[Senate Report 116-253]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 514
116th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 116-253
_______________________________________________________________________
LEARNING EXCELLENCE AND GOOD EXAMPLES FROM NEW DEVELOPERS
ACT OF 2019
__________
R E P O R T
of the
COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION
on
S. 2597
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
August 12, 2020.--Ordered to be printed
_________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
99-010 WASHINGTON : 2020
SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION
one hundred sixteenth congress
second session
ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi, Chairman
JOHN THUNE, South Dakota MARIA CANTWELL, Washington
ROY BLUNT, Missouri AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota
TED CRUZ, Texas RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut
DEB FISCHER, Nebraska BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii
JERRY MORAN, Kansas EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts
DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska TOM UDALL, New Mexico
CORY GARDNER, Colorado GARY C. PETERS, Michigan
MARSHA BLACKBURN, Tennessee TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin
SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West Virginia TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois
MIKE LEE, Utah JON TESTER, Montana
RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona
TODD C. YOUNG, Indiana JACKY ROSEN, Nevada
RICK SCOTT, Florida
John Keast, Staff Director
David Strickland, Minority Staff Director
Calendar No. 514
116th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 116-253
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LEARNING EXCELLENCE AND GOOD EXAMPLES FROM NEW DEVELOPERS ACT OF 2019
_______
August 12, 2020.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Wicker, from the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 2597]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, to
which was referred the bill (S. 2597) to require the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to make certain
operational models available to the public, and for other
purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon
with an amendment and recommends that the bill (as amended) do
pass.
Purpose of the Bill
The purpose of S. 2597, the Learning Excellence and Good
Examples from New Developers Act of 2019 (LEGEND Act), is to
build upon the efforts of previous legislation by making
additional operational models available to relevant
stakeholders and to utilize any resulting innovations to
improve forecasting models. Through collaboration with
scientists and engineers at private companies and in academia,
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has
an opportunity to greatly advance its forecasting skill and
improve the livelihoods of those who depend on forecasting
accuracy.
Background and Needs
The National Weather Service (NWS) leads NOAA's operational
weather forecasting efforts through its mission to provide
weather, water, and climate data, forecasts, and warnings to
protect life and property and enhance the Nation's economy.\1\
Enhancing forecasting accuracy not only helps protect life, but
also property from severe weather conditions. The economic cost
of weather- and climate-related disasters has an enormous
negative toll on American communities, and the most costly
disasters are becoming more frequent.\2\ From the agricultural
impacts to infrastructure damage, businesses and families face
substantial financial gain or loss depending on annual weather
trends and longer term climate trends. Experts estimate that
between 3 and 6 percent of the annual variability in U.S. GDP
is attributed to weather.\3\
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\1\National Weather Service, ``National Weather Service Mission
Statement'', 2016 (https://www.nws.noaa.gov/mission.php) (accessed Mar.
2, 2020).
\2\National Centers for Environmental Information, ``Billion-Dollar
Weather and Climate Disasters: Overview'', 2019 (https://
www.ncdc.noaa.gov/billions/). See also, Adam B. Smith, ``2018's Billion
Dollar Disaster in Context'', 2019 (https://www.climate.gov/news-
features/blogs/beyond-data/2018s-billion-dollar-disasters-context)
(accessed Mar. 2, 2020).
\3\National Weather Service, National Weather Service Enterprise
Analysis Report, Jun. 8, 2017, p. 7 (https://www.weather.gov/media/
about/Final_NWS%20Enterprise%20Analysis%20
Report_June%202017.pdf) (accessed Mar. 2, 2020).
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Congress has long supported Federal efforts to provide
accurate forecasts to strengthen the national economy and
provide strong decision-making support to farmers, ranchers,
water managers, and small businesses. To move closer to this
goal, several laws have been enacted over the last few years
focused on building stronger partnerships between government
agencies and the private sector to improve the weather
forecasting skill of the United States.
On April 18, 2017, the Weather Research and Forecasting
Innovation Act of 2017 (the Weather Act) was signed into law to
improve NOAA's weather forecasting skill through investment in
observational, computing, and modeling capabilities.\4\ The
bill included a requirement for NOAA's Office of Oceanic and
Atmospheric Research to carry out a Weather Research and
Forecasting Innovation program, including a technology transfer
initiative in coordination with NWS, the academic sector, and
private weather companies. Additionally, the bill further
allowed for the Secretary of Commerce, and by extension, NOAA,
to contract with commercial providers to purchase weather data
or to place weather satellite instruments on cohosted payloads.
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\4\Pub. L. 115-25.
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On January 7, 2019, the National Integrated Drought
Information System (NIDIS) Reauthorization Act of 2018 was
signed into law to reauthorize the NIDIS program through
2023.\5\ The bill amended the Weather Research and Forecasting
Innovation Program authorized in 2017 to include authorization
for the Earth Prediction Innovation Center (EPIC). EPIC is
intended to advance weather modeling and improve the
translation of forecasting research into operational models by
leveraging private sector innovations, increasing collaboration
between governmental and non-governmental scientists and
engineers, strengthening and leveraging internal NOAA
resources, and creating a community based global research
modeling system.
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\5\Pub. L. 115-256.
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This system is to be usable on public computers and
networks outside of NOAA, and hosted by a cost-effective
technology like cloud computing. These changes will make the
current operational models more nimble and effective, and have
the potential to greatly advance NOAA's forecasting skill.
The LEGEND Act intends to clarify and strengthen these
efforts by requiring that operational weather models be made
available to the public, while including permissive authority
for NOAA to make experimental models available. The LEGEND Act
also specifically allows the Administrator to withhold from
publication any models or data necessary to protect national
security interests.
