S 1523

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IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

April 30, 2025

Mrs. Britt (for herself 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 modify operations of the National Water Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the “Water Research Optimization Act of 2025”.

SEC. 2. MODIFICATION OF OPERATIONS OF NATIONAL WATER CENTER.

Section 301 of the Coordinated Ocean Observations and Research Act of 2020 (42 U.S.C. 10371) is amended— (1) in subsection (a)— (A) in paragraph (1)(A)— (i) in the matter preceding clause

(i), by inserting “, within the Office of Water Prediction of the National Weather Service,” after “shall establish”; (ii) in clause (i), by striking “and” after the semicolon; (iii) in clause (ii), by striking the period and inserting “; and”; and (iv) by adding at the end the following new clause: “(iii) to lead the transition of water research by the Federal Government, including model development, into operations of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Weather Service.”; (B) in paragraph (2), by adding at the end the following: “(F) Serving as the primary center within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for research, development, collaboration, and coordination of the water research and operational activities of the Administration and other centers and networks of the Federal Government, including those of the Department of Agriculture, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of Reclamation, the United States Geological Survey, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. “(G) Integrating and promoting consistency among national and regional hydrological operations.”; and (C) by adding at the end the following: “(3) Incorporation into unified forecast system.—The Under Secretary shall use the Weather and Climate Operational Supercomputing System, or any successor system, to support the development and implementation of advanced water resources modeling capabilities under paragraph (2)(B) and shall incorporate those modeling capabilities into the unified forecast system.”; (2) by striking subsection (b); (3) by redesignating subsections (c), (d), and (e) as subsections (b), (e), and (f), respectively; (4) by inserting after subsection (b), as redesignated by paragraph (3), the following: “(c) Organization With River Forecast Centers.—The Under Secretary, acting through the Director of the Office of Water Prediction of the National Weather Service, shall supervise and oversee the administration, management, and operations of each River Forecast Center of the National Weather Service and coordinate those operations with the National Water Center. “(d) Administration and Management of Cooperative Institute for Research to Operations in Hydrology.—The Under Secretary, acting through the Director of the Office of Water Prediction of the National Weather Service, shall administer the duties and activities of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration related to the Cooperative Institute for Research to Operations in Hydrology, or any successor entity, and coordinate the activities of the Institute with the National Water Center.”; and (5) in subsection (e)(4), as redesignated by paragraph (3), by striking “fiscal year 2024” and inserting “each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028”.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the “Water Research Optimization Act of 2025”.

SEC. 2. MODIFICATION OF OPERATIONS OF NATIONAL WATER CENTER.

Section 301 of the Coordinated Ocean Observations and Research Act of 2020 (42 U.S.C. 10371) is amended—

(1) in subsection (a)—

(A) in paragraph (1)(A)—

(i) in the matter preceding clause (i), by inserting “, within the Office of Water Prediction of the National Weather Service,” after “shall establish”;

(ii) in clause (i), by striking “and” after the semicolon;

(iii) in clause (ii), by striking the period and inserting “; and”; and

(iv) by adding at the end the following new clause:

“(iii) to lead the transition of water research by the Federal Government, including model development, into operations of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Weather Service.”;

(B) in paragraph (2), by adding at the end the following:

“(F) Serving as the primary center within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for research, development, collaboration, and coordination of the water research and water forecast activities of the Administration and other centers and networks of the Federal Government, including those of the Department of Agriculture, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of Reclamation, the United States Geological Survey, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

“(G) Integrating and promoting consistency among national and regional hydrological forecast operations and service delivery.”; and

(C) by adding at the end the following:

“(3) Incorporation into unified forecast system.—The Under Secretary shall use the Weather and Climate Operational Supercomputing System, or any successor system, to support the development and implementation of advanced water resources modeling capabilities under paragraph (2)(B) and shall incorporate those modeling capabilities into the unified forecast system.”;

(2) by striking subsection (b);

(3) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (b);

(4) by inserting after subsection (b), as redesignated by paragraph (3), the following:

“(c) Organization and Administration.—The Under Secretary, acting through the Director of the Office of Water Prediction of the National Weather Service, shall—

“(1) supervise and oversee the administration, management, and operations of each River Forecast Center of the National Weather Service and coordinate those operations with the National Water Center; and

“(2) administer the duties and activities of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration related to the Cooperative Institute for Research to Operations in Hydrology, or any successor entity, and coordinate the activities of the Institute with the National Water Center.”; and

(5) in subsection (d)(4) by inserting before the period the following: “and each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030”. Calendar No. 196

119th CONGRESS

1st Session

S. 1523

[Report No. 119-85]

A BILL

To modify operations of the National Water Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and for other purposes.

October 21, 2025

Reported with an amendment