text: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
  
      This Act may be cited as the ``National Climate Service Act of 
  2009''.
  
  SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
  
      The Congress finds the following:
              (1) Weather, climate change, and climate variability affect 
          public safety, environmental services and security, human 
          health, agriculture, energy use, water resources, and other 
          factors vital to national security and human welfare.
              (2) Climate forecasts create opportunities for society to 
          prepare, potentially reducing the costs of climate-related 
          events, as well as serving national needs related to enhancing 
          economic growth, managing risk, protecting life and property, 
          and promoting environmental stewardship.
              (3) Information on predicted climate and climate impacts is 
          not being fully disseminated or used well, despite the 
          increasing predictability of climate.
              (4) The United States lacks adequate research, 
          infrastructure, and coordinated outreach and communication 
          mechanisms to meet national climate monitoring, prediction, and 
          decision support needs for adapting to and mitigating the 
          impacts of climate change and climate variability.
              (5) Increasing societal resilience to climate impacts 
          requires understanding climate trends and variations as well as 
          possible, understanding the impacts of climate on human and 
          nonhuman systems, providing decision-relevant tools based on 
          that information, and increasing society's capacity to act on 
          that information.
  
  SEC. 3. PURPOSE.
  
      It is the purpose of this Act to establish a National Climate 
  Service that will assist the Nation and the world in understanding, 
  anticipating, and responding to climate, climate change, and climate 
  variability and their impacts and implications. The Service shall 
  inform the public through the sustained production and delivery of 
  authoritative, timely, useful information about impacts on local, 
  State, regional, tribal, national, and global scales. The Service shall 
  be user-centric, by ensuring that the information is accessible, 
  consistent with users' ability to respond, and based on user needs and 
  limitations. The Service shall provide such usable information through 
  a sustained network of observations, modeling, and research activities.
  
  SEC. 4. NATIONAL CLIMATE SERVICE.
  
      (a) Establishment.--
              (1) In general.--The Secretary of Commerce shall establish 
          within the Climate Program Office of the National Oceanic and 
          Atmospheric Administration a National Climate Service (in this 
          Act referred to as the ``Service'') not later than one year 
          after the date of enactment of this Act. The Service shall 
          include a national center and a network of regional and local 
          facilities for operational climate observation, modeling, and 
          research.
              (2) General purpose.--The Service shall inform the public 
          through the sustained production and delivery of authoritative, 
          timely, useful information about impacts on local, State, 
          regional, tribal, national, and global scales.
              (3) Specific services.--The Service, at minimum, shall--
                      (A) serve as a clearinghouse and technical access 
                  point to stakeholders for regionally and nationally 
                  relevant information on climate, climate impacts, and 
                  adaptation, developing comprehensive databases of 
                  information relevant to specific regional and national 
                  stakeholder needs;
                      (B) provide education on climate impacts, 
                  vulnerabilities, and application of climate information 
                  in decisionmaking;
                      (C) design decision-support tools that facilitate 
                  use of climate information in stakeholders' near-term 
                  operations and long-term planning
                      (D) facilitate user access to climate and climate 
                  impacts experts for technical assistance in use of 
                  climate information and to inform the climate forecast 
                  community of their information needs;
                      (E) provide researcher, modeler, and observations 
                  experts access to users to help guide direction of 
                  research, modeling, and observation activities; and
                      (F) propose and evaluate adaptation strategies for 
                  climate variability and change.
              (4) Specific functions.--The Service, at minimum, shall--
                      (A) integrate global, national, and regional 
                  observations to produce information and assessments of 
                  use to stakeholders and researchers;
                      (B) develop climate models for decision support;
                      (C) perform basic and applied research on climate 
                  dynamics and impacts relevant to stakeholder interests;
                      (D) create and maintain an operational delivery 
                  system and facilitate transition of new climate 
                  applications products to Service member agencies;
                      (E) establish an atmospheric monitoring and 
                  verification program utilizing aircraft, satellite, 
                  ground sensors, ocean and coastal observing systems, 
                  and modeling capabilities to monitor, measure, and 
                  verify greenhouse gas concentrations and emissions 
                  throughout the global oceans and atmosphere;
                      (F) develop and maintain a dialog among research 
                  teams, Federal agencies, and stakeholders for 
                  developing information relevant for planning and 
                  decisionmaking;
                      (G) identify climate-related vulnerabilities and 
                  build national capacity to increase resilience;
                      (H) articulate regional and national climate issues 
                  and concerns in regional and national policy arenas and 
                  facilitate regional-national communications on Service 
                  needs and performance; and
                      (I) outreach to stakeholder groups.
      (b) Action Plan.--Within 1 year after the date of enactment of this 
  Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall submit to the Committee on 
  Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee 
  on Science and Technology of the House of Representatives a plan of 
  action for the National Climate Service. The plan, at a minimum, 
  shall--
              (1) provide for the interpretation and communication of 
          climate data, conditions, predictions, projections, and risks 
          on an ongoing basis to decision and policy makers at the local, 
          regional, and national levels;
              (2) design, deploy, and operate a national climate 
          observing system that closes gaps in existing coverage;
              (3) support infrastructure and ability to archive and 
          ensure the quality of climate data, and make federally funded 
          model simulations and other relevant climate information 
          available from Global Change Research Program activities and 
          other sources (and related data from paleoclimate studies);
              (4) include a program for long-term stewardship, quality 
          control, development of relevant climate products, and 
          efficient access to all relevant climate data, products, and 
          model simulations;
              (5) establish a national coordinated modeling strategy, 
          including a national climate modeling center to provide a 
          dedicated capability for modeling and forecasting scenarios, 
          and a regular schedule of projections on long-term and short-
          term time horizons over a range of scales, including regional 
          scales;
              (6) improve integrated modeling, assessment, and predictive 
          capabilities needed to document and forecast climate changes 
          and impacts, and to guide national, regional, and local 
          planning and decisionmaking;
              (7) provide a system of regular consultation and 
          coordination with Federal agencies, States, tribes, 
          nongovernmental organizations, the private sector, and the 
          academic community to ensure--
                      (A) that the information requirements of these 
                  groups are well incorporated; and
                      (B) timely and full sharing, dissemination and use 
                  of climate information and services in risk 
                  preparedness, planning, decisionmaking, and early 
                  warning and natural resources management, both 
                  domestically and internationally;
              (8) develop standards, evaluation criteria, and performance 
          objectives to ensure that the Service meets the evolving 
          information needs of the public, policy makers, and 
          decisionmakers in the face of a changing climate;
              (9) develop funding estimates to implement the plan; and
              (10) support competitive research programs that will 
          improve elements of the Service described in this Act through 
          the Climate Program Office within the Service headquarter 
          function.
      (c) Director.--The Administrator shall appoint a Director of the 
  Service, who shall oversee all processes associated with managing the 
  organization and executing the functions and actions described in this 
  Act.
      (d) National Climate Service Advisory Council.--The Administrator 
  shall, in consultation with the Chairmen and ranking minority members 
  of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 
  and the Committee on Science and Technology of the House of 
  Representatives, and the National Academy of Sciences, appoint the 
  membership of a National Climate Service Advisory Council, with members 
  serving 4-year terms, that shall include a diverse membership from 
  appropriate Federal, State, and local government, universities, and 
  nongovernment and private sectors who use climate information and cover 
  a range of sectors, such as water, drought, fisheries, coasts, 
  agriculture, health, natural resources, transportation, and insurance. 
  The Council shall advise the Director of the Service of key priorities 
  in climate-related issues that require the attention of the Service. 
  The Council shall be responsible for promoting coordination across 
  regional, national, and international concerns and the assessment of 
  evolving information needs.
  
  SEC. 5. CONTRACT AND GRANT AUTHORITY.
  
      Functions vested in any Federal officer or agency by this Act or 
  under the program established under this Act may be exercised through 
  the facilities and personnel of the agency involved or, to the extent 
  provided or approved in advance in appropriation Acts, by other persons 
  or entities under contracts or grant arrangements entered into by such 
  officer or agency.
  
  SEC. 6. ANNUAL REPORT.
  
      The Secretary of Commerce shall prepare and submit to the President 
  and the Congress, not later than March 31 of each year, a report on the 
  activities conducted pursuant to this Act during the preceding fiscal 
  year, including--
              (1) a summary of the achievements of the National Climate 
          Service during the previous fiscal year; and
              (2) an analysis of the progress made toward achieving the 
          goals and objectives of the Service.
  
  SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.
  
              (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
          Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
          Administration.
              (2) Advisory council.--The term ``Advisory Council'' refers 
          to the National Climate Service Advisor Council.
              (3) Climate change.--The term ``climate change'' means any 
          change in climate over time, whether due to natural variability 
          or as a result of human activity.
              (4) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the director of 
          the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National 
          Climate Service.
              (5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
          of Commerce.
              (6) Service.--The term ``Service'' means the National 
          Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Climate 
          Service.
  
  SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
  
      There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 
  out this Act--
              (1) $300,000,000 for fiscal year 2011.
              (2) $350,000,000 for fiscal year 2012.
              (3) $400,000,000 for fiscal year 2013.
              (4) $450,000,000 for fiscal year 2014.
              (5) $500,000,000 for fiscal year 2015.
target: National Climate Service Act of 2009 - Requires the Secretary of Commerce to establish within the Climate Program Office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) a National Climate Service that includes a national center and a network of regional and local facilities for operational climate observation, modeling, and research. Requires the Service to: (1) inform the public about climate impacts; (2) serve as a clearinghouse and technical access point to stakeholders for information on climate, climate impacts, and adaptation, and relevant comprehensive databases of information; (3) provide education on climate impacts, vulnerabilities, and application of climate information in decisionmaking; (4) design decision-support tools that facilitate use of climate information in stakeholders' near-term operations and long-term planning; (5) facilitate user access to climate experts for technical assistance in the use of climate information and to inform the climate forecast community of their information needs; (6) provide researcher, modeler, and observations experts access to users to help guide direction of their activities; and (7) propose and evaluate adaptation strategies for climate variability and change.
  
  Sets forth the Service's functions, including establishing an atmospheric monitoring and verification program utilizing aircraft, satellite, ground sensors, ocean and coastal observing systems, and modeling capabilities to monitor, measure, and verify greenhouse gas concentrations and emissions throughout the oceans and atmosphere.
  
  Requires the Secretary to report to specified congressional committees on a plan of action for the Service.
  
  Requires the Administrator of NOAA to appoint a Director of the Service. Requires the Director to appoint members of a National Climate Service Advisory Council to promote coordination across regional, national, and international concerns and assess information needs.
feat_title: To provide for the establishment of a National Climate Service, and for other purposes.