PROSWIFT Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 5260 To improve understanding and forecasting of space weather, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES NOVEMBER 22, 2019 Mr. PERLMUTTER (for himself, Mr. BROOKS of Alabama, and Ms. JOHNSON of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Science, Space, and Technology, and in addition to the Com- mittees on Armed Services, and Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee con- cerned A BILL To improve understanding and forecasting of space weather, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Promoting Research 4 and Observations of Space Weather to Improve the Fore- 5 casting of Tomorrow Act’’ or the ‘‘PROSWIFT Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:20 Dec 10, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5260.IH H5260 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 5260 IH SEC. 2. SPACE WEATHER. 1 (a) POLICY.—It shall be the policy of the United 2 States to prepare and protect against the social and eco- 3 nomic impacts of space weather phenomena by supporting 4 actions to improve space weather forecasts and predictions 5 including: sustaining and enhancing critical observations, 6 identifying research needs and promoting opportunities for 7 research to operations and operations to research collabo- 8 rations both within and outside of the Federal Govern- 9 ment, advancing space weather models, engaging with all 10 sectors of the space weather community including aca- 11 demia and the commercial sector, and understanding the 12 needs of space weather end users. 13 (b) AMENDMENT TO TITLE 51, UNITED STATES 14 CODE.—Subtitle VI of title 51, United States Code, is 15 amended by adding after chapter 605 the following: 16 ‘‘CHAPTER 606—SPACE WEATHER 17 ‘‘60601. Space weather. ‘‘60602. Integrated strategy. ‘‘60603. Sustaining and advancing critical space weather observations. ‘‘60604. Research activities. ‘‘60605. Space weather data. ‘‘60606. Space weather knowledge transfer and information exchange. ‘‘60607. Space weather benchmarks. ‘‘§ 60601. Space weather 18 ‘‘(a) FINDINGS.— 19 ‘‘(1) SPACE WEATHER.—Congress makes the 20 following findings with respect to space weather: 21 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:08 Dec 10, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5260.IH H5260 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 5260 IH ‘‘(A) Space weather phenomena pose a sig- 1 nificant threat to ground-based and space-based 2 critical infrastructure, modern technological 3 systems, and humans working in space. 4 ‘‘(B) The effects of severe space weather 5 on the electric power grid, satellites and sat- 6 ellite communications and information, aviation 7 operations, astronauts living and working in 8 space, and space-based position, navigation, and 9 timing systems could have significant societal, 10 economic, national security, and health impacts. 11 ‘‘(C) Space-based and ground-based obser- 12 vations provide crucial data necessary to under- 13 stand, forecast, and prepare for space weather 14 events. 15 ‘‘(D) Clear roles and accountability of Fed- 16 eral departments and agencies are critical for 17 efficient and effective response to threats posed 18 by space weather. 19 ‘‘(E) Space weather observation and fore- 20 casting are essential for the success of human 21 and robotic space exploration. 22 ‘‘(F) In October 2015, the National 23 Science and Technology Council published a 24 National Space Weather Strategy and a Na- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:08 Dec 10, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5260.IH H5260 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 5260 IH tional Space Weather Action Plan seeking to in- 1 tegrate national space weather efforts and add 2 new capabilities to meet increasing demand for 3 space weather information. 4 ‘‘(G) In March 2019, the National Science 5 and Technology Council published an updated 6 National Space Weather Strategy and Action 7 Plan to enhance the preparedness and resilience 8 of the United States to space weather. 9 ‘‘(2) ROLE OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Congress 10 makes the following findings with respect to the role 11 of Federal agencies on space weather: 12 ‘‘(A) The National Oceanic and Atmos- 13 pheric Administration provides operational 14 space weather monitoring and forecasting for 15 civil applications, maintains ground-based and 16 space-based assets to provide observations need- 17 ed for space weather forecasting, prediction, 18 and warnings, provides research to support 19 operational responsibilities, and develops re- 20 quirements for space weather forecasting tech- 21 nologies and science. 22 ‘‘(B) The Department of Defense provides 23 operational space weather research, monitoring, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:08 Dec 10, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5260.IH H5260 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 5260 IH and forecasting for the department’s unique 1 missions and applications. 