119-hr2646

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2646 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

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119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 2646

To require the evaluation of certain criteria relating to locations for 
deployment of successor radar systems of the National Weather Service, 
 and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 April 3, 2025

 Mr. Moore of North Carolina (for himself, Ms. Ross, and Mr. Harrigan) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
 Science, Space, and Technology

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

To require the evaluation of certain criteria relating to locations for 
deployment of successor radar systems of the National Weather Service, 
 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 ``Radar Gap Elimination Act''.

SEC. 2. RADAR NEXT PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--The Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and 
Atmosphere, in consultation with the Director of the National Weather 
Service, shall establish a program to be known as the ``Radar Next 
Program'' (in this section referred to as the ``program'').

    (b) Requirements.--In carrying out the program, the Under Secretary 
of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere shall carry out the following:

    (1) Develop performance and coverage requirements for the 
 weather radar network of the United States, including the 
 territories of the United States.

    (2) Collaborate with the weather enterprise (as such term 
 is defined in 

section 2 of the Weather Research and Forecasting 
 Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8501)) to determine potential 
 solutions to update the weather radar network of the United 
 States that meets the requirements developed under paragraph

    (1) .

    (3) Develop a plan in accordance with subsection
            (c) .
            (c) Plan.--

    (1) In general.--The Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans 
 and Atmosphere shall develop a plan to replace the Next 
 Generation Weather Radar of the National Weather Service system 
 in existence as of the date of the enactment of this Act (in 
 this subsection referred to as the ``NEXRAD system'').

    (2) Elements.--The plan developed under this subsection 
 shall seek to continue and improve weather radar coverage in 
 the United States and its territories, and include the 
 following:
        (A) Estimates of quantifiable improvements in 
 performance, coverage, and accuracy to be made from 
 potential options for replacement of the NEXRAD system.
        (B) Development of a proof-of-concept phased array 
 radar to test and determine the specifications and 
 requirements for such replacement.
            (C) Expected actions needed to implement the 
 recommendations of the report published by the 
 Environmental Information Services Working Group of the 
 Science Advisory Board of the National Oceanic and 
 Atmospheric Administration in November 2023 and 
 entitled ``A NESDIS Observing System Backbone 
 Framework'' to assist in defining a radar backbone 
 architecture that will best serve the United States.
            (D) Establishment of a weather surveillance radar 
 testbed for the following:
            (i) Evaluation of commercial radars with 
 the potential to replace or supplement the 
 NEXRAD system.
            (ii) Providing technical assistance for the 
 use of small, gap-filling radars with private 
 and local partners in regions where 
 geographical topography prevents the full use 
 of large systems or in locations where such 
 systems may not be commercially viable.
        (E) Consultation and input solicited from academia, 
 meteorologists, emergency managers, and public safety 
 or utility officials regarding the specifications and 
 requirements for replacement of the NEXRAD system.
        (F) Prioritized locations for initial deployment of 
 the system that will replace the NEXRAD system.
        (G) Expected locations of the system that will 
 replace the NEXRAD system, including sites located more 
 than 75 miles away from an existing NEXRAD system 
 station and additional appropriate locations.
        (H) Expected or planned improvements to data 
 available for weather and water-related forecasts and 
 warnings from the system that will replace the NEXRAD 
 system.

    (3) Procurement deadline.--The Under Secretary of Commerce 
 for Oceans and Atmosphere shall take such actions as may be 
 necessary to ensure the plan developed under this subsection is 
 fully implemented and executed by not later than September 30, 
 2040.
            (d) Radar-as-a-Service.--

    (1) In general.--The Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans 
 and Atmosphere may partner or contract with entities outside of 
 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to fill 
 data gaps in weather radar coverage using diverse weather 
 radars and data assimilation technologies in order to 
 accomplish the following:
        (A) Supplement data gaps in weather radar coverage, 
 including at low levels and wide areas, in existence as 
 of the date of the enactment of this Act.
        (B) Ensure the continued performance of the United 
 States' weather radar network.
            (C) Better detect significant precipitation and 
 severe weather over a greater area across a population.

    (2) Considerations.--In carrying out paragraph

    (1) , the 
 Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere may 
 consider the following:
        (A) Partnering or contracting with entities that 
 have participated in the testbed described in 
 subsection
            (c) (2)
            (D) , the National Mesonet Program, or 
 Cooperative Research and Development Agreements.
        (B) Weather camera systems and services, including 
 in consultation with the Federal Aviation 
 Administration, as viable technologies to supplement 
 weather forecasting and prediction needs.

    (e) Updates to Congress.--The Under Secretary of Commerce for 
Oceans and Atmosphere 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.
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