[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1284 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1284
To improve forecasting and understanding of tornadoes and other
hazardous weather, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 25, 2023
Mr. Wicker (for himself, Mr. Cruz, Mr. Thune, Mr. Grassley, Mrs. Hyde-
Smith, Mr. Young, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Boozman, and Mr. Peters)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To improve forecasting and understanding of tornadoes and other
hazardous weather, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Tornado Observations Research and
Notification Assessment for Development of Operations Act'' or the
``TORNADO Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Hazardous weather and water events.--The term
``hazardous weather and water events'' means weather and water
events that have a high risk of loss of life or property,
including--
(A) severe storms, such as hurricanes and short-
fused, small-scale hazardous weather or hydrologic
events produced by thunderstorms, including large hail,
damaging winds, tornadoes, and flash floods;
(B) winter storms, such as freezing or frozen
precipitation (including freezing rain, sleet, and
snow), or combined effects of freezing or frozen
precipitation and strong winds; and
(C) other weather hazards, such as extreme heat or
cold, wildfire, drought, dense fog, high winds, river
flooding and lakeshore flooding.
(2) Historically black college or university.--The term
``historically Black college or university'' has the meaning
given the term ``part B institution'' in section 322 of the
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1061).
(3) Institution of higher education.--The term
``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given the
term in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1001(a)).
(4) National laboratory.--The term ``National Laboratory''
has the meaning given the term in section 2 of the Energy
Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15801).
(5) Tribal government.--The term ``Tribal government''
means the recognized governing body of any Indian or Alaska
Native tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, community,
component band, or component reservation, individually
identified (including parenthetically) in the list published
most recently as of the date of enactment of this Act pursuant
to section 104 of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List
Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5131).
(6) Under secretary.--The term ``Under Secretary'' means
the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere.
SEC. 3. HAZARDOUS WEATHER AND WATER EVENT RISK COMMUNICATION.
(a) In General.--The Under Secretary shall maintain and improve the
system of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration by which
the risks of hazardous weather and water events are communicated to the
general public, with the goal of informing action and encouraging
response to prevent loss of life and property.
(b) Hazard Risk Communication Improvement and Simplification.--
(1) In general.--The Under Secretary shall maintain a
hazard risk communication office (in this subsection referred
to as the ``Office''), for the purposes of simplifying and
improving the communication of hazardous weather and water
event risks.
(2) Terminology.--The Office shall identify, eliminate, or
modify unnecessary, redundant, or confusing terms for hazardous
weather and water event communications and add new terminology,
as appropriate.
(3) Communications improvement.--The Office shall improve
the form, content, and methods of hazardous weather and water
event communications to more clearly inform action and increase
the likelihood that the public takes such action to prevent the
loss of life or property.
(4) Evaluations.--The Office shall, in coordination with
the performance branch of the National Weather Service, develop
metrics for that branch to track and evaluate the degree to
which hazardous weather and water event communications result
in action and response.
(5) Support plan.--The Office shall develop a plan for the
purpose of supporting the activities described in paragraph
(3). The plan shall be periodically updated and informed by
internal and extramural research and the results of the
evaluation of hazardous weather and water event communications
conducted under paragraph (4).
(6) Methods.--In carrying out this subsection, the Office
shall develop and implement recommendations that--
(A) are based on the best and most recent
understanding from social, behavioral, risk, and
communication science research;
(B) are validated by social, behavioral, risk, and
communication science, taking into account the
importance of methods that support reproduction and
replication of scientific studies, use of rigorous
statistical analyses, and, as applicable, data analysis
supported by artificial intelligence and machine
learning technologies;
(C) account for the needs of various demographics,
vulnerable populations, and geographic regions;
(D) account for the differences between various
types of weather and water hazards;
(E) respond to the needs of Federal, State, and
local government partners and media partners; and
(F) account for necessary changes in the
infrastructure, technology, and protocols for creating
and disseminating federally operated watches and
warnings.
(7) Coordination.--In implementing this Act, the Office
shall coordinate with--
(A) Federal partners, including National
Laboratories, Cooperative Institutes, and regional
integrated sciences and assessments programs;
(B) State and local government partners;
(C) Tribal governments;
(D) institutions of higher education; and
(E) media partners.
(8) Timeliness and consistency.--The Office shall develop
best practices and guidance for ensuring timely and consistent
communication across public facing platforms that disseminate
hazardous weather and water event information.
