKER, Mississippi
GARY C. PETERS, Michigan             DEB FISCHER, Nebraska
TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin             JERRY MORAN, Kansas
TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois            DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska
JON TESTER, Montana                  MARSHA BLACKBURN, Tennessee
KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona              TODD C. YOUNG, Indiana
JACKY ROSEN, Nevada                  TED BUDD, North Carolina
BEN RAY LUJAN, New Mexico            ERIC SCHMITT, Missouri
JOHN HICKENLOOPER, Colorado          SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West Virginia

RAPHAEL WARNOCK, Georgia             CYNTHIA LUMMIS, Wyoming
PETER WELCH, Vermont                 J.D. VANCE, Ohio
                       Lila Helms, Staff Director
                  Brad Grantz, Minority Staff Director
                  
                  
                  

118th Congress }                                              {     Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session   }                                              {  118-141

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



 
              NOAA WEATHER RADIO MODERNIZATION ACT OF 2023

                                _______
                                

               December 19, 2023.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

      Ms. Cantwell, from the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
                Transportation, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 1416]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, to 
which was referred the bill (S. 1416) to provide guidance for 
and investment in the upgrade and modernization of the National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Weather Radio All 
Hazards Network, and for other purposes, having considered the 
same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and 
recommends that the bill do pass.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of S. 1416, National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration Weather Radio Modernization Act of 2023, is to 
require the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
(NOAA) to modernize the outdated technology currently in use 
throughout the NOAA Weather Radio (NWR) system to improve 
reliability and expand coverage. The bill would also expand the 
delivery of weather hazard warnings to rural and Tribal 
communities by enhancing the NWR transmission system with 
modern technologies, such as satellite communications, and 
transition to media other than copper.

                          BACKGROUND AND NEEDS

    NWR is a nationwide network of radio stations operated by 
NOAA within the United States. The purpose of NWR is to provide 
weather, water, and climate forecasts and warnings 24 hours a 
day, 7 days a week, to the public and emergency responders. NWR 
broadcasts continuous weather information directly from nearby 
National Weather Service (NWS) offices. This information 
includes current weather conditions, forecasts, and any severe 
weather warnings or other emergency alerts.\1\ NWR also 
provides non-weather emergency messages, such as AMBER alerts, 
local and State emergency messages, and earthquake 
information.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\NOAA, National Weather Service, ``NOAA Weather Radio Frequently 
Asked Questions'' (https://www.weather.gov/phi/
nwrfaq#::text=K%20nown%20as%20the%20%22Voice%20
of,and%20the%20U.S.%20Pacific%20Territories).
    \2\Ibid.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    NWR transmissions can be received using special weather 
radios, which are designed to automatically activate and sound 
an alarm when severe weather or other emergency alerts are 
issued. To receive a weather alert broadcast, the radio must be 
in range of an NWR transmitter. Currently, of the 750 weather 
radio transmitters,\3\ approximately half the transmitters in 
current operations are, or will be, over 25 years in service 
and cannot continue to be sustained and repaired efficiently in 
the future. NWR also currently broadcasts only in the VHF 
public service band (between 162.400 and 162.550 megahertz 
(MHz)), and therefore one would need a special radio receiver 
or scanner in order to pick up the signal.\4\ All NWR stations 
broadcast on one of seven frequencies in the VHF public service 
band, but some older weather radio receivers only have three 
frequencies.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\Ibid.
    \4\Ibid.
    \5\Ibid.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The normal broadcast range of a full-power transmitter 
(1000 watts) over level terrain is approximately 40 miles.\6\ 
The effective range depends on terrain, height and power of the 
transmitting antenna, quality of the receiver, and whether an 
indoor or outdoor antenna is in use.\7\ With these limitations, 
only about 95 percent of the U.S. population is reached. 
Improvements to NWR would enable these radio transmissions to 
reach up to 99 percent of the U.S. population, which would 
expand service to up to 13.3 million additional Americans.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \6\Ibid.
    \7\Ibid.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System

