S.Amdt. 3604

SA 3604. Mr. HICKENLOOPER submitted an amendment intended to be
proposed by him to the bill S. 2296, to authorize appropriations for
fiscal year 2026 for military activities of the Department of Defense,
for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department
of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal
year, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as
follows:

At the end of subtitle B of title III, add the following:

SEC. 320A. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMERCIAL WEATHER DATA PROGRAMS
OF RECORD WITHIN DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE
AND DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY.

(a) Establishment.--Not later than September 30, 2027, the
Secretary of the Air Force and the Secretary of the Navy
shall each establish a program of record within the
Department of the Air Force and the Department of the Navy,
respectively--
(1) to acquire and use commercial weather data--
(A) to support operational weather forecasting; and
(B) to enhance mission planning and execution in data-
sparse and contested environments;
(2) to integrate such data into the meteorological and
decision-support frameworks of the Department of the Air
Force and the Department of the Navy; and
(3) to ensure resilience against adversarial advancements
in space-based environmental monitoring.
(b) Submission to Congress.--Not later than March 1, 2026,
the Secretary of the Air Force and the Secretary of the Navy
shall submit to the congressional defense committees--
(1) a transition plan to carry out the requirements under
subsection (a), including cost projections and requirements
through fiscal year 2031 under the future-years defense
program submitted to Congress by the Secretary of Defense
pursuant to section 221 of title 10, United States Code;
(2) an acquisition strategy to carry out such requirements,
considering middle tier or major capability pathways under
Department of Defense Instruction 5000.85 (relating to major
capability acquisition), or successor instruction; and
(3) budget justification materials to carry out such
requirements, to be included with the budget of the President
for that fiscal year submitted under section 1105(a) of title
31, United States Code.
(c) Fiscal Year 2026 Planning and Transition Activities.--
The Secretary of the Air Force and the Secretary of the Navy
may use amounts available to the Secretary concerned for
fiscal year 2026--
(1) to develop transition plans and acquisition strategies
to carry out the requirements under subsection (a);
(2) to conduct technical assessments of commercial weather
data capabilities; and
(3) to support pilot integration and requirements
definition in coordination with the Joint Staff, commanders
of relevant combatant commands, and the weather enterprise of
the Air Force.
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