[House Report 118-60]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
118th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session } { 118-60
======================================================================
NOAA WEATHER RADIO MODERNIZATION ACT OF 2023
_______
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. 1482]
The Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, to whom
was referred the bill (H.R. 1482) 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.
CONTENTS
Page
Purpose and Summary.............................................. 1
Background and Need for Legislation.............................. 2
Legislative History.............................................. 2
Committee Views.................................................. 3
Section-by-Section............................................... 3
Committee Consideration.......................................... 3
Roll Call Votes.................................................. 4
Application of Law to the Legislative Branch..................... 6
Statement of Oversight Findings and Recommendations of the
Committee...................................................... 6
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives............ 6
Duplication of Federal Programs.................................. 6
Federal Advisory Committee Act................................... 6
Unfunded Mandate Statement....................................... 6
Earmark Identification........................................... 6
Committee Cost Estimate.......................................... 6
New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and Tax Expenditures 7
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................ 7
PURPOSE AND SUMMARY
H.R. 1482 expands the coverage and increases reliability of
the NOAA Weather Radio (NWR) by upgrading technologies and
increasing the number of transmitters leading to modernization
of the NOAA Weather Radio for the 21st Century.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA)'s National Weather Service (NWS) provides weather,
water, and emergency forecasts, warnings, and impact-based
decision support services for the protection of life and
property. Forecasters at Weather Forecasts Offices utilize the
Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System to create and
distribute NWS weather warnings. When NWS disseminates
warnings, they are sent out among several outlets and
services--the Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) and NWR being two
of the most effective and efficient methods.
Wireless Emergency Alerts are originated via the National
Weather Service Telecommunication Gateway and then sent to the
Integrated Public Alert & Warning System (IPAWS). Once the
alert reaches the IPAWS, the alerts are then ``pushed out'' to
commercial wireless carriers who broadcast the alert from cell
towers in the threat area, straight to individuals' cellular
devices. However, there is not complete commercial coverage
from cellular towers and not every individual possesses a
cellular device.
NWR provides coverage for the majority of the nation
including the portions not covered by WEA. NWR consists of a
nationwide network of over 1000 radio stations covering all 50
states, adjacent coastal waters, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin
Islands, and U.S. Pacific Territories. NWR provides NWS
official warnings, watches, forecasts, and other hazard
information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week making it the
comprehensive source for weather and emergency information to
over 95% of the population. NWR provides services where
cellular coverage is limited, when cellular broadcast towers
are out of commission, and when internet is unavailable.
However, due to NWR transmitter sustainability there is a need
for improving and modernizing NWR.
Operations and maintenance as well as tower transmitter
leases are increasingly expensive as transmitters age.
Furthermore, as populations shift it becomes difficult to
ensure sufficient transmitters in the correct locations in
addition to shifting consistent maintenance and timely repairs
to those transmitters. There is also the need to transition
from obsolete copper technology to Internet Protocol (IP)--or
wireless based technologies. Transitioning to a modernized NWR
will allow for greater precision with warnings and alerts.
Implementing partial county alerting rather than broad warnings
will reduce over-warning of areas which can lead to warned
individuals becoming complacent. Finally, modernizing NWR will
provide the ability to enhance non-weather emergency messages
via NWR at the request of authorized officials.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
In the 117th Congress, Representative Stephanie Bice, then-
Ranking Member, and Representative Mikie Sherrill, then-
Chairwoman, of the Environment Subcommittee of the House
Science, Space, and Technology Committee introduced H.R. 5324,
the NWR Modernization Act of 2021 on September 22, 2021. It
passed by a vote of 397 yeas to 20 nays on the House floor on
May 11, 2022.
H.R. 1482 was introduced on March 9, 2023, by
Representative Bice (R-OK) with Representatives Sherrill (D-
NJ), Miller (R-OH), Bonamici (D-OR), Kilmer (D-WA), Jackson (D-
NC), and Lee (D-PA).
COMMITTEE VIEWS
The Committee notes the critical importance of NWR to the
protection of life and property of individuals in the United
States and its Territories during extreme weather events. NWR
has provided continuous warnings, watches, forecasts, and
additional hazard information for decades and is an essential
resource for the public, especially Americans who are often
unable to access advanced products via internet communication
or cellular devices. Modernization efforts authorized in this
bill will help bring NWR into the 21st century and support
continued, reliable broadcasts of weather and non-weather
hazards to Americans across the United States and its
territories.
SECTION-BY-SECTION
Section 1. Short title
The short title of this legislation is ``NWR Modernization
Act of 2023.''
Section 2. Definitions
This section defines Administrator and NOAA Weather Radio.
Section 3. Findings
This section makes five findings on the importance of the
NWR and efforts to modernize it's broadcast to reach the entire
population of the United States.
Section 4. Upgrading existing systems
This section directs the NOAA Administrator to expand
coverage of the existing NWR and ensure its reliability through
system support, maintenance, and acquisition of additional
transmitters to reach rural and underserved communities.
Section 5. Modernization initiative
This section directs the NOAA Administrator to undertake
activities in parallel to those in Section 4 to modernized NWR
capabilities and ensure coverage remains valuable to the
public, including upgrading the telecommunications
infrastructure, accelerating software upgrades, ensuring
accessibility of the data to stakeholders, developing backup
capabilities, and more. Additionally, the Administrator is
required to conduct an assessment that would provide
recommendations on improving access to NWR, with input from
relevant stakeholders, and those recommendations prioritized in
carrying out activities to maximize accessibility.
COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION
On March 29, 2023, the Committee met in open session and
ordered reported favorably the bill, H.R. 1482, 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. 1482 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
Pursuant to clause (3)(c)(4) of rule XIII, the goal of H.R.
1482 is to modernize NOAA Weather Radio by increasing the
number of transmitters and upgrading related technologies in
order to expand coverage and increase system reliability.
Modernization of the NOAA Weather Radio system is integral to
ensure continued, reliable broadcasts of weather and non-
weather hazards to Americans across the United States and its
territories.
DUPLICATION OF FEDERAL PROGRAMS
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(5) of rule XIII, the Committee
finds that no provision of H.R. 1482 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. 1482 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. At the time this report was
filed, the estimate was not available.
NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY, ENTITLEMENT AUTHORITY, AND TAX EXPENDITURES
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII, the Committee
finds that H.R. 1482 would result in no new or increased budget
authority, entitlement authority, or tax expenditures or
revenues.
CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII, at the time this
report was filed, the cost estimate prepared by the Director of
the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974 was not available.
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