119-hr1115

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1115 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

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119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 1115

To develop the next generation of weather radar, authorize supplemental 
 gap radar coverage, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 February 7, 2025

Mr. Crawford (for himself and Mr. Moran) introduced the following bill; 
 which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

To develop the next generation of weather radar, authorize supplemental 
 gap radar coverage, 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 ``Weather Radar Coverage Improvement 
Act''

SEC. 2. NEXT GENERATION PHASED ARRAY RADAR.

    (a) In General.--The Under Secretary, in consultation with the 
Director of the National Weather Service, shall develop a plan to 
replace the Next Generation Weather Radar of the National Weather 
Service (``NEXRAD'') system in existence as of the date of the 
enactment of this section.

    (b) Procurement Deadline.--The Under Secretary shall take such 
actions as may be necessary to ensure the replacement described in 
subsection

    (a) is completed by not later than September 30, 2040.
            (c) Elements.--The plan developed pursuant to subsection

    (a) shall 
include the following:

    (1) Estimates of quantifiable improvements in coverage and 
 accuracy to be made from replacement of the NEXRAD system 
 referred to in such subsection.

    (2) Development of a prototype digital phased array radar 
 to test and determine the specifications and requirements for 
 such replacement.

    (3) Establishment of a weather surveillance phased array 
 radar testbed for the following:
        (A) Evaluation of commercial radars with the 
 potential to replace or supplement the NEXRAD system.
        (B) Providing technical assistance for the use of 
 small, gap filling radars in regions where geographical 
 topography prevents full utilization of larger systems.

    (4) Consultation and input solicited from meteorologists, 
 emergency managers, and public safety officials regarding the 
 specifications and requirements for replacement of the NEXRAD 
 system referred in such subsection.
            (d) Radar-as-a-Service.--

    (1) In general.--In order to supplement gaps in radar 
 coverage in existence as of the date of the enactment of this 
 section and ensure the continued performance of weather radar 
 capabilities, the Director of the National Weather Service may 
 utilize and contract with third party entities to fill such 
 radar gaps using diverse weather radars and data assimilation 
 technologies to better detect significant precipitation and 
 severe weather over a greater area across the population.

    (2) Priority.--In carrying out the activities under 
 paragraph

    (1) , the Director of the National Weather Service 
 shall prioritize utilizing and contracting with third party 
 entities that have participated in the testbed established in 
 accordance with subsection
            (c) (3) .

    (3) Weather camera systems.--In carrying out the activities 
 under paragraph

    (1) , the Director of the National Weather 
 Service may consider weather camera systems and services as 
 viable technologies to supplement gaps in radar coverage.

    (e) Updates to Congress.--The Under Secretary shall provide to the 
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation of the Senate periodic updates on the implementation of 
this section.

    (f) 

=== Definition. ===
-In this section, the term ``Under Secretary'' has 
the meaning given such term in 

section 2 of the Weather Research and 
Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8501).
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