text: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
  
      This Act may be cited as the ``National Hurricane Research 
  Initiative Act of 2006''.
  
  SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
  
      In this Act:
              (1) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
          the National Science Foundation.
              (2) Under secretary.--The term ``Under Secretary'' means 
          the Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere of the Department 
          of Commerce.
  
  SEC. 3. NATIONAL HURRICANE RESEARCH INITIATIVE.
  
      (a) Requirement to Establish.--The Under Secretary and the Director 
  shall establish an initiative known as the National Hurricane Research 
  Initiative for the purposes described in subsection (b).
      (b) Purposes.--The purposes of the National Hurricane Research 
  Initiative shall be to set research objectives based on the findings of 
  the September 29, 2006, National Science Board report entitled 
  ``Hurricane Warning: The Critical Need for National Hurricane 
  Initiative''--
              (1) to make recommendations to the National Science Board 
          based on such research;
              (2) to assemble the expertise of the science and 
          engineering capabilities of the United States through a multi-
          agency effort that is focused on--
                      (A) improving a better understanding of hurricane 
                  prediction, intensity, and mitigation on coastal 
                  populations;
                      (B) infrastructure; and
                      (C) the natural environment; and
              (3) to make grants to eligible entities to carry out 
          research in the following areas:
                      (A) Predicting hurricane intensification.--Research 
                  to improve understanding of--
                              (i) rapid intensity change in storms, 
                          relationships among storm size, motion and 
                          intensity;
                              (ii) the internal dynamics of hurricanes; 
                          and
                              (iii) the manner in which hurricanes 
                          interact with the environment.
                      (B) Understanding air-sea interactions.--Research 
                  to improve understanding of theories of air-sea 
                  interaction that are common to the strong wind and high 
                  wave conditions associated with hurricanes, and cases 
                  in which the air-sea interface beneath hurricanes 
                  vanishes and is replaced by an emulsion, including 
                  theoretical theories, observational theories, and 
                  modeling.
                      (C) Predicting storm surge, rainfall, and inland 
                  flooding from hurricanes and tropical storms.--Research 
                  to understand and model rainfall and flooding from 
                  hurricanes, including probabilistic modeling and 
                  mapping of storm surge risk.
                      (D) Hurricane modification.--Basic research for 
                  modifying hurricanes to reduce the intensity or alter 
                  the movement of hurricanes by human intervention, 
                  including research to improve understanding of the 
                  potential effects of hurricane modification on 
                  precipitation and fresh water supply, as well as on 
                  climate.
                      (E) Improved observation of hurricanes and tropical 
                  storms.--Research to improve hurricane and tropical 
                  storm observation through mobile radars, Global 
                  Positioning System technology, unmanned aerial 
                  vehicles, and ground-based and aerial wireless sensors 
                  to improve understanding of the complex nature of 
                  storms.
                      (F) Assessing vulnerable infrastructure.--Research 
                  to develop a national engineering assessment of coastal 
                  infrastructure, including infrastructure related to 
                  levees, seawalls, drainage systems, bridges, water and 
                  sewage utilities, power, and communications, to 
                  determine the level of vulnerability of such 
                  infrastructure to damage from a hurricane.
                      (G) Interaction of hurricanes with engineered 
                  structures.--Research to improve understanding of the 
                  impacts of hurricanes and tropical storms on buildings, 
                  structures, and housing combined with modeling 
                  essential for guiding the creation of improved building 
                  designs and construction codes in locations 
                  particularly vulnerable to hurricanes.
                      (H) Relationship between hurricanes, climate, and 
                  natural ecosystems.--Research to improve the 
                  understanding of the complex relationships between 
                  hurricanes and climate, including research to determine 
                  the most effective methods to use observational 
                  information to examine the impacts on ecosystems over 
                  long- and short-periods of time.
                      (I) Technologies for disaster response and 
                  recovery.--Research to improve emergency communication 
                  networks for government agencies and non-government 
                  entities and to improve communications between such 
                  networks during disaster response and recovery, 
                  including cyber-security during disaster situations and 
                  the ability to improve damage assessments during 
                  storms.
                      (J) Evacuation planning.--Research to improve the 
                  manner in which hurricane-related information is 
                  provided to, and utilized by, the public and government 
                  officials, including research to assist officials of 
                  State or local government in determining the 
                  circumstances in which evacuations are required and in 
                  carrying out such evacuations.
                      (K) Computational capability.--Research to improve 
                  understanding of the efficient utility of multiple 
                  models requiring sharing and inter-operability of 
                  databases, computing environments, networks, 
                  visualization tools, and analytic systems beyond what 
                  is currently available for transitioning hurricane 
                  research assets into operational practice and to 
                  provide access to robust computational facilities 
                  beyond the facilities normally accessible by the 
                  civilian research community for the hurricane research 
                  enterprise, including data acquisition and modeling 
                  capability during hurricane events.
      (c) Cooperation With Other Agencies.--The Under Secretary and the 
  Director shall cooperate with the head of each appropriate Federal 
  agency or department, research institute, university, and disaster-
  response or nongovernmental organization to utilize the expertise and 
  capabilities of such entity to carry out the purposes of the National 
  Hurricane Research Initiative, including cooperation with the heads of 
  the following entities:
              (1) The National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
              (2) The National Institute of Standards and Technology.
              (3) The Department of Homeland Security, including the 
          Federal Emergency Management Agency.
              (4) The Department of Energy.
              (5) The Defense Advanced Research Project Agency.
              (6) The Environmental Protection Agency.
              (7) The United States Geological Survey.
              (8) The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
      (d) Coordination.--The White House Office of Science and Technology 
  Policy, through the National Science and Technology Council, shall 
  coordinate the activities carried out by the United States related to 
  the National Hurricane Research Initiative as a formal program with a 
  well defined organizational structure and execution plan.
      (e) Grants.--
              (1) Authority.--The Under Secretary and the Director may 
          award grants to appropriate government agencies or departments 
          or nongovernmental entities to carry out the purposes described 
          in subsection (b).
              (2) Best practices.--The Under Secretary and the Director 
          shall develop and make available to the public a description of 
          best practices to be used to carry out a project with a grant 
          awarded under this subsection.
      (f) Research Seminars and Forums.--The Under Secretary and the 
  Director shall carry out a series of national seminars and forums that 
  assemble a broad collection of scientific disciplines to direct 
  researchers to work collaboratively to carry out the purposes described 
  in subsection (b).
      (g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
  appropriated $285,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 
  2018 to carry out this section.
  
  SEC. 4. NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE DATABASE.
  
      (a) Requirement to Establish.--The Under Secretary and the Director 
  shall establish a National Infrastructure Database for the purposes 
  of--
              (1) cataloging and characterizing the physical, social, and 
          natural infrastructure in order to provide a baseline for 
          developing standards, measuring modification, and determining 
          loss;
              (2) providing information to Federal, State, and local 
          government officials to improve information public policy 
          related to hurricanes and tropical storms; and
              (3) providing data to researchers to improve their ability 
          to measure hurricane impacts, separate such impacts from other 
          effects, both natural and anthropogenic, make effective 
          recommendations for improved building codes and urban planning 
          practices, and develop effective procedures for responding to 
          infrastructure disruption.
      (b) Database Requirements.--The National Infrastructure Database 
  shall be a virtual, cyber environment that uses existing capabilities 
  and facilities, and establishes new capabilities and facilities, as 
  appropriate, to provide an interoperable environment and the necessary 
  metadata and other resources needed by users of that Database.
      (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
  appropriated $20,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2018 
  to carry out this section.
  
  SEC. 5. NATIONAL HURRICANE RESEARCH MODEL.
  
      (a) Requirement to Establish.--The Under Secretary and the Director 
  shall develop a National Hurricane Research Model to conduct 
  integrative research and to facilitate the transfer of research 
  knowledge to operational applications, including linking relevant 
  theoretical, physical, and computational models from atmospheric, 
  oceanic, economic, sociological, engineered infrastructure, and 
  ecologic fields, conducting experimental research to understand the 
  extensive complexities of hurricanes, and obtaining measurable results 
  in a comprehensive framework suitable for testing end-to-end 
  integrative systems.
      (b) System Requirements.--The National Hurricane Research Model 
  shall be a physically distributed and highly coordinated working 
  environment in which research from the National Hurricane Research can 
  be experimentally substantiated using suitable quantitative metrics, 
  and where a culture of interaction and collaboration can further be 
  promoted, including in the areas of--
              (1) facilities and cyberinfrastructure;
              (2) software integration; and
              (3) fixed mobile data collection platforms and data 
          provisioning systems.
      (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
  appropriated $130,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 
  2018 to carry out this section.
target: National Hurricane Research Initiative Act of 2006 - Requires the Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere of the Department of Commerce and the Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) to establish a National Hurricane Research Initiative and to cooperate with other specified federal agencies to carry it out.
  
  Requires such Initiative to set research objectives (based on a National Science Board report on the need for such Initiative) to: (1) make recommendations to the Board; (2) assemble the expertise of U.S. science and engineering capabilities through a multi-agency effort focused on infrastructure, the natural environment, and improving understanding of hurricane prediction, intensity, and mitigation on coastal populations; and (3) make grants for hurricane research, including regarding hurricane dynamics, modification, and observation, air-sea interaction, relationships between hurricanes and climate, predicting flooding and storm surge, coastal infrastructure, building construction, emergency communication networks, information utilization by public officials, and sharing computational capability.
  
  Directs the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, through the National Science and Technology Council, to coordinate U.S. activities related to the Initiative as a formal program with a well-defined organizational structure and execution plan.
  
  Directs the Under Secretary and the Director to: (1) establish a National Infrastructure Database to catalog infrastructure, provide information to improve information public policy related to hurricanes, and provide data to improve researchers' abilities to measure hurricane impacts in order to improve building codes and urban planning; and (2) develop a National Hurricane Research Model to conduct integrative research and facilitate the transfer of research knowledge to operational applications.
feat_title: A bill to establish the National Hurricane Research Initiative to improve hurricane preparedness, and for other purposes.