Sec. 211. National Weather Service workforce
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Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Director of the National Weather Service shall submit to the Under Secretary and Congress an assessment of the milestones, timelines, and service level expectations required for the expeditious hiring and timely onboarding of employees of the National Weather Service. Each assessment required by paragraph
(1)may include the following: Recommendations to outsource hiring to any entity other than the National Weather Service in order to meet the milestones, timelines, and service level expectations described in paragraph (1). Determinations of the number of staff and designated positions required at each forecasting office to provide services to protect lives and property in the geographic region of responsibility. The Director of the National Weather Service shall enter into a contract with, or continue to partner with, an entity other than the National Weather Service to conduct an assessment of medical impacts, including stress and long-term health impacts, on employees of the National Weather Service related to required rotating shift work. The assessment required by paragraph
(1)may include— options for mitigating the impacts on employees described in that paragraph; and recommendations for improving benefits related to required rotating shift work. Notwithstanding the results of the assessment under subsection (a), the Director of the National Weather Service shall establish service level standards based on staffing levels. The Director of the National Weather Service may designate at least one service hydrologist at each Weather Forecast Office of the National Weather Service. Notwithstanding paragraphs
(3)and (4), the Director of the National Weather Service may assign the performance of the responsibilities described in this subsection to such other staff of the National Weather Service as the Director considers appropriate. In order to increase impact-based decision support services, each service coordination hydrologist designated under paragraph
(1)shall, with respect to hydrology, carry out the following: Provide service to the geographic area of responsibility covered by the Weather Forecast Office at which the service coordination hydrologist is employed to help ensure that users of products and services of the National Weather Service can respond effectively to improve outcomes from flood events. Liaise with users of products and services of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, such as emergency managers, the public, academia, media outlets, users in the hydropower, transportation, recreation, and agricultural communities, and forestry, land, fisheries, and water management interests, to evaluate the adequacy and usefulness of the products and services referred to in subparagraph (A), including extended-range streamflow forecasts, water supply forecasts, drought outlooks, flood inundation mapping, coastal inundation, and flood warnings. Collaborate with the National Water Center, the River Forecast Centers, other Weather Forecast Offices, the National Integrated Drought Information System, offices of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and Federal, State, local, and Tribal government agencies, as the Director considers appropriate, in developing, proposing, and implementing plans to develop, modify, or tailor such products and services to improve the usefulness of such products and services. Engage in interagency partnerships with Federal, State, local, and Tribal government agencies to explore the use of forecast-informed reservoir operations to reduce flood risk and inform decisions related to water resources management. Ensure the maintenance and accuracy of flooding and water resource management partner call lists, appropriate office hydrologic service policy or procedures, and other hydrologic information or dissemination methodologies or strategies. Work closely with Federal, State, local, and Tribal emergency and floodplain management agencies, and other agencies relating to disaster management, to ensure a planned, coordinated, and effective preparedness and response effort. A service coordination hydrologist designated under paragraph
(1)may, with respect to hydrology— work with a State agency to develop plans for promoting more effective use of products and services of the National Weather Service throughout the State concerned; identify priority community preparedness objectives; develop plans to carry out the responsibilities described in paragraph (3); and conduct flooding event preparedness planning and citizen education efforts with and through various State, local, and Tribal government agencies and other disaster management-related organizations. The Director of the National Weather Service shall— perform pilot projects for— transformational services related to decision support services and technology; transitioning data and services to the cloud; provision of on-site decision support for emergency management operations; and transitioning to and communication of probabilistic models, forecasts, and hazard information; and conduct a study to assess the capabilities needed to scale those pilot projects toward a new and more efficient and effective operations model. The authority under paragraph
(1)shall terminate on the date that is 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act. Nothing in this section may be construed to authorize or require a change in the authorized number of full-time equivalent employees of the National Weather Service or otherwise result in the employment of any additional employees. Title IV of the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 ( 15 U.S.C. 8541 et seq. ), as amended by section 114(a), is further amended by adding at the end the following: Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this section, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall categorize each position in the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration specified under paragraph
(2)as a protective service occupation under the Standard Occupational Classification System. The positions that are specified in this paragraph are positions in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that are— determined by the Under Secretary to be involved in supporting forecasts and warnings to protect human life and property; and determined by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management to be— a position in the Engineering and Architecture occupational series listed under occupational series 0801, 0802, 0810, 0855, or 0856; a position in the Production Controller (Aircraft) occupational series (1152); a position in the Physical Sciences occupational series listed under occupational series 1301, 1313, 1315, 1340, 1341, 1360, 1370, or 1372; a position in the Equipment Specialist Series (Aircraft) occupational series (1670); a position in the Information Technology Management occupational series (2210); or a position held by a professional mariner (as defined in section 269B of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps Act of 2002 ( 33 U.S.C. 3079b ), including a position in occupational series 0865, 9901, 9916, 9920, 9923–24, 9927–28, 9931–34, 9944, 9954, 9960, 9965, 9968, 9971, 9973, and 9984). Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this section, the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere shall provide a briefing on the implementation of this section to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives. Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this section, the Under Secretary shall submit to Congress a 5-year staffing plan for— the National Weather Service; and any positions within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that support forecasts and warnings to protect human life and property, including positions that involve— collection of data for incorporation into watches and warnings; operation and maintenance of equipment for collection of data described in subparagraph (A); maintenance of information technology systems; modeling for forecasts and warnings; and research to improve forecasts, warnings, and communication of those warnings to better protect human life and property. . The table of contents for the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 409 the following: Sec. 410. Classification of and staffing plan for employees and protection from hiring freezes. .
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