119-s1378

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1378 Reported in Senate

    (RS) ]

<DOC>

 Calendar No. 199
119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 S. 1378

 [Report No. 119-88]

 To enhance the use by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration of artificial intelligence for weather forecasting, and 
 for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 April 9, 2025

 Mr. Schatz (for himself, Mr. Sheehy, Mr. Lujan, and Mr. Welch) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

 October 21, 2025

 Reported by Mr. Cruz, with an amendment
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
 in italic]

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To enhance the use by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration of artificial intelligence for weather forecasting, and 
 for other purposes.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

<DELETED>

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>

<DELETED> This Act may be cited as the ``Transformational Artificial 
intelligence to Modernize the Economy against Extreme Weather and 
Wildfires Act'' or the ``TAME Extreme Weather and Wildfires 
Act''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>

SEC. 2. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FOR WEATHER 
 FORECASTING.</DELETED>

<DELETED>

    (a) 

=== Definitions. ===
-In this section:</DELETED>
 <DELETED>

    (1) Artificial intelligence.--The term 
 ``artificial intelligence''--</DELETED>
 <DELETED>
        (A) has the meaning given that term in 
 

section 5002 of the National Artificial Intelligence 
 Initiative Act of 2020 (15 U.S.C. 9401); and</DELETED>
 <DELETED>
        (B) includes machine learning, neural 
 networks, and natural language processing.</DELETED>
 <DELETED>

    (2) Artificial intelligence weather model.--The 
 term ``artificial intelligence weather model'' means a weather 
 model based primarily on artificial intelligence technology to 
 project future Earth system conditions based on machine 
 learning using weather forecasting training datasets.</DELETED>
 <DELETED>

    (3) Curate.--The term ``curate'', with respect to 
 a dataset, means--</DELETED>
 <DELETED>
        (A) to collect and maintain the dataset--
 </DELETED>
 <DELETED>
            (i) to ensure and document its 
 quality; and</DELETED>
 <DELETED>
            (ii) to provide metadata on its 
 provenance; and</DELETED>
 <DELETED>
        (B) to update the dataset periodically, as 
 appropriate and practicable.</DELETED>
 <DELETED>

    (4) Numerical weather model.--The term ``numerical 
 weather model'' means a weather model based primarily on 
 coupled Earth System processes that uses numerical computation 
 to forecast future Earth system conditions.</DELETED>
 <DELETED>

    (5) Observational data.--The term ``observational 
 data'' means data and metadata from actual observations of 
 environmental conditions, including remote sensing and in situ 
 platforms.</DELETED>
 <DELETED>

    (6) Seasonal, subseasonal, under secretary, 
 weather enterprise.--the terms ``seasonal'', ``subseasonal'', 
 ``Under Secretary'', and ``weather enterprise'' have the 
 meanings given those terms in 

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

    (7) Synthetic data.--The term ``synthetic data'' 
 means data produced from a model or statistical method in order 
 to fill gaps in observational data.</DELETED>
 <DELETED>

    (8) Weather data.--The term ``weather data'' means 
 information used to track and predict weather conditions and 
 patterns, including forecasts, observations, and derivative 
 products from such information.</DELETED>
<DELETED>

    (b) 

=== Purpose ===
-The purpose of this section is--</DELETED>
 <DELETED>

    (1) to improve accuracy and timeliness of weather, 
 water, and space weather forecasts and effective dissemination 
 of critical information;</DELETED>
 <DELETED>

    (2) to strengthen analytic capacity to inform 
 resource deployments in response to and to mitigate harm from 
 weather, water, wildfires, and space weather hazards through 
 the mandated exploration and use of artificial intelligence by 
 Federal agencies;</DELETED>
 <DELETED>

    (3) to strengthen public-private partnerships to 
 accelerate adoption and outcomes of the use of artificial 
 intelligence in response to and to mitigate such harm; 
 and</DELETED>
 <DELETED>

    (4) to strengthen public-private partnerships in 
 highly technical, high-risk, and high-reward fields related to 
 weather, water, wildfires, and space weather 
 forecasts.</DELETED>
<DELETED>
            (c) Earth System Forecasting and Information Delivery.--
</DELETED>
 <DELETED>

