Advanced Weather Model Computing Development Act
Sponsored By: Senator Sen. Luján, Ben Ray [D-NM]
Introduced
Summary
Uses advanced computing like AI and high-performance systems to build better weather, seasonal, and climate models. This bill would have the Department of Energy and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration run a joint, competitive R&D program to improve model accuracy, resolution, and data analysis using AI, machine learning, numerical methods, and other advanced computing techniques.
Show full summary
- Researchers and institutions: Federal agencies, National Laboratories, universities, and nonprofits could compete in a merit-reviewed process to develop and optimize weather and climate models and supporting software tools.
- Forecast operations and communities: The Initiative requires comparative research that tests new model approaches against traditional forecasts, including National Weather Service outputs, to help improve forecast performance for weather and seasonal timescales.
- Workforce and infrastructure: The bill supports training, long-term archival capacity, and computing infrastructure and allows DOE to establish up to 3 Centers of Excellence at national labs for public-private partnerships and advanced model development.
The Secretary and the NOAA Administrator would report to Congress within 2 years on coordination and results, and the Initiative authority would sunset after 5 years.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.
Advanced weather modeling Initiative
If enacted, NOAA and the Department of Energy would run an Initiative to develop better weather and climate models using advanced computing. The Initiative would fund collaborative research on new methods, performance portability between NOAA and DOE systems, large-data analysis, and scientific computing infrastructure. It would support open community software work, long-term archives of model output, workforce training, and proof-of-concept comparisons with current National Weather Service forecasts. The Initiative would operate under a five-year authority after enactment.
Centers of Excellence at national labs
If enacted, the Secretary of Energy and NOAA could establish up to three Centers of Excellence at National Laboratories to support advanced weather models. The centers would run public-private partnerships for workforce training, develop and optimize software and tools for high-performance computing, and apply advanced computing to improve model accuracy and resolution. The agencies would give selection priority to labs with AI-enabled supercomputers, existing NOAA partnerships, weather-modeling or advanced-computing experience, and proximity to NOAA research labs. The centers would be authorized for up to five years after enactment.
Contracts, selection, and research security
If enacted, DOE and NOAA would be able to sign multi-year contracts under 41 U.S.C. 3903 and enter reimbursable agreements with other agencies to support research and operations. They would be required to use a competitive, merit-reviewed process to select federal agencies, national labs, universities, nonprofits, or consortia to participate. Projects under this Act would need to follow research-security rules in subtitle D of title VI of the Research and Development, Competition, and Innovation Act. These authorities do not themselves appropriate funds.
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Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Sen. Luján, Ben Ray [D-NM]
NM • D
Cosponsors
Sen. Blackburn, Marsha [R-TN]
TN • R
Sponsored 2/12/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
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