Advanced Weather Model Computing Development Act

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1715) to direct the Department of Energy and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to conduct collaborative research in order to advance numerical weather and climate prediction in the United States, and for other purposes.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 1715, the bill now under consideration.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of my bill, H.R. 1715, the Advanced Weather Model Computing Development Act.

This legislation authorizes the collaborative research partnership between the United States Department of Energy and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to improve weather modeling and prediction on high-performance computers.

Americans rely on accurate weather forecasting before, during, and after extreme weather events. Recent severe outbreaks across the country have further highlighted the increased need for more accurate and effective prediction of extreme weather in every region of the country. This type of weather prediction relies on the analysis of increasingly large and complex datasets through high-performance computing resources.

DOE is home to some of the most advanced supercomputers, including the first exascale computer, and the most advanced scientific computer capabilities in the world. This legislation will enable large leaps in knowledge and operational tools by leveraging DOE's high-performance computing capabilities to analyze NOAA's complex and large weather datasets.

By working together, DOE and NOAA can combine their respective expertise to solve some of today's most challenging problems in environmental science. By authorizing this partnership, we can ensure these agencies can continue their essential interagency research for years to come. We can also save taxpayer money by sharing mutually beneficial resources instead of building out duplicative capabilities at different agencies.

This legislation would codify that partnership and provide new paths forward for this important work and new mechanisms for collaboration. In this way, we can increase government efficiency by working across the larger Federal landscape, a good government measure that will not only result in the protection of lives and property but also efficiently utilize existing Federal research dollars.

It is smart, bipartisan policy, and I thank Ranking Member Ross for working with me on this legislation.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time. I am prepared to close once the gentlewoman from California closes, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I feel the same way and echo the sentiment, and I thank the gentlewoman for her comments.

As I mentioned in my opening remarks, H.R. 1715 is a good government bill that leverages existing Federal research dollars to advance weather and climate science that will protect American lives and property. It is bipartisan, commonsense legislation, which is why it recently passed unanimously through the committee.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill once again, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise in enthusiastic support of H.R. 1715, the Advanced Weather Model Computing Development Act. Introduced by Representatives Deborah Ross and Max Miller, this good bipartisan legislation significantly advances the weather forecasting and climate modeling missions of the Department of Energy and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, otherwise known as NOAA, by authorizing collaborative research partnerships between the agencies.

Climate change is fueling extreme weather events, which poses significant threats to life and causes massive property damage across the United States. My home State of California has experienced billion- dollar extreme weather events and disasters. No State in our Nation is untouched by the damaging physical and emotional impacts of windstorms, flooding, and other disasters.

Deadly storms across the South and Midwest and entire communities being washed away in Alaska are only a few of the many challenges that extreme weather events and climate change pose. In my own district in California, we have seen flooding in Monterey County, in Pajaro, in Watsonville, in San Benito County, and great devastation and suffering. Supporting a robust Federal weather and climate research enterprise is invaluable to the safety and well-being of the Nation.

This bill is a necessary push forward for our weather and climate modeling capabilities, as it lets NOAA utilize DOE's high-performing computing capabilities and expertise. It also would improve the scientific computing infrastructure between both agencies, a critical need that NOAA has repeatedly expressed as being a roadblock to more timely and accurate weather forecasts.

An important aspect of the research which this bill would support is that it would improve NOAA's ability to accurately forecast weather and climate events by improving the utilization of preexisting data streams. This increases the bang for the buck for every taxpayer dollar spent on acquiring data while also improving our Nation's resilience to weather and climate disasters.

Madam Speaker, I thank again the sponsors of this legislation. I strongly urge all Members of the House to support this timely and important bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Ross), an enormously talented member of the Science, Space, and Technology Committee.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman

from Michigan (Ms. Stevens), a valued member of the Science, Space, and Technology Committee.

Madam Speaker, I am grateful to Representative Ross for the expertise and diligence and hard work that she puts in on the Science Committee. Her knowledge is invaluable, but there is something else. In this body, we know there is sometimes acrimony and fighting. She is someone, along with Mr. Miller, who wants to get things done, who put aside that kind of dissension and work together for the betterment of our country. I am grateful to both of them.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1715, the Advanced Weather Model Computing Development Act.

As all Members know, the United States has witnessed an alarming rise in severe weather events. According to NOAA, in 2020 alone, the U.S. experienced 22 disasters in which the total damages exceeded $1 billion.

North Carolina is no stranger to extreme weather. Flooding occurs an average of every 7.6 days in my home State. Hurricanes Matthew and Florence in 2016 and 2018 killed 76 people and caused a combined $21.8 billion in damages.

As climate change continues to drive the growing number of severe weather events, accurate and timely forecasts have never been more important for protecting American lives.

This bill will enable NOAA to do just that, by fostering a groundbreaking partnership with DOE that will tap DOE's computing resources and expertise to improve weather modeling.

Our bipartisan legislation with the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Miller) will enhance tools available to outstanding forecasters at the National Weather Service who dedicate their time and expertise to protecting lives, property, aviation, commerce, agriculture, and so much more.

Madam Speaker, I also thank Ranking Member Lofgren and Chairman Lucas for their leadership. I urge my colleagues to support the bill.

Madam Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Lofgren and my phenomenal colleague, Ms. Deborah Ross, for their leadership in putting forth this piece of legislation in a bipartisan way alongside the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Miller). Ms. Ross hails from Research Triangle Park, and there is no one better in this institution to understand and put forth the systems of our supercomputer technology, matching the Department of Energy alongside NOAA to get in front of these storms that are hitting us more ferociously and faster than ever before.

Every single Member of this body can talk about their experience with a storm in their State or in their district. This is very real, and we know that supercomputer technology puts forth the best and the fastest applications. The DOE technology along with NOAA and their capabilities to match these datasets will help us get in front of these storms.

Madam Speaker, I thank Ms. Ross, a second-term member on the Science, Space, and Technology Committee, the ranking member, and the chair for their work on this bill. I urge all Members to join us in passing this bipartisan legislation, getting in front of storms, getting in front of climate change, and making people's lives better.

Mr. Speaker, on May 9, 2023, I was unable to cast my vote on H.R. 1715--Advanced Weather Model Computing Development Act. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 204.