    The bill requires NOAA to accelerate software upgrades to 
the Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS), 
thereby replacing the Automation of Field Operations and 
Services System that has been in place in the NWS since the 
1980s.\8\ AWIPS is a type of computer system that is currently 
being introduced into the NWS to analyze and forecast 
weather.\9\ This system provides meteorologists with a range of 
tools and resources to help them make accurate and timely 
weather forecasts and warnings, and is a vital component to the 
NWS plans for modernization and restructuring.\10\ AWIPS is 
also used by NWS forecasters to intake, process, and display 
data from a variety of sources, including satellite and radar 
imagery, surface observations, upper air soundings, and 
numerical weather prediction models.\11\ The system allows 
forecasters to view and manipulate weather data in real-time, 
and to quickly analyze and disseminate weather information to 
other NWS offices and to emergency managers.\12\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \8\NOAA, ``AWIPS Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System'' 
(https://www.weather.gov/okx/Tour_AWIPS).
    \9\Ibid.
    \10\Ibid.
    \11\Ibid.
    \12\Ibid.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Copper Reliance

    Currently, NWR infrastructure is reliant on copper media. 
Copper is a good conductor of electricity and is commonly used 
in electrical wiring, but it is not an ideal material for radio 
transmitter antennas or other radio frequency (RF) 
components.\13\ This is because the electrical properties of 
copper wire create resistance and interference, leading to 
weaker communication signals the further the transmission 
goes.\14\ Copper is also prone to oxidation and corrosion over 
time, which can degrade its performance as an RF conductor. 
This can lead to signal loss and reduced range for radio 
transmissions. The cost of copper is rising due to increased 
demand. It is also becoming more expensive to fix and 
replace.\15\ Lastly, copper cables are more susceptible to 
attenuation\16\ due to several factors, such as impurities in 
the copper, physical use, long term exposure to water, 
temperature, or other nearby signals.\17\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \13\Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, 
``Chapter 2. Fundamentals of Telecommunications'' (https://
ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/telecomm_handbook/chapter2_
01.htm).
    \14\Ibid.
    \15\Ibid.
    \16\Eland Cables, ``What is Attenuation in an Electrical System?'' 
(https://www.elandcables.com/the-cable-lab/faqs/faq-what-is-
attenuation-in-an-electrical-system#::text
=As%20the%20signal%20travels%20through,lengths%20and%20higher%20frequenc
y%20signals).
    \17\Horace Pops, ``The Metallurgy of Copper Wire,'' Copper 
Development Association Inc. (https://www.copper.org/publications/
newsletters/innovations/1997/12/wiremetallurgy.html).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                         SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS

    If enacted, S. 1416 would do the following:
   Direct NOAA to update, expand, and improve the 
        reliability of NWR.
   Establish requirements for upgrading and modernizing 
        NWR, including transitioning current infrastructure 
        away from copper transmissions, ensuring consistent 
        maintenance and operations monitoring, and acquiring 
        additional transmitters to expand coverage to rural 
        communities.
   Require the acceleration of software upgrades to 
        NWS's Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System, 
        and enhance the accessibility of data and NWR 
        broadcasts.
   Require the development and implementation of 
        alternate back-up capabilities in the event of an 
        outage in the NWS forecast offices and the research and 
        development of an alternative transmitting option for 
        transmitting signals from NWR to transmitters that are 
        remote or do not have internet protocol capability.
   Require the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans 
        and Atmosphere to assess NWR within 1 year of 
        enactment.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    S. 1416, NOAA Weather Radio Modernization Act of 2023, was 
introduced on May 3, 2023, by Senator Cantwell (for herself and 
Senator Cruz) and was referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation of the Senate. On May 10, 2023, the 
Committee met in open Executive Session and, by voice vote, 
ordered S. 1416 reported favorably without amendment.
    H.R. 1482, the House companion to S. 1416, was introduced 
by Representative Stephanie Bice on March 9, 2023, and was 
referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of 
the House of Representatives. On March 29, 2023, that Committee 
voted 36-0 in favor of H.R. 1482.
    In the 117th Congress, H.R. 5324, the NWR Modernization Act 
of 2021, was introduced by Representative Stephanie Bice on 
September 22, 2021, and was referred to the Committee on 
Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives. 
It was passed out of the House on May 11, 2022.

