Geoscience Policy Monthly Review
april 2016
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space
Senate committee passes the Space Weather Research and Forecasting Act
April 27, 2016
The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee passed the Space Weather Research and Forecasting Act (S. 2817) on April 27.
Sponsored by Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), S. 2817 would improve space weather forecasting and help mitigate damage from space weather to communication satellites, GPS, and the electric grid. Senators Edward Markey (D-MA) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) submitted technical amendments to the bill. Sen. Markey’s amendment includes a provision on developing crustal conductivity models to assess space weather, and Sen. Schatz’s amendment would increase the use of ground-based instruments in observations of the Sun.
The bill will now head to the Senate floor for consideration.
Sources: Congress.gov, Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation