Text of Senate Amendment 6001

On 2026-06-23, Senator Michael F. Bennet (D-CO) delivered a floor speech titled "Text Of Senate Amendment 6001" in the Senate.

Text of Senate Amendment 6001

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 105 (Tuesday, June 23, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 105 (Tuesday, June 23, 2026)] [Senate] [Pages S3124-S3125] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] SA 6001. Mr. BENNET (for himself and Mr. Hickenlooper) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 4784, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2027 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 title X, add the following: [[Page S3125]] SEC. 1094. REPORT ON THE NATIONAL SECURITY IMPORTANCE OF THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH. (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following: (1) Extreme weather, geomagnetic storms, and atmospheric variability pose severe, difficult to predict threats to Department of Defense installations, global military logistics, and troop readiness. (2) The National Center for Atmospheric Research (referred to in this section as ``NCAR'') serves as a critical national security asset by providing advanced atmospheric modeling, space weather forecasting, and supercomputing capabilities that are directly utilized by the Air Force Weather Agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the intelligence community, the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command, and the 45th Weather Squadron of the Space Force. (3) NCAR's flagship infrastructure, including the Mesa Laboratory in Boulder, Colorado, and the NCAR-Wyoming Supercomputing Center, provides the foundational computational physics necessary to simulate complex battlefield environments, ensure satellite communications integrity, and protect domestic defense infrastructure. (4) Fragmentation, divestment, or arbitrary, politically- motivated structural changes to NCAR's unified facilities would create critical gaps in United States weather intelligence, directly undermining the tactical advantages of the Armed Forces. (b) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report assessing the Department of Defense's reliance on the capabilities of NCAR. (c) Elements.--The report required under subsection (b) shall include the following: (1) An evaluation of how Department of Defense predictive weather models and space weather forecasting rely on NCAR- developed community models and supercomputing infrastructure. (2) An evaluation of the impact of NCAR-developed environmental intelligence and forecasting infrastructure on tactical troop safety, including an assessment of how the degradation or disruption of such infrastructure could increase risks to service members during-- (A) live-fire training exercises, munitions-handling, and fueling operations; (B) high-altitude aviation and low-altitude helicopter operations in degraded visual environments; and (C) deployments in areas subject to extreme weather, severe turbulence, or microburst wind shear. (3) A risk assessment of the potential impacts on military installations, aviation safety, and naval operations if NCAR facilities, including the Mesa Laboratory and the NCAR- Wyoming Supercomputing Center, face structural divestment, fragmentation, or closure. (4) A description of any specialized research aircraft or observational platforms operated by NCAR that support Department of Defense test and evaluation missions. (d) Form.--The report required by subsection (b) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex. ______