2 ‘‘(C) The National Aeronautics and Space 3 Administration provides increased under- 4 standing of the fundamental physics of the 5 Sun-Earth system through basic research, 6 space-based observations and modeling, devel- 7 oping new space-based technologies and mis- 8 sions, and monitoring of space weather for the 9 National Aeronautics and Space Administra- 10 tion’s space missions. 11 ‘‘(D) The National Science Foundation 12 provides increased understanding of the Sun- 13 Earth system through ground-based measure- 14 ments, technologies, and modeling. 15 ‘‘(E) The Department of the Interior col- 16 lects, distributes, and archives operational 17 ground-based magnetometer data in the United 18 States and its territories, works with the inter- 19 national community to improve global geo- 20 physical monitoring, and develops crustal con- 21 ductivity models to assess and mitigate risks 22 from space weather induced electric ground cur- 23 rents. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:08 Dec 10, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5260.IH H5260 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 5260 IH ‘‘(F) The Federal Aviation Administration 1 provides operational requirements for space 2 weather services in support of aviation and for 3 coordination of these requirements with the 4 International Civil Aviation Organization, and 5 integrates space weather data and products into 6 the Next Generation Air Transportation Sys- 7 tem. 8 ‘‘(b) SPACE WEATHER DISTURBANCE DEFINED.—In 9 this chapter, the term ‘space weather disturbance’ includes 10 geo-electric fields, ionizing radiation, ionospheric disturb- 11 ances, solar radio bursts, and upper atmosphere expan- 12 sion. 13 ‘‘(c) COORDINATION BY OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND 14 TECHNOLOGY POLICY.—The Director of the Office of 15 Science and Technology Policy shall— 16 ‘‘(1) coordinate the development and implemen- 17 tation of Federal Government activities conducted 18 with respect to space weather to improve the ability 19 of the United States to prepare for, avoid, mitigate, 20 respond to, and recover from potentially devastating 21 impacts of space weather; and 22 ‘‘(2) coordinate the activities of the interagency 23 working group on space weather established under 24 subsection (d). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:08 Dec 10, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5260.IH H5260 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 5260 IH ‘‘(d) SPACE WEATHER INTERAGENCY WORKING 1 GROUP.—The National Science and Technology Council 2 shall establish an interagency working group on space 3 weather (referred to in this section as the ‘interagency 4 working group’) to lead executive branch actions that im- 5 prove the understanding of and preparation for space 6 weather phenomena, and coordination of Federal space 7 weather activities. 8 ‘‘(1) MEMBERSHIP.—The following entities 9 shall be members of the interagency working group: 10 ‘‘(A) The National Oceanic and Atmos- 11 pheric Administration. 12 ‘‘(B) The National Aeronautics and Space 13 Administration. 14 ‘‘(C) The National Science Foundation. 15 ‘‘(D) The Department of Defense. 16 ‘‘(E) The Department of the Interior. 17 ‘‘(F) Such other Federal Agencies as the 18 Director of the Office of Science and Tech- 19 nology Policy deems appropriate. 20 ‘‘(2) INTERAGENCY AGREEMENTS.—The mem- 21 bers of the interagency working group may enter 22 into one or more interagency agreements providing 23 for cooperation and collaboration in the development 24 of space weather spacecraft, instruments, tech- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:08 Dec 10, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5260.IH H5260 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 5260 IH nologies, and research to operations and operations 1 to research in accordance with this chapter. 2 ‘‘(3) INTERNATIONAL, ACADEMIC COMMUNITY, 3 AND COMMERCIAL SECTOR COLLABORATION.—Each 4 Federal agency participating in the space weather 5 interagency working group established under this 6 subsection shall, to the extent practicable, increase 7 engagement and cooperation with the international 8 community, academic community, and commercial 9 space weather sector on the observational infrastruc- 10 ture, data, and scientific research necessary to ad- 11 vance the monitoring, forecasting and prediction of 12 and preparation and protection from space weather 13 phenomena. 14 ‘‘(e) SPACE WEATHER ADVISORY GROUP.