    (1) Training datasets.--Not later than 4 years 
 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Under 
 Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Energy, the 
 Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space 
 Administration, the Director of the National Science 
 Foundation, the Director of the National Center for Atmospheric 
 Research, the Interagency Council on Advancing Meteorological 
 Services, other appropriate Federal advisory committees as 
 determined by the Under Secretary, and such other technical 
 experts as the Under Secretary considers appropriate, shall 
 develop and curate comprehensive weather forecasting training 
 datasets with relevant Earth system data, quality information, 
 and metadata necessary for weather forecasting.</DELETED>
 <DELETED>

    (2) Use of existing datasets.--In order to speed 
 the development of the weather forecasting training datasets 
 required under paragraph

    (1) , the Under Secretary shall assess, 
 and to the greatest extent practicable build on, existing Earth 
 system reanalysis datasets of the Federal Government.</DELETED>
 <DELETED>

    (3) Artificial intelligence weather model.--
 </DELETED>
 <DELETED>
        (A) Global model.--In carrying out this 
 subsection, the Under Secretary, in consultation with 
 appropriate Federal advisory committees as determined 
 by the Under Secretary, may develop and test a global 
 weather model based on artificial intelligence 
 technologies utilizing data of the National Oceanic and 
 Atmospheric Administration to the extent 
 possible.</DELETED>
 <DELETED>
        (B) Regional and local models.--In 
 addition to a global weather model under subparagraph
        (A) , the Under Secretary may experiment with regional 
 and local weather models based on artificial 
 intelligence technologies.</DELETED>
 <DELETED>

    (4) Use of artificial intelligence to disseminate 
 information.--In coordination with an artificial intelligence 
 weather model or models developed under paragraph

    (3) , the 
 Under Secretary may explore the use of artificial intelligence 
 to enhance the dissemination of information with respect to 
 weather and wildfire risks and evaluate the effectiveness of 
 communication for improved public understanding and 
 preparedness.</DELETED>
 <DELETED>

    (5) Continued support for observations, basic 
 research, and numerical weather models.--Notwithstanding the 
 requirements of this subsection, the Under Secretary shall 
 continue to support and advance the activities of the National 
 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration--</DELETED>
 <DELETED>
        (A) to collect and acquire traditional and 
 novel observational data relevant for artificial 
 intelligence and numerical weather, water, and space 
 weather forecasting;</DELETED>
 <DELETED>
        (B) to advance research on the Earth 
 system and numerical weather model 
 forecasting;</DELETED>
 <DELETED>
            (C) to develop and advance numerical Earth 
 system modeling for predictions;</DELETED>
 <DELETED>
            (D) to develop weather model data post-
 processing techniques; and</DELETED>
 <DELETED>
        (E) to improve data assimilation 
 techniques.</DELETED>
 <DELETED>

    (6) Observing system coverage.--In carrying out 
 this subsection, the Under Secretary may evaluate the use of 
 cost functions in data-driven machine learning model training 
 to balance inequities in observing system coverage and data 
 poor areas.</DELETED>
 <DELETED>

    (7) Uncertainty quantification research.--In 
 carrying out this subsection, the Under Secretary may develop 
 uncertainty quantification research for the purpose of accurate 
 environmental risk and hazard communications of probabilistic 
 predictions and forecasts.</DELETED>
 <DELETED>

    (8) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date 
 of the enactment of this Act, and not less frequently than 
 every 2 years thereafter through 2035, the Under Secretary 
 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 
 on the activities conducted under this subsection.</DELETED>
<DELETED>
            (d) Advanced Artificial Intelligence Applications for 
Weather Forecasts and Information Delivery.--The Under Secretary shall 
explore advanced applications of artificial intelligence to improve 
weather forecasts and information delivery, such as by--</DELETED>
 <DELETED>

    (1) improving data assimilation;</DELETED>
 <DELETED>

    (2) accounting for coupled Earth system 
 processes;</DELETED>
 <DELETED>

    (3) improving readiness and preparedness to combat 
 wildfires, mitigation of the risk from wildfires, and improving 
 safety for firefighters and communities at risk from 
 wildfires;</DELETED>
 <DELETED>

    (4) using artificial intelligence weather models 
 to generate ensemble forecasts to more accurately assess flow-
 dependent forecast uncertainties; and</DELETED>
 <DELETED>

    (5) improving impact-based decision support to 
 diverse users and communities for greater societal benefits 
 based on those forecasts.</DELETED>
<DELETED>

