(a) The Secretary shall publish each proposed certification in the Federal Register at least 60 days prior to certification. If, after consideration of the public comments received, the Secretary agrees that the proposed restructuring will not result in any degradation of service to the service area, he or she shall so certify by submitting a certification report to Congress. Upon transmittal of the certification by the secretary, NWS shall promptly publish the certification in the Federal Register stating where copies of the certification and the accompanying documents may be obtained.

(b) The Responsible Meteorologist may restructure only after the certification has been submitted to Congress.

(c) Any field office for which restructuring has been certified under this section shall also be subject to additional certification if that office is closed during stage 2 of the modernization. No field office will close before January 1, 1996.