Weather Modification Research and Development Policy Authorization Act of 2005
Latest action · Dec 8, 2005 Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 319.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedMar 3, 2005
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Weather Modification Research and Development Policy Authorization Act of 2005 - (Sec. 4) Directs the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy to establish a Weather Modification Subcommittee to coordinate a national research program on weather modification. Requires the Subcommittee to include representatives from: (1) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); (2) the National Science Foundation (NSF); and (3) the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Provides for a representative from NOAA and a representative from NSF to serve together as co-chairs of such Subcommittee.
Requires the Director to develop and submit a plan for coordinated federal activities under the program, which shall: (1) for a ten-year period, establish the goals and priorities for federal research that most effectively advances scientific understanding of weather modification; (2) describe specific activities required to achieve such goals and priorities, including funding of competitive research grants, training and support for scientists, and participation in international research efforts; (3) identify and address, as appropriate, relevant programs and activities of the federal agencies and departments that would contribute to the program; (4) consider and use, as appropriate, reports and studies conducted by federal agencies and departments, and other expert scientific bodies, including the National Research Council report on Critical Issues in Weather Modification Research; (5) make recommendations for the coordination of program activities with weather modification activities of other national and international organizations; (6) incorporate recommendations from the Weather Modification Research Advisory Board; and (7) estimate federal funding for research activities to be conducted under the program.
Specifies activities related to weather modification that may be included under the program, including: (1) interdisciplinary research and coordination of research and activities to improve understanding of processes relating to weather modification, including cloud modeling, cloud seeding, improving forecast and decision-making technologies, related severe weather research, and potential adverse affects of weather modification; (2) development, through partnerships among federal agencies, states, and academic institutions, of new technologies and approaches for weather modification; and (3) scholarships and educational opportunities that encourage an interdisciplinary approach to weather modification.
Requires the Director to prepare and submit to the President and Congress annual reports on the activities conducted pursuant to this Act respecting the Weather Modification Subcommittee, including: (1) a summary of the achievements of federal weather modification research; (2) an analysis of the progress made toward achieving the goals and objectives of the plan; (3) a copy or summary of the plan and any changes made to it; (4) a summary of agency budgets for weather modification activities; (5) any recommendations regarding additional action or legislation that may be required to assist in achieving the purposes of this Act; (6) a description of the relationship between research conducted on weather modification and research conducted pursuant to the Global Change Research Act of 1990, as well as research on weather forecasting and prediction; and (7) a description of any potential adverse consequences on life, property, or water resource availability from weather modification efforts, and any suggested means of mitigating or reducing such consequences if such efforts are undertaken.
(Sec. 5) Establishes in the Office of Science and Technology Policy the Weather Modification Research Advisory Board to: (1) make recommendations to the Weather Modification Subcommittee on matters related to weather modification; and (2) advise such Subcommittee on the research and development, studies, and investigations with respect to potential uses of technologies and observation systems for weather modification research and assessments and evaluations of the efficacy of weather modification, both purposeful, (including cloud-seeding operations) and inadvertent (including downwind effects and anthropogenic effects).
(Sec. 6) Instructs U.S. departments and agencies and any other public or private agencies and institutions that receive research funds from the United States related to weather modification to give full support and cooperation to the Weather Modification Subcommittee.
Cosponsors
Members who signed on, in the order they did.
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee | Referred Mar 3, 2005Markup Nov 17, 2005Reported Dec 8, 2005 |
| Science and Space Subcommittee | Hearings Nov 10, 2005 |
Actions 6
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Dec 8, 2005Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Stevens under authority of the order of the Senate of 11/18/2005 with an amendment in the nature of a substitute and an amendment to the title. With written report No. 109-202.
- Dec 8, 2005Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 319.
- Nov 17, 2005Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
- Nov 10, 2005Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Science and Space. Hearings held including Subcommittee on Disaster Prevention and Prediction. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 109-446.
- Mar 3, 2005Introduced in Senate
- Mar 3, 2005Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. (text of measure as introduced: CR S2025-2026)
In the Congressional Record 1
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | Debate and remarks S2025Text printed S2025 | Kay Bailey Hutchison R-TX (text) | Mar 3, 2005 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Committee report
Congressional Budget Office cost estimates 2
- Dec 1, 2005S. 517, Weather Modification Research and Development Policy Act of 2005<p>Cost estimate for the bill as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on November 17, 2005</p>
- Dec 1, 2005S. 517, Weather Modification Research and Development Policy Act of 2005Cost estimate for the bill as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on November 17, 2005
Printed hearings 2
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| S. Hrg. 109-446 | WEATHER MODIFICATION AND S. 517, THE WEATHER MODIFICATION RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER AUTHORIZATION ACT OF 200540 pages | Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee | Nov 10, 2005 |
| Serial No. 109-13 | THE IMPACTS OF HIGH ENERGY COSTS TO THE AMERICAN CONSUMER72 pages | Natural Resources Committee | May 19, 2005 |
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 2995 | Weather Modification Research and Technology Transfer Authorization Act of 2005 | Related bill | Jun 27, 2005 |
Titles 3
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to establish a Weather Modification Operations and Research Board, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Weather Modification Research and Technology Transfer Authorization Act of 2005
- Short Titles as Reported to Senate
- Weather Modification Research and Development Policy Authorization Act of 2005
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources.
- Computer software
- Computers
- Decision making
- Department of Commerce
- Economics and Public Finance
- Executive reorganization
- Federal advisory bodies
- Federal aid to research
- Government Operations and Politics
- Government paperwork
- Government trust funds
- Governmental investigations
- Meteorological research
- Public Lands and Natural Resources
- Rain and rainfall
- Remote sensing
- Research and development
- Research grants
- Science, Technology, Communications
- Weather control
- Weather forecasting
Text 2
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Dec 8, 2005Reported to Senate
- Mar 3, 2005Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.