(c) Hazard Communication Research and Engagement.--
(1) In general.--The Under Secretary shall establish or
maintain a research program--
(A) to modernize the creation and communication of
risk-based, statistically reliable, probabilistic
hazard information to inform effective actions and
responses to hazardous weather and water events; and
(B) to improve the fundamental social, behavioral,
risk, and communication science regarding hazardous
weather and water event communication.
(2) Coordination.--In carrying out the research program
required by paragraph (1), the Under Secretary shall coordinate
and communicate with States, Tribal governments, localities,
and emergency managers on research priorities and results.
(3) Pilot program for tornado hazard communication
required.--
(A) In general.--To further research into hazard
communication, the Under Secretary, in collaboration
with one or more eligible institutions, shall establish
a pilot program for tornado hazard communication to
test the effectiveness of implementing the research
conducted under this subsection with respect to
tornadoes.
(B) Eligible institution defined.--In this
paragraph, the term ``eligible institution'' means any
of the following:
(i) A historically Black college or
university located in an area of persistent
poverty that is subjected to frequent severe
weather, such as tornadoes, hurricanes, and
floods.
(ii) An institution of higher education in
close proximity to a National Weather Service
Weather Forecast Office of the National Weather
Service.
(d) Data Management.--The Under Secretary shall establish,
maintain, and improve a central repository system for the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for social, behavioral, risk,
and economic data related to the communication of hazardous weather and
water events, including data developed or received pursuant to
paragraphs (3), (4), and (5) of subsection (b).
(e) Digital Watermarking.--The Under Secretary shall develop
methods to reduce the likelihood of unauthorized tampering with online
hazardous weather and water event risk communication, such as
developing digital watermarks.
SEC. 4. WARN-ON-FORECAST STRATEGIC PLAN.
(a) In General.--Not later than one year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary shall prepare and submit to
Congress a strategic plan for developing and prioritizing the
implementation of high-resolution probabilistic forecast guidance for
hazardous weather and water events using a next-generation weather
forecast and warning framework.
(b) Plan Elements.--The strategic plan required by subsection (a)
shall include the following:
(1) A discussion of--
(A) the priorities and needs of vulnerable
populations and National Weather Service partners; and
(B) high-performance computing, visualization, and
dissemination needs.
(2) A timeline and guidance for implementation of--
(A) high-resolution numerical weather prediction
models;
(B) methods for meeting the high-performance
computing, visualization, and dissemination needs
discussed under paragraph (1)(B);
(C) real-time high-resolution probabilistic
forecasts;
(D) improved observations, including through
radars, satellites, and uncrewed aerial systems;
(E) a flexible framework to communicate clear and
simple hazardous weather and water event information to
the public; and
(F) social, behavioral, risk, and communication
research to improve the forecaster operational
environment and societal information reception and
response.
SEC. 5. TORNADO RATING SYSTEM.
(a) In General.--The Under Secretary shall, in collaboration with
such stakeholders as the Under Secretary considers appropriate--
(1) evaluate the system used as of the date of the
enactment of this Act to rate the severity of tornadoes; and
(2) determine whether updates to that system are required
to ensure that the ratings accurately reflect the severity of
tornadoes.
(b) Update Required.--If the Under Secretary determines under
subsection (a) that updates to the tornado rating system are necessary,
the Under Secretary shall update the system.
SEC. 6. POST-STORM SURVEYS AND ASSESSMENTS.
(a) In General.--The Under Secretary shall perform one or more
post-storm surveys and assessments following each hazardous weather or
water event determined by the Under Secretary to be of sufficient
societal importance to warrant a post-event survey and assessment.
(b) Coordination.--The Under Secretary shall coordinate with
Federal, State, and local governments, Tribal governments, private
entities, and relevant institutions of higher education when conducting
post-storm surveys and assessments under subsection (a) in order to
optimize data collection, sharing, and integration.
(c) Data Availability.--The Under Secretary shall make the data
obtained from each post-storm survey and assessment conducted under
subsection (a) available to the public as soon as practicable after
conducting the survey and assessment.
(d) Improvement.--The Under Secretary shall--
(1) investigate the role of uncrewed aerial systems in data
collection during post-storm surveys and assessments conducted
under subsection (a);
(2) identify gaps in and update tactics and procedures to
enhance the efficiency and reliability of data obtained from
post-storm surveys and assessments; and
(3) increase the number of post-storm community impact
studies, including--
(A) surveying individual responses;
(B) conducting review of the accuracy of prior risk
evaluations;
(C) evaluating the efficacy of prior mitigation
activity; and
(D) gathering survivability statistics.
(e) Support for Employees.--The Under Secretary shall provide
training, resources, and access to professional counseling to support
the emotional and mental health and well-being of employees conducting
post-storm surveys and assessments under subsection (a).