— 15 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 6 16 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, 17 the Administrator of the National Oceanic and At- 18 mospheric Administration, in consultation with other 19 relevant Federal agencies, shall establish a space 20 weather advisory group (in this chapter referred to 21 as the ‘advisory group’) for the purposes of receiving 22 advice from the academic community, the commer- 23 cial space weather sector, and space weather end 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:08 Dec 10, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5260.IH H5260 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 5260 IH users that informs the interests and work of the 1 interagency working group. 2 ‘‘(A) COMPOSITION.—The advisory group 3 shall be composed of not more than 15 mem- 4 bers appointed by the interagency working 5 group, of whom— 6 ‘‘(i) 5 members shall be representa- 7 tives of the academic community; 8 ‘‘(ii) 5 members shall be representa- 9 tives of the commercial space weather sec- 10 tor; and 11 ‘‘(iii) 5 members shall be nongovern- 12 mental representatives of the space weath- 13 er end user community. 14 ‘‘(B) CHAIR.—Not later than 30 days after 15 the date on which the last member of the advi- 16 sory group is appointed under paragraph (2), 17 the Administrator of the National Oceanic and 18 Atmospheric Administration shall appoint 1 19 member as the Chair of the advisory group. 20 ‘‘(C) TERMS.—The length of the term of 21 each member of the advisory group shall be 3 22 years beginning on the date on which the mem- 23 ber is appointed. 24 ‘‘(D) TERM LIMITS.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:08 Dec 10, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5260.IH H5260 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 5260 IH ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A member of the 1 advisory group may not serve on the advi- 2 sory group for more than 2 consecutive 3 terms. 4 ‘‘(ii) CHAIR.—A member of the advi- 5 sory group may not serve as the Chair of 6 the advisory group for more than 2 terms, 7 regardless of whether the terms are con- 8 secutive. 9 ‘‘(2) DUTIES.—The advisory group shall advise 10 the interagency working group on the following: 11 ‘‘(A) Facilitating advances in the space 12 weather enterprise of the United States. 13 ‘‘(B) Improving the ability of the United 14 States to prepare for, mitigate, respond to, and 15 recover from space weather events. 16 ‘‘(C) Enabling the coordination and facili- 17 tation of research-to-operations and operations- 18 to-research, as described in section 60604(d). 19 ‘‘(D) Developing and implementing the in- 20 tegrated strategy under section 60602 including 21 subsequent updates and reevaluations. 22 ‘‘(3) USER SURVEY.— 23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 24 months after the establishment of the advisory 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:08 Dec 10, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5260.IH H5260 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 5260 IH group, the advisory group shall conduct a com- 1 prehensive survey of the needs of users of space 2 weather products to identify the space weather 3 research, observations, forecasting, prediction, 4 and modeling advances required to improve 5 space weather products. 6 ‘‘(B) SURVEY CONSIDERATIONS.—The sur- 7 vey conducted under subparagraph (A) shall— 8 ‘‘(i) assess the adequacy of current 9 Federal Government goals for lead time, 10 accuracy, coverage, timeliness, data rate, 11 and data quality for space weather obser- 12 vations and forecasting; 13 ‘‘(ii) identify options and methods to, 14 in consultation with the academic commu- 15 nity and the commercial space weather sec- 16 tor, improve upon the advancement of the 17 goals described in clause (i); 18 ‘‘(iii) identify opportunities for collec- 19 tion of new data to address the needs of 20 the space weather user community; 21 ‘‘(iv) identify methods to increase co- 22 ordination of space weather research-to-op- 23 erations and operations-to-research; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:08 Dec 10, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5260.IH H5260 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 5260 IH ‘‘(v) identify opportunities for new 1 technologies, research, and instrumentation 2 to aid in research, understanding, moni- 3 toring, modeling, prediction, forecasting, 4 and warning of space weather; and 5 ‘‘(vi) identify methods and tech- 6 nologies to improve preparedness for po- 7 tential space weather phenomena. 8 ‘‘(C) COORDINATION WITH AGENCIES.—In 9 carrying out the requirements of this sub- 10 section, the advisory group shall communicate 11 and coordinate with the interagency working 12 group to ensure the needs of the governmental 13 space weather user community are adequately 14 and appropriately identified by the survey under 15 subparagraph (A). 16 ‘‘(D) BRIEFING TO CONGRESS.—Not later 17 than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 18 Act, the advisory group shall provide to the 19 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 20 of th [Text truncated for display. 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