S.Amdt. 6565

This amendment, submitted by Mr. Cruz, aims to add a new section to the bill called Sharing of Department of Defense Environmental Observational Data. Its purpose is to create a system where the Department of Defense reviews and shares environmental data with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to improve forecasting for space weather, oceans, and weather.

Key Changes and Additions

• Data Sharing Process: The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Commerce must establish a process within 18 months to continually share environmental observational data.

• Eligible Data: Data can be shared if it is in a standard machine-readable format with metadata, can be unclassified or declassified, is agreed upon as likely to improve forecasts, and can be shared within the U.S. Government.

• Security Constraints: The Secretary of Defense can unilaterally take a covered action—which includes severing connectivity, withholding data release, or limiting distribution—to protect military operations, sensitive sources, or if civilian IT systems are not cybersecure.

• Accountability: The Secretary of Defense must consult with the Secretary of Commerce within 48 hours of taking a covered action to explain the rationale.

• Congressional Reporting: Within two years, a joint report must be sent to Congress detailing the categories of data shared, barriers to release, cybersecurity challenges, reciprocal data sharing from NOAA to the Department of Defense, and recommendations for improvement.