                            ESTIMATED COSTS

    In accordance with paragraph 11(a) of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate and section 403 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee provides the 
following cost estimate, prepared by the Congressional Budget 
Office:

 


    S. 1416 would direct the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration (NOAA) to expand and modernize NOAA Weather 
Radio (NWR), a nationwide radio network that continuously 
broadcasts weather forecasts as well as warnings and post-event 
information for all types of hazards, including earthquakes and 
911 outages. The bill would have NOAA expand NWR coverage to 
rural and underserved areas, national parks, and recreation 
areas. S. 1416 also would direct the agency to modernize the 
NWR by using the Internet, accelerating software upgrades, and 
assessing and enhancing access to the NWR broadcasts.
    For this estimate, CBO assumes that S. 1416 will be enacted 
near the end of fiscal year 2023. In 2023, NOAA allocated $10 
million for NWR activities. Using information from the agency 
and based on historical spending patterns for similar 
activities, CBO estimates that implementing S. 1416 would cost 
$45 million over the 2024-2028 period, assuming appropriation 
of the estimated amounts.
    That amount consists of $15 million to acquire and install 
new transmitters, and $30 million to modernize the system, as 
described above. Those estimated costs incorporate the fact 
that some of those activities are happening under current law.
    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 S. 1416
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                 By fiscal year, millions of dollars--
                                                     -----------------------------------------------------------
                                                       2023    2024    2025    2026    2027    2028    2023-2028
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Expand NWR Coverage:
    Estimated Authorization.........................       0       4       4       4       4       4          20
    Estimated Outlays...............................       0       1       3       3       4       4          15
Modernize NWR Infrastructure:
    Estimated Authorization.........................       0       8       8       8       8       8          40
    Estimated Outlays...............................       0       2       5       7       8       8          30
    Total Changes:
        Estimated Authorization.....................       0      12      12      12      12      12          60
        Estimated Outlays...........................       0       3       8      10      12      12          45
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NWR = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Weather Radio.

    On June 9, 2023, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 
1482, the NWR Modernization Act of 2023, as reported by the 
House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology on May 16, 
2023. The two bills are similar, and CBO's estimates of their 
budgetary effects are the same.
    The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Kelly Durand 
and Aurora Swanson. The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel 
Papenfuss, Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.

                                         Phillip L. Swagel,
                             Director, Congressional Budget Office.

                      REGULATORY IMPACT STATEMENT

    Because S. 1416 does not create any new programs, the 
legislation will have no additional regulatory impact, and will 
result in no additional reporting requirements. The legislation 
will have no further effect on the number or types of 
individuals and businesses regulated, the economic impact of 
such regulation, the personal privacy of affected individuals, 
or the paperwork required from such individuals and businesses.

                   CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

    In compliance with paragraph 4(b) of rule XLIV of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee provides that no 
provisions contained in the bill, as reported, meet the 
definition of congressionally directed spending items under the 
rule.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title
    This section would provide that the bill may be cited as 
the ``NOAA Weather Radio Modernization Act of 2023'' or the 
``NWR Modernization Act of 2023''.
Section 2. Definitions
    This section would define the terms ``NOAA Weather Radio'' 
and ``Under Secretary''.
Section 3. Upgrading existing systems
    This section would create a requirement for the Under 
Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere to upgrade the 
systems of NWR in order to expand coverage and ensure 
reliability. This section also establishes specific 
requirements for upgrading NWR, including maintaining support 
for areas that are not covered or have poor cellular service, 
ensuring consistent maintenance and operations for timely 
repairs, enhancing the ability to amplify non-weather emergency 
messages, and acquiring additional transmitters to expand 
coverage.
Section 4. Modernization initiative
    This section would create a requirement for the Under 
Secretary to modernize NWR. This section also establishes 
specific requirements for modernization, including 
transitioning current infrastructure away from copper 
transmissions, requiring the acceleration of software upgrades 
to NWS's Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System and 
enhancing the accessibility of data and feeds of NWR. This 
section would also require the development and implementation 
of alternate back-up capabilities in the event of an outage in 
the NWS forecast offices and the research and development of an 
alternative transmitting option for transmitting signals from 
NWR to transmitters that are remote or do not have internet 
protocol capability. This section would also require the 
transition of critical application to the Integrated 
Dissemination Program.
    This section would also require the Under Secretary to 
create an assessment of NWR that must be submitted within 1 
year of enactment to Congress. This assessment should provide 
recommendations on the need for continuous and real-time 
broadcasts from NWR, the compatibility of NWR with third-party 
platforms that provide online services, and existing or new 
management systems that promote efficiency. This section also 
requires that the assessment must evaluate NOAA's ability to 
aggregate real-time broadcast feeds at multiple locations, the 
effectiveness of coordination between agencies, the potential 
effects of an electromagnetic pulse or geomagnetic disturbance, 
and any improvements of hazardous weather and water event 
communications.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee states that the 
bill as reported would make no change to existing law.