    (e) Technical Assistance on Use of Artificial Intelligence 
Weather, Water, and Space Weather Models.--</DELETED>
 <DELETED>

    (1) In general.--The Under Secretary shall 
 provide--</DELETED>
 <DELETED>
        (A) technical assistance, data access, and 
 support for forecasters, scientists, social scientists, 
 and engineers to test and evaluate the use and 
 effectiveness of the artificial intelligence models of 
 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 
 including within the testbeds of the 
 Administration;</DELETED>
 <DELETED>
        (B) best practices on providing forecasts 
 based on outputs from artificial intelligence weather 
 models and numerical weather models, or a combination 
 thereof; and</DELETED>
 <DELETED>
            (C) support for emergency managers to make 
 operational decisions based on outputs from artificial 
 intelligence weather models and numerical weather 
 models, or a combination thereof.</DELETED>
 <DELETED>

    (2) Assessment of weather models.--</DELETED>
 <DELETED>
        (A) In general.--The Under Secretary shall 
 support the development of a common framework for the 
 assessment of numerical weather models and artificial 
 intelligence weather models by comparing model output 
 and observational data over a period of time in the 
 past through the use of such methodologies as the Under 
 Secretary considers appropriate.</DELETED>
 <DELETED>
        (B) Best practices.--In carrying out this 
 paragraph, the Under Secretary may develop and 
 disseminate best practices in collaboration with--
 </DELETED>
 <DELETED>
            (i) the National Institute of 
 Standards and Technology, the National 
 Aeronautics and Space Administration, the 
 National Science Foundation, and the Department 
 of Energy;</DELETED>
 <DELETED>
            (ii) academic and research 
 institutions; and</DELETED>
 <DELETED>
            (iii) the private 
 sector.</DELETED>
 <DELETED>

    (3) Technical assistance.--In carrying out this 
 subsection, the Under Secretary may provide technical 
 assistance, best practices, and support required under 
 paragraph

    (1) through the National Weather Service.</DELETED>
 <DELETED>

    (4) Independent study on the impacts of artificial 
 intelligence weather, water, and space weather models.--The 
 Under Secretary may enter into an agreement with the National 
 Academy of Sciences or another entity as determined appropriate 
 by the Under Secretary to assess the impacts of artificial 
 intelligence weather models on the weather enterprise and make 
 recommendations to improve the integration of such models in 
 operational forecasting.</DELETED>
<DELETED>

    (f) Partnerships for Transformational Innovation.--
</DELETED>
 <DELETED>

    (1) In general.--The Under Secretary may explore 
 novel structures for partnerships with private, academic, and 
 international entities for research and development of 
 transformative innovation in weather forecasting and other 
 environmental forecasts--</DELETED>
 <DELETED>
        (A) to further the understanding of 
 weather, water, wildfires, and space weather, and their 
 societal impact;</DELETED>
 <DELETED>
        (B) to advance the science of weather and 
 water forecasting, including seasonal and subseasonal 
 forecasting; and</DELETED>
 <DELETED>
            (C) to develop, evaluate, and transition 
 artificial intelligence weather, water, and hazard 
 forecasting applications to operations.</DELETED>
 <DELETED>

    (2) Co-investment.--Subject to applicable law, the 
 Under Secretary may consider and adopt novel co-investment 
 strategies with the private academic and international sectors 
 to carry out paragraph

    (1) , including--</DELETED>
 <DELETED>
        (A) non-Federal Government contributions 
 to resource and support high-risk, high-return research 
 and development in environmental forecasting, data 
 science, artificial intelligence, and related 
 fields;</DELETED>
 <DELETED>
        (B) shared rights to intellectual property 
 from research and development activities under this 
 subsection; and</DELETED>
 <DELETED>
            (C) other approaches to sharing resources 
 and results under this subsection.</DELETED>
<DELETED>

    (g) Availability of Dataset.--</DELETED>
 <DELETED>

    (1) In general.--The Under Secretary shall develop 
 and implement a plan to make available to the public, at no 
 cost and subject to applicable law and policy, the 
 following:</DELETED>
 <DELETED>
        (A) Operational artificial intelligence 
 weather models developed by the National Oceanic and 
 Atmospheric Administration.</DELETED>
 <DELETED>
        (B) Artificial intelligence weather models 
 that are not operational models, including experimental 
 and developmental models, as the Under Secretary 
 determines appropriate.</DELETED>
 <DELETED>
            (C) Applicable information and 
 documentation for artificial intelligence weather 
 models described in subparagraphs
        (A) and
        (B) , 
 including a description of intended model 
 outputs.</DELETED>
 <DELETED>
            (D) Subject to subsection
            (i) , all data 
 owned by the Federal Government and data that the Under 
 Secretary has the legal right to redistribute that are 
 associated with artificial intelligence weather models 
 made available to the public pursuant to the plan and 
 used in operational forecasting by the Administration, 
 including--</DELETED>
 <DELETED>
            (i) relevant metadata; 
 and</DELETED>
 <DELETED>
            (ii) data used for operational 
 artificial intelligence weather models used by 
 the Administration.</DELETED>
 <DELETED>

    (2) Accommodations.--In developing and 
 implementing the plan under paragraph

    (1) , the Under Secretary 
 may make such accommodations as the Under Secretary considers 
 appropriate to ensure that the public release of any artificial 
 intelligence weather model, information, documentation, or data 
 pursuant to the plan does not jeopardize--</DELETED>
 <DELETED>
        (A) national security;</DELETED>
 <DELETED>
        (B) intellectual property or 
 redistribution rights, including under titles 17 and 
 35, United States Code;</DELETED>
 <DELETED>
            (C) any trade secret or commercial or 
 financial information subject to 

section 552

    (b)

    (4) of 
 title 5, United States Code;</DELETED>
 <DELETED>
            (D) any models or data that are otherwise 
 restricted by contract or other written agreement; 
 or</DELETED>
 <DELETED>
        (E) the mission of the Administration to 
 protect lives and property.</DELETED>
 <DELETED>

    (3) Report.--</DELETED>
 <DELETED>
        (A) In general.--Not later than one year 
 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Under 
 Secretary shall submit to Congress a report, in both 
 unclassified and classified form, regarding the risks 
 to the economic and intellectual security of the United 
 States from foreign countries of concern through access 
 by those countries to weather data in the United 
 States.</DELETED>
 <DELETED>
        (B) Elements.--The report required under 
 subparagraph
        (A) shall include--</DELETED>
 <DELETED>
            (i) a full analysis of the 
 national, intellectual, and economic security 
 implications for the United States with respect 
 to intellectual property theft or cyber or 
 human espionage through access to weather data; 
 and</DELETED>
 <DELETED>
            (ii) conclusions of the Under 
 Secretary and recommendations for legislative 
 and administrative action, if any.</DELETED>
 <DELETED>
            (C) Foreign country of concern defined.--
 In this paragraph, the term ``foreign country of 
 concern'' has the meaning given that term in 

section 9901 of the William M.

    (Mac) Thornberry National 
 Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (15 
 U.S.C. 4651).</DELETED>
<DELETED>

    (h) Retention of Federal Government Expertise.--Subject to 
applicable law, the Under Secretary may consider novel methods to 
recruit, retrain, and retain expert personnel to support activities 
under this section, including by--</DELETED>
 <DELETED>

    (1) using methods to be competitive with salaries 
 outside the Federal Government;</DELETED>
 <DELETED>

    (2) developing staff exchange programs and 
 training programs; and</DELETED>
 <DELETED>

    (3) leveraging diverse hiring 
 strategies.</DELETED>
<DELETED>
            (i) Protection of National Security Interests.--</DELETED>
 <DELETED>

    (1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other 
 provision of this section, the Under Secretary, in consultation 
 with the Secretary of Defense, as appropriate, may withhold 
 models or data used under this section if the Under Secretary 
 determines doing so to be necessary to protect the national 
 security interests of the United States.</DELETED>
 <DELETED>

    (2) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this section 
 shall be construed to supersede any other provision of law 
 governing the protection of the national security interests of 
 the United States.</DELETED>
<DELETED>

    (j) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
to be appropriated to the Under Secretary to carry out this section--
</DELETED>
 <DELETED>

    (1) for fiscal year 2026, $311,000,000; 
 and</DELETED>
 <DELETED>

    (2) for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2030, 
 $76,000,000.</DELETED>

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Transformational Artificial 
intelligence to Modernize the Economy against Extreme Weather and 
Wildfires Act'' or the ``TAME Extreme Weather and Wildfires Act''.

SEC. 2. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FOR WEATHER FORECASTING.

    (a) 

=== Definitions. ===
-In this section:

    (1) Artificial intelligence.--The term ``artificial 
 intelligence''--
        (A) has the meaning given that term in 

section 5002 
 of the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act 
 of 2020 (15 U.S.C. 9401); and
        (B) includes machine learning, neural networks, and 
 natural language processing.

    (2) Artificial intelligence weather model.--The term 
 ``artificial intelligence weather model'' means a weather model 
 based primarily on artificial intelligence technology to 
 project future Earth system conditions based on machine 
 learning using weather forecasting training datasets.

    (3) Curate.--The term ``curate'', with respect to a 
 dataset, means--
        (A) to collect and maintain the dataset--
            (i) to ensure and document its quality; and
            (ii) to provide metadata on its provenance; 
 and
        (B) to update the dataset periodically, as 
 appropriate and practicable.

    (4) Numerical weather model.--The term ``numerical weather 
 model'' means a weather model based primarily on coupled Earth 
 System processes that uses numerical computation to forecast 
 future Earth system conditions.

    (5) Observational data.--The term ``observational data'' 
 means data and metadata from actual observations of 
 environmental conditions, including remote sensing and in situ 
 platforms.

    (6) Seasonal, subseasonal, under secretary, weather 
 enterprise.--the terms ``seasonal'', ``subseasonal'', ``Under 
 Secretary'', and ``weather enterprise'' have the meanings given 
 those terms in 

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

    (7) Synthetic data.--The term ``synthetic data'' means data 
 produced from a model or statistical method in order to fill 
 gaps in observational data.

    (8) Weather data.--The term ``weather data'' means 
 information used to track and predict weather conditions and 
 patterns, including forecasts, observations, and derivative 
 products from such information.

    (b) 

=== Purpose ===
-The purpose of this section is--

    (1) to improve accuracy and timeliness of weather, water, 
 and space weather forecasts and effective dissemination of 
 critical information;

    (2) to strengthen analytic capacity to inform resource 
 deployments in response to and to mitigate harm from weather, 
 water, wildfires, and space weather hazards through the 
 mandated exploration and use of artificial intelligence by 
 Federal agencies;

    (3) to strengthen public-private partnerships to accelerate 
 adoption and outcomes of the use of artificial intelligence in 
 response to and to mitigate such harm; and

    (4) to strengthen public-private partnerships in highly 
 technical, high-risk, and high-reward fields related to 
 weather, water, wildfires, and space weather forecasts.
            (c) Earth System Forecasting and Information Delivery.--

    (1) Training datasets.--Not later than 4 years after the 
 date of the enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary, in 
 consultation with the Secretary of Energy, the Administrator of 
 the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Director 
 of the National Science Foundation, the Director of the 
 National Center for Atmospheric Research, the Interagency 
 Council on Advancing Meteorological Services, other appropriate 
 Federal advisory committees as determined by the Under 
 Secretary, and such other technical experts as the Under 
 Secretary considers appropriate, shall develop and curate 
 comprehensive weather forecasting training datasets with 
 relevant Earth system data, quality information, and metadata 
 necessary for weather forecasting.

    (2) Use of existing datasets.--In order to speed the 
 development of the weather forecasting training datasets 
 required under paragraph

    (1) , the Under Secretary shall assess, 
 and to the greatest extent practicable build on, existing Earth 
 system reanalysis datasets of the Federal Government.

    (3) Artificial intelligence weather model.--
        (A) Global model.--In carrying out this subsection, 
 the Under Secretary, in consultation with appropriate 
 Federal advisory committees as determined by the Under 
 Secretary, may develop and test a global weather model 
 based on artificial intelligence technologies utilizing 
 data of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
 Administration to the extent possible.
        (B) Regional and local models.--In addition to a 
 global weather model under subparagraph
        (A) , the Under 
 Secretary may experiment with regional and local 
 weather models based on artificial intelligence 
 technologies.

    (4) Use of artificial intelligence to disseminate 
 information.--In coordination with an artificial intelligence 
 weather model or models developed under paragraph

    (3) , the 
 Under Secretary may explore the use of artificial intelligence 
 to enhance the dissemination of information with respect to 
 weather and wildfire risks and evaluate the effectiveness of 
 communication for improved public understanding and 
 preparedness.

