Drought Information Act of 2013

Background

The Western Governors' Association described the need for NIDIS in a 2004 report, Creating a Drought Early Warning System for the 21st Century: The National Integrated Drought Information System. The NIDIS is supposed to be an interagency, multi-partner approach to drought monitoring, forecasting, and early warning, led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Provisions of the bill

This summary is based largely on the summary provided by the Congressional Research Service, a public domain source.

Drought Information Act of 2013 would amend the National Integrated Drought Information System Act of 2006 to specify that: (1) the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere shall continue to support the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) Program, and (2) the program's purpose shall be to better inform and provide for more timely decisionmaking to reduce drought related impacts and costs.

The bill would revise NIDIS functions to require the NIDIS to, among other things: (1) provide certain information (including concerning water supplies and soil moisture), forecasts, and assessments described in the Act on both national and regional levels; and (2) continue ongoing research and monitoring activities related to drought and the role of extreme weather events and climate variability in drought.

The bill would require the Under Secretary to provide a report to Congress concerning the NIDIS Program that includes a list of partners with whom the Under Secretary collaborates on NIDIS implementation and a description of NIDIS outreach activities.

The bill would authorize appropriations to carry out the Act through Fiscal Year 2018.

Congressional Budget Office report

This summary is based largely on the summary provided by the Congressional Budget Office, as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on July 30, 2013. This is a public domain source.

S. 376 would amend the National Integrated Drought Information System Act of 2006. The bill would authorize the appropriation of $14.5 million annually over the 2014-2018 period for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to maintain a system to provide early warnings of droughts by collecting and disseminating information and coordinating research on drought conditions. In 2013, the agency received $12 million to carry out similar activities.

Assuming appropriation of the authorized amounts, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that implementing the legislation would cost $65 million over the 2014-2018 period and $8 million after 2018. Enacting S. 376 would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.

S. 376 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.

Procedural history

The Drought Information Act of 2013 was introduced into the United States Senate on February 25, 2013 by Sen. Mark L. Pryor (D, AR). It was referred to the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. On October 28, 2013, it was reported by the committee alongside Committee Report 113-114. On February 3, 2014, the Senate passed the bill by unanimous consent.

Debate and discussion

Senators Mark Pryor, Jerry Moran, John Thune, Tom Udall, and Mark Udall jointly introduced the bill and were all strong supporters.