S 517 · 109th Congress 2005โ€“2007, ended

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.

  1. IntroducedMar 3, 2005
  2. Passed SenateNot reached
  3. Passed HouseNot reached
  4. To the PresidentNot reached
  5. 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.

No cosponsors are on file for this measure.

Committees 1

Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.

ChamberCommitteeWhat it did
SenateCommerce, 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.

  1. 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.
  2. Dec 8, 2005Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 319.
  3. Nov 17, 2005Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
  4. 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.
  5. Mar 3, 2005Introduced in Senate
  6. 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.

WhereIn the RecordMembersDate
SenateDebate and remarks S2025Text printed S2025Kay 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

  1. 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>
  2. 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.

NumberHearingCommitteeHeld
S. Hrg. 109-446WEATHER MODIFICATION AND S. 517, THE WEATHER MODIFICATION RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER AUTHORIZATION ACT OF 200540 pagesCommerce, Science, and Transportation CommitteeNov 10, 2005
Serial No. 109-13THE IMPACTS OF HIGH ENERGY COSTS TO THE AMERICAN CONSUMER72 pagesNatural Resources CommitteeMay 19, 2005

Related bills 1

Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.

BillTitleRelationshipLatest action
HR 2995Weather Modification Research and Technology Transfer Authorization Act of 2005Related billJun 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.

Text 2

Each version as it was printed, newest first.

  1. Dec 8, 2005Reported to Senate
  2. Mar 3, 2005Introduced in Senate

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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.