Sec. 12515. Improvements to the United States Drought Monitor
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Section 12512 of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 ( 7 U.S.C. 5856 ) is amended— in subsection (c), in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking this Act and inserting the ; Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act of 2024 in subsection (d)(2), by striking 2023 and inserting 2029 ; and by adding at the end the following: Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of the Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act of 2024 , the Secretary shall establish an interagency working group (referred to in this subsection as the working group ) to improve the availability of consistent, accurate, and reliable data for use in producing the United States Drought Monitor in accordance with this section.
The working group shall consist of not fewer than— 4 representatives from the Department of Agriculture, including 1 representative from each of— the Office of the Chief Economist, who shall serve as the Chair of the working group; the Forest Service; the Farm Production and Conservation mission area; and the Office of the Chief Scientist; 4 representatives from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, including 1 representative from each of— the Climate Prediction Center; the National Centers for Environmental Information; the National Integrated Drought Information System; and the National Mesonet Program; 1 representative from the National Drought Mitigation Center; 1 representative from the Department of the Interior; and 3 representatives from mesonet programs in regions— that have experienced severe drought, as determined by the United States Drought Monitor, in not less than 5 calendar years during the period of calendar years 2012 through 2021; and more than 50 percent of the land area of which is designated by the Economic Research Service as a Level 1 frontier and remote area.
The working group shall— develop a means for the inclusion of additional in-situ data into the process of developing the United States Drought Monitor, including— determining minimum requirements for data to be included in the United States Drought Monitor; identifying data available from other government agencies, including through portals managed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; and identifying gaps in coverage and determining solutions to address those gaps; identify and address potential barriers to the use of existing data, including— identifying Federal datasets that would be of immediate use in developing the United States Drought Monitor where access is restricted to some or all authors of the United States Drought Monitor; and developing proposed accommodations, modifications to contractual agreements, or updates to interagency memoranda of understanding to allow for incorporation of datasets identified under clause (i); develop an open and transparent methodology for vetting data products developed using remote sensing or modeling; if determined appropriate by the working group, develop a methodology for inclusion of data that may otherwise be excluded from the United States Drought Monitor due to shorter periods of record; and identify and address any other issues relating to data availability and quality, as determined appropriate by the Chair of the working group.
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act of 2024 , the working group shall submit to the Secretary, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of the Interior, and the relevant committees of Congress a report containing recommendations for changes in policies, regulations, guidance documents, or existing law to meet the objectives described in paragraph (3). In this paragraph, the term relevant committees of Congress means— the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate; the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate; the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives; and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives.
Not later than 180 days after the date of submission of the report under paragraph (4), the Secretary, in coordination with the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of the Interior, shall incorporate, to the extent practicable, the recommendations of the working group to improve the United States Drought Monitor in accordance with this section. The working group shall terminate on the date that is 90 days after the date on which the report is submitted under paragraph (4). .
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Sec. 12515
Improvements to the United States Drought Monitor
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