    (5) Continued support for observations, basic research, and 
 numerical weather models.--Notwithstanding the requirements of 
 this subsection, the Under Secretary shall continue to support 
 and advance the activities of the National Oceanic and 
 Atmospheric Administration--
        (A) to collect and acquire traditional and novel 
 observational data relevant for artificial intelligence 
 and numerical weather, water, and space weather 
 forecasting;
        (B) to advance research on the Earth system and 
 numerical weather model forecasting;
            (C) to develop and advance numerical Earth system 
 modeling for predictions;
            (D) to develop weather model data post-processing 
 techniques; and
        (E) to improve data assimilation techniques.

    (6) Observing system coverage.--In carrying out this 
 subsection, the Under Secretary may evaluate the use of cost 
 functions in data-driven machine learning model training to 
 balance inequities in observing system coverage and data poor 
 areas.

    (7) Uncertainty quantification research.--In carrying out 
 this subsection, the Under Secretary may develop uncertainty 
 quantification research for the purpose of accurate 
 environmental risk and hazard communications of probabilistic 
 predictions and forecasts.

    (8) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of the 
 enactment of this Act, and not less frequently than every 2 
 years thereafter through 2035, the Under Secretary 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 on the activities 
 conducted under this subsection.
            (d) Advanced Artificial Intelligence Applications for Weather 
Forecasts and Information Delivery.--The Under Secretary shall explore 
advanced applications of artificial intelligence to improve weather 
forecasts and information delivery, such as by--

    (1) improving data assimilation;

    (2) accounting for coupled Earth system processes;

    (3) improving readiness and preparedness to combat 
 wildfires, mitigation of the risk from wildfires, and improving 
 safety for firefighters and communities at risk from wildfires;

    (4) using artificial intelligence weather models to 
 generate ensemble forecasts to more accurately assess flow-
 dependent forecast uncertainties; and

    (5) improving impact-based decision support for greater 
 societal benefits based on those forecasts.

    (e) Technical Assistance on Use of Artificial Intelligence Weather, 
Water, and Space Weather Models.--

    (1) In general.--The Under Secretary shall provide--
        (A) technical assistance, data access, and support 
 for forecasters, scientists, social scientists, and 
 engineers to test and evaluate the use and 
 effectiveness of the artificial intelligence models of 
 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 
 including within the testbeds of the Administration;
        (B) best practices on providing forecasts based on 
 outputs from artificial intelligence weather models and 
 numerical weather models, or a combination thereof; and
            (C) support for emergency managers to make 
 operational decisions based on outputs from artificial 
 intelligence weather models and numerical weather 
 models, or a combination thereof.

    (2) Assessment of weather models.--
        (A) In general.--The Under Secretary shall support 
 the development of a common framework for the 
 assessment of numerical weather models and artificial 
 intelligence weather models by comparing model output 
 and observational data over a period of time in the 
 past through the use of such methodologies as the Under 
 Secretary considers appropriate.
        (B) Best practices.--In carrying out this 
 paragraph, the Under Secretary may develop and 
 disseminate best practices in collaboration with--
            (i) the National Institute of Standards and 
 Technology, the National Aeronautics and Space 
 Administration, the National Science 
 Foundation, and the Department of Energy;
            (ii) academic and research institutions; 
 and
            (iii) the private sector.

    (3) Technical assistance.--In carrying out this subsection, 
 the Under Secretary may provide technical assistance, best 
 practices, and support required under paragraph

    (1) through the 
 National Weather Service.

    (4) Independent study on the impacts of artificial 
 intelligence weather, water, and space weather models.--The 
 Under Secretary may enter into an agreement with the National 
 Academy of Sciences or another entity as determined appropriate 
 by the Under Secretary to assess the impacts of artificial 
 intelligence weather models on the weather enterprise and make 
 recommendations to improve the integration of such models in 
 operational forecasting.

    (f) Partnerships for Transformational Innovation.--

    (1) In general.--The Under Secretary may explore novel 
 structures for partnerships with private, academic, and 
 international entities for research and development of 
 transformative innovation in weather forecasting and other 
 environmental forecasts--
        (A) to further the understanding of weather, water, 
 wildfires, and space weather, and their societal 
 impact;
        (B) to advance the science of weather and water 
 forecasting, including seasonal and subseasonal 
 forecasting; and
            (C) to develop, evaluate, and transition artificial 
 intelligence weather, water, and hazard forecasting 
 applications to operations.

