Committee Passes Bipartisan Weather Research Bill
(Washington, DC) – Today the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology held a markup of H.R. 1561, the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2015. The bill passed out of Committee on a bipartisan voice vote.
H.R. 1561 improves weather research at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration by advancing programs and activities that will make critical investments in the nation’s observational, computing, and modeling capabilities in support of more accurate, timely, and effective weather warnings and forecasts. Furthermore, the legislation will bridge the gap between researchers and forecasters accelerating the pace of innovation in weather forecasting tools and processes.
Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) said, “America has some of the most diverse and dangerous weather events of any country on Earth. To help our citizens cope with this, we need to have the very best weather forecasting system in the world. This bill represents one very positive step to improving the American weather forecasting system. This is a good bill that will save lives and make our communities safer.”
The Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2015 builds on a similar bill that passed the House last Congress, H.R. 2413, the Weather Forecasting Improvement Act of 2013. Several improvements were made to the bill including ensuring that NOAA sets priorities within weather research to most effectively use funds; expands commercial opportunities for the provision of weather data by establishing a pilot program for NOAA to enter into an agreement to buy data from space-based commercial providers as a “proof of concept”; reestablishes the Mark Trail Award, given out to organizations and individuals who have relied upon a warning issued through NOAA Weather Radio “All Hazards Network” to save the lives of others; and encourages stronger relations within NOAA, stronger relations between NOAA and the research community, and more interaction between NOAA and the business community.
Ranking Member of the Environment Subcommittee, Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), an original cosponsor of the bill, worked with Majority Members to negotiate this bipartisan legislation. She said, “We moved a very similar piece of legislation in the last Congress under the leadership of then-Environment Subcommittee Chairman Chris Stewart and current Chairman Jim Bridenstine. . .That was a good bill, but the legislation before us is a better bill. The bill before us today is designed to improve public safety, enhance the American economy, and transform the innovation culture at NOAA. I am confident that its passage will improve weather forecasting and tangibly benefit our constituents.”
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