SEC. 7. VORTEX-USA PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--Section 103 of the Weather Research and
Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8513) is amended--
(1) in the section heading, by striking ``tornado warning
improvement and extension'' and inserting ``vortex-usa'';
(2) in subsection (a), by striking ``establish a tornado
warning improvement and extension program'' and inserting
``maintain a program for rapidly improving tornado forecast and
warnings'';
(3) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as subsections
(f) and (g), respectively;
(4) by inserting after subsection (c) the following:
``(d) Warnings.--The program required by subsection (a) shall--
``(1) continue the research necessary to develop and deploy
probabilistic weather forecast guidance technology for
tornadoes; and
``(2) incorporate, as appropriate, hazard communication
research.
``(e) Research.--
``(1) In general.--The Under Secretary shall, through the
program required by subsection (a), award grants for research
that focuses on improving--
``(A) the social, behavioral, risk, communication,
and economic sciences related to vulnerabilities, risk
communication, and delivery of information critical for
saving lives and property related to tornadoes; and
``(B) the physical sciences, engineering, and
technology related to tornado formation, the
interactions of tornadoes with the built and natural
environment, and the interaction of tornadoes and
hurricanes.
``(2) Priority institutions.--
``(A) In general.--In awarding grants under
paragraph (1), the Under Secretary shall prioritize
awarding grants to minority-serving institutions.
``(B) Definition of minority-serving institution.--
In this paragraph, the term `minority-serving
institution' means--
``(i) a part B institution (as defined in
section 322 of the Higher Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 1061));
``(ii) a Hispanic-serving institution (as
defined in section 502(a) of that Act (20
U.S.C. 1101a(a)));
``(iii) a Tribal College or University (as
defined in section 316(b) of that Act (20
U.S.C. 1059c(b)));
``(iv) an Alaska Native-serving institution
(as defined in section 317(b) of that Act (20
U.S.C. 1059d(b)));
``(v) a Native Hawaiian-serving institution
(as defined in section 317(b) of that Act (20
U.S.C. 1059d(b)));
``(vi) a Predominantly Black Institution
(as defined in section 318(b) of that Act (20
U.S.C. 1059e(b)));
``(vii) an Asian American and Native
American Pacific Islander-serving institution
(as defined in section 320(b) of that Act (20
U.S.C. 1059g(b))); or
``(viii) a Native American-serving,
nontribal institution (as defined in section
319(b) of that Act (20 U.S.C. 1059f(b))).'';
and
(5) by adding at the end the following:
``(h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to the Under Secretary to carry out this section
$11,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2030, of which not
less than $2,000,000 each fiscal year shall be used for grants awarded
under subsection (e).''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in section 1(b) of
the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (Public Law
115-25; 131 Stat. 91) is amended by striking the item relating to
section 103 and inserting the following:
``Sec. 103. VORTEX-USA program.''.
SEC. 8. REPORTS.
(a) Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017.--
(1) In general.--Section 403 of the Weather Research and
Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8543) is amended
by striking subsection (d).
(2) Technical amendment.--Section 403(a) of such Act (15
U.S.C. 8543(a)) is amended by inserting ``the'' after
``Director of''.
(b) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Authorization
Act of 1992.--Section 106 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration Authorization Act of 1992 (Public Law 102-567; 106 Stat.
4274) is amended by striking subsection (c) (15 U.S.C. 1537).
SEC. 9. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE REPORT ON HAZARDOUS WEATHER
AND WATER ALERT DISSEMINATION.
(a) In General.--Not later than 540 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States
shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
of the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of
the House of Representatives a report that examines the information
technology infrastructure of the National Weather Service of the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, specifically regarding
the system for timely public notification of hazardous weather and
water event alerts and updates.
(b) Elements.--The report required by subsection (a) shall include
the following:
(1) An analysis of the information technology
infrastructure of the National Weather Service, including
software and hardware capabilities and limitations, including
an examination of server and data storage methods, broadband,
data management, and data sharing.
(2) An identification of secondary and tertiary fail-safes
for the timely distribution of hazardous weather and water
event alerts to the public.
(3) A determination of the extent to which public
notifications are delayed and an identification of corrective
measures that do not add additional notification time.
(4) An assessment of whether collaboration with other
Federal offices, States, or private entities could reduce
delays in notifications to the public.
(5) A description of actions being undertaken to better
identify critical steps in the hazards notification process
that may be vulnerable to disruption or failure in the event of
communication, technologic, or computational failure.
<all>