[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3912 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3912

 To reauthorize the National Integrated Drought Information System Act 
                    of 2006, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 25, 2026

  Mr. Sheehy introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To reauthorize the National Integrated Drought Information System Act 
                    of 2006, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``NIDIS Reauthorization Act of 2026''.

SEC. 2. NATIONAL INTEGRATED DROUGHT INFORMATION SYSTEM.

    (a) In General.--Section 3 of the National Integrated Drought 
Information System Act of 2006 (15 U.S.C. 313d) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by striking ``, through the National 
        Weather Service and other appropriate weather and climate 
        programs in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
        Administration,'';
            (2) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 
                        ``and'' after the semicolon;
                            (ii) in subparagraph (B), by inserting 
                        ``and'' after the semicolon; and
                            (iii) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(C) incorporates flash drought research and tools 
                to enhance timely response;'';
                    (B) in paragraph (5), by striking ``improvements in 
                seasonal precipitation and temperature, subseasonal 
                precipitation and temperature, and low flow water 
                prediction; and'' and inserting ``support improvements 
                in subseasonal to seasonal precipitation and 
                temperature, and low flow water prediction;''; and
                    (C) by striking paragraph (6) and inserting the 
                following:
            ``(6) continue ongoing research and monitoring activities 
        related to drought, including research activities relating to 
        the prediction, length, severity, and impacts of drought and 
        the role of weather events and subseasonal to seasonal 
        variability in drought;
            ``(7) advance and deploy next-generation technologies 
        related to drought, such as monitoring, preparedness, and 
        forecasting capabilities utilizing artificial intelligence, 
        machine learning, and cloud technologies;
            ``(8) use observational networks, including the National 
        Weather Service cooperative observer program and State or 
        regional hydrological monitoring projects;
            ``(9) refine drought indicators across multiple spatial and 
        temporal scales;
            ``(10) improve decision support products;
            ``(11) optimize data and resources from across the Federal 
        Government;
            ``(12) investigate and address data gaps, including 
        snowpack monitoring, space-based or in-situ soil moisture 
        monitoring, groundwater data, and data related to rapid 
        intensification events; and
            ``(13) engage with, and leverage the resources of, entities 
        within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in 
        existence as of the date of the enactment of the NIDIS 
        Reauthorization Act of 2026 to improve coordination of water 
        monitoring, forecasting, and management.'';
            (3) in subsection (c)--
                    (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ``and'' after the 
                semicolon;
                    (B) in paragraph (3), by striking the period and 
                inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) in partnership with the National Mesonet Program, 
        establish memoranda of understanding to provide coordinated, 
        high-quality data.''; and
            (4) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(g) Modeling Update.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the 
enactment of the NIDIS Reauthorization Act of 2026, the Under 
Secretary, acting through the National Integrated Drought Information 
System and the National Weather Service, shall develop a plan to 
incorporate existing drought products of the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration and improved dynamical and statistical 
forecast modeling tools into probabilistic forecasts.''.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 4 of the National 
Integrated Drought Information System Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-430; 
15 U.S.C. 313d note) is amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    ``There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act--
            ``(1) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2026.
            ``(2) $15,500,000 for fiscal year 2027.
            ``(3) $16,000,000 for fiscal year 2028.
            ``(4) $16,500,000 for fiscal year 2029.
            ``(5) $17,000,000 for fiscal year 2030.''.
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