    (2) Co-investment.--Subject to applicable law, the Under 
 Secretary may consider and adopt novel co-investment strategies 
 with the private academic and international sectors to carry 
 out paragraph

    (1) , including--
        (A) non-Federal Government contributions to 
 resource and support high-risk, high-return research 
 and development in environmental forecasting, data 
 science, artificial intelligence, and related fields;
        (B) shared rights to intellectual property from 
 research and development activities under this 
 subsection; and
            (C) other approaches to sharing resources and 
 results under this subsection.

    (g) Availability of Dataset.--

    (1) In general.--The Under Secretary shall develop and 
 implement a plan to make available to the public, at no cost 
 and subject to applicable law and policy, the following:
        (A) Operational artificial intelligence weather 
 models developed by the National Oceanic and 
 Atmospheric Administration.
        (B) Artificial intelligence weather models that are 
 not operational models, including experimental and 
 developmental models, as the Under Secretary determines 
 appropriate.
            (C) Applicable information and documentation for 
 artificial intelligence weather models described in 
 subparagraphs
        (A) and
        (B) , including a description of 
 intended model outputs.
            (D) Subject to subsection
            (i) , all data owned by 
 the Federal Government and data that the Under 
 Secretary has the legal right to redistribute that are 
 associated with artificial intelligence weather models 
 made available to the public pursuant to the plan and 
 used in operational forecasting by the Administration, 
 including--
            (i) relevant metadata; and
            (ii) data used for operational artificial 
 intelligence weather models used by the 
 Administration.

    (2) Accommodations.--In developing and implementing the 
 plan under paragraph

    (1) , the Under Secretary may make such 
 accommodations as the Under Secretary considers appropriate to 
 ensure that the public release of any artificial intelligence 
 weather model, information, documentation, or data pursuant to 
 the plan does not jeopardize--
        (A) national security;
        (B) intellectual property or redistribution rights, 
 including under titles 17 and 35, United States Code;
            (C) any trade secret or commercial or financial 
 information subject to 

section 552

    (b)

    (4) of title 5, 
 United States Code;
            (D) any models or data that are otherwise 
 restricted by contract or other written agreement; or
        (E) the mission of the Administration to protect 
 lives and property.

    (3) Report.--
        (A) In general.--Not later than one year after the 
 date of the enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary 
 shall submit to Congress a report, in both unclassified 
 and classified form, regarding the risks to the 
 economic and intellectual security of the United States 
 from foreign countries of concern through access by 
 those countries to weather data in the United States.
        (B) Elements.--The report required under 
 subparagraph
        (A) shall include--
            (i) a full analysis of the national, 
 intellectual, and economic security 
 implications for the United States with respect 
 to intellectual property theft or cyber or 
 human espionage through access to weather data; 
 and
            (ii) conclusions of the Under Secretary and 
 recommendations for legislative and 
 administrative action, if any.
            (C) Foreign country of concern defined.--In this 
 paragraph, the term ``foreign country of concern'' has 
 the meaning given that term in 

section 9901 of the 
 William M.

    (Mac) Thornberry National Defense 
 Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (15 U.S.C. 
 4651).

    (h) Retention of Federal Government Expertise.--Subject to 
applicable law, the Under Secretary may consider novel methods to 
recruit, retrain, and retain expert personnel to support activities 
under this section, including by--

    (1) using methods to be competitive with salaries outside 
 the Federal Government;

    (2) developing staff exchange programs and training 
 programs; and

    (3) leveraging applicable hiring and retention strategies 
 authorized for Federal agencies.
            (i) Protection of National Security Interests.--

    (1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
 this section, the Under Secretary, in consultation with the 
 Secretary of Defense, as appropriate, may withhold models or 
 data used under this section if the Under Secretary determines 
 doing so to be necessary to protect the national security 
 interests of the United States.

    (2) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this section shall be 
 construed to supersede any other provision of law governing the 
 protection of the national security interests of the United 
 States.

    (j) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Under Secretary to carry out this section--

    (1) for fiscal year 2026, $105,000,000; and

    (2) for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2030, 
 $25,000,000.
 Calendar No. 199

119th CONGRESS

 1st Session

 S. 1378

 [Report No. 119-88]

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To enhance the use by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration of artificial intelligence for weather forecasting, and 
 for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 October 21, 2025

 Reported with an amendment