Summary of Provisions
S. 2597, the Learning Excellence and Good Examples from New
Developers Act of 2019, would do the following:
Make certain operational models publicly available;
Require a review of models and leverage private
sector innovations; and
Require NOAA to report to Congress on the
implementation of LEGEND's mandates.
Legislative History
S. 2597 was introduced on October 15, 2019, by Senator
Thune (for himself and Senator Schatz) and was referred to the
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the
Senate. On November 13, 2019, the Committee met in open
Executive Session and, by voice vote, ordered S. 2597 to be
reported favorably with an amendment.
Estimated Costs
In accordance with paragraph 11(a) of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate and section 403 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee provides the
following cost estimate, prepared by the Congressional Budget
Office:
S. 2597 would direct the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) to publish its weather-forecasting models
and associated government-owned data in an open-source format.
The bill would require NOAA to periodically review any
improvements made to those open-source models by people outside
the government and update its models accordingly. The bill also
would require NOAA to report to the Congress on the
implementation of S. 2597 within one year of enactment.
Under current law, NOAA provides public access to some of
its operational and research models. The agency would need
additional resources to provide permanent archive and open-
source access to all such models, which currently use many
petabytes of data (a petabyte is one million gigabytes).
CBO assumes the bill will be enacted in fiscal year 2020.
The bill would require NOAA to implement the requirements over
the 2021-2026 period.
Using information from NOAA about the many models and
related data that would be made public under the bill and on
the cost to convert those data into an open-source format, CBO
estimates that implementing S. 2597 would cost $135 million
over the 2020-2025 period. NOAA's costs would total nearly $30
million a year, on average, for 45 additional employees and
additional equipment and services. Such spending would be
subject to appropriation of the necessary amounts.
The costs of the legislation, detailed in Table 1, fall
within budget function 300 (natural resources and environment).
TABLE 1.--ESTIMATED INCREASES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION UNDER S. 2597
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By fiscal year, millions of dollars--
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2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2020-2024
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Estimated Authorization.................................... 0 20 35 35 30 30 150
Estimated Outlays.......................................... 0 10 25 35 35 30 135
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The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Robert Reese.
The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy
Director of Budget Analysis.
Regulatory Impact Statement
In accordance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee provides the
following evaluation of the regulatory impact of the
legislation, as reported:
number of persons covered
S. 2597 as reported does not create any new programs or
impose any new regulatory requirements, and therefore will not
subject any individuals or businesses to new regulations.
economic impact
S. 2597 is not expected to have a negative impact on the
Nation's economy.
privacy
The reported bill would have no impact on the personal
privacy of individuals.
paperwork
S. 2597 would require a report on implementation from NOAA.
Congressionally Directed Spending
In compliance with paragraph 4(b) of rule XLIV of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee provides that no
provisions contained in the bill, as reported, meet the
definition of congressionally directed spending items under the
rule.
Section-by-Section Analysis
Section 1. Short title.
This section would provide that the bill may be cited as
the ``Learning Excellence and Good Examples from New Developers
Act of 2019''.
Section 2. Definitions.
This section would establish definitions for the subsequent
terms: ``Administration'', ``Administrator'', ``model'',
``operational model'', and ``open source code''.
Section 3. Purposes.
This section would determine the purposes of this Act are
to support modeling innovation by providing interested
stakeholders access to the models and data used by NOAA and
encourage NOAA to resulting innovation as appropriate.
Section 4. Requirement to make certain operational models available to
the public.
This section would require NOAA to make any current and
future operational models developed by the Administration open
source for use by the relevant stakeholders. It would also
allow the agency to determine which, if any, experimental
models should be made available to the public as open source
code.
This section would also allow the Administrator to
determine use of government servers or private vendor contracts
in carrying out efforts to release modeling source code.
This section also would require a phased implementation of
the purpose of the bill. For operational models, this section
would require an immediate implementation. For new models that
are created or substantially updated following the enactment of
this bill, the Administrator would have up to 1 year to make
the source code available.
Section 5. Requirement to review models and leverage innovations.
This section would require the Earth Prediction Innovation
Center (EPIC) to periodically review the private sector's
innovations and improvements to the operational models, and
develop and implement a plan to use these improvements.
Section 6. Report on implementation.
This section would require NOAA to submit a report on the
implementation of this bill to the Senate Committee on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation, the Senate Committee on
Appropriations, the House Committee on Science, Space, and
Technology, and the House Committee on Appropriations.
Section 7. Protection of national security interests.
This section would give the Administrator the authority to
withhold data or models used in operational weather forecasting
if the Administrator determines it necessary to protect
national security interests.
Section 8. Funding.
This section would require NOAA to carry out the Act using
amounts available to the Administrator for fiscal years 2021
through 2026.
Changes in Existing Law
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new
material is printed in italic, existing law in which no change
is proposed is shown in roman):
WEATHER RESEARCH FORECASTING AND INNOVATION ACT OF 2017
* * * * * * *
[15 U.S.C. 8512(b)]
SEC. 102. WEATHER RESEARCH AND FORECASTING INNOVATION.
(a) * * *
(b) Program Elements.--The program described in subsection
(a) shall focus on the following activities:
(1) * * *
* * * * * * *
(4) A technology transfer initiative, carried out
jointly and in coordination with the Director of the
National Weather Service, and in cooperation with the
United States weather industry and academic partners,
to ensure continuous development and transition of the
latest scientific and technological advances into
operations of the National Weather Service and to
establish a process to sunset outdated and expensive
operational methods and tools to enable cost-effective
transfer of new methods and tools into operations.
[(4)] (5) Advancing weather modeling skill,
reclaiming and maintaining international leadership in
the area of numerical weather prediction, and improving
the transition of research into operations by--
* * * * * * *
[all]