Protecting Coasts and Cities from Severe Weather Act

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6093) to improve the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's weather research, support improvements in weather forecasting and prediction, expand commercial opportunities for the provision of weather data, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 6093, the bill now under consideration.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6093, the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Reauthorization Act of 2023, simply known as the Weather Act Reauthorization Act.

In 2017, I was proud to lead the first comprehensive weather authorization in 25 years that resulted in the original Weather Act being signed into law. The bill we are considering today, the Weather Act Reauthorization Act, builds on previous accomplishments and makes further advancements in weather forecasting and prediction of high- impact weather events. It will undoubtedly save the lives of citizens across our country.

In the simplest of terms: the Weather Act Reauthorization Act gives Americans better forecasts.

What that means and how it is accomplished through this bill is so much more than what meets the eye.

This bill improves the hurricane forecast accuracy and the tornado warning lead time that started under the Weather Act through the continuation of successful research programs. It also supports cutting- edge forecasting by establishing new research and development programs related to the next generation of radar, atmospheric rivers, coastal flooding, storm surges, aviation weather, and more.

The Weather Act Reauthorization Act increases NOAA's access to critical forecasting data by expanding its authority to contract with the private sector to acquire commercial weather data and codifying the Commercial Data Program to lead this work. Again, building on what we started in 2017, NOAA will have more flexibility to purchase high- quality data from trusted and verified industry partners instead of building out expensive observation systems and satellite networks.

The Weather Act Reauthorization Act also ensures all this research and progress doesn't result in overly complex products the public can't understand. This bill strengthens the emergency preparedness of every community by improving the communication of weather and water events to the public. This ensures all Americans understand watches, warnings, emergency information, and exactly how to respond.

This bill also provides farmers and ranchers with better tools and services for agriculture and water management, including improvements in subseasonal and seasonal research and forecasting. As perhaps the most weather-dependent sector in our country, the agriculture industry needs accurate forecasts for efficient crop planting and timely harvest cycles because at the end of the day, this is what feeds and clothes our country.

Finally, the Weather Act Reauthorization Act authorizes the continuation of key public tools, including the National Integrated Drought Information System, the National Mesonet Program, and the National Coordinated Soil Moisture Monitoring Network. NOAA is, after all, a taxpayer-funded agency; therefore, it should continue to invest in tools that benefit the taxpayers.

It is clear this bill is not a one-trick pony and will accomplish many things, so it should come as no surprise to hear the widespread support we have received. Mr. Speaker, 63 Republican and Democrat Members have cosponsored bills that appear in this package. It has letters of support from 50 stakeholders, representing groups as diverse as recreational fishers to two-way radio suppliers. It is a bipartisan bill with 29 cosponsors on both sides of the aisle.

The Weather Act Reauthorization Act ensures NOAA is modern and reliable, which will secure the United States' global leadership in weather forecasting, modeling, and prediction.

More importantly, the Weather Act Reauthorization Act ensures NOAA's services equip Americans with timely warnings and support, providing additional lifesaving resources to communities across the country.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my partner in this effort, Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren, who has been essential in continuing the bipartisan successes of the Science Committee in this Congress.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Oklahoma (Mrs. Bice) to speak on the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Mike Garcia) to speak on the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Baird) to speak on the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. McCormick) to speak on the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Kean) to speak on the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Feenstra) to speak on the bill.

Mr. Speaker, how much time do I have remaining.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Obernolte) to speak on the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Again, I express my sincere thanks to Ranking Member Lofgren for her willingness to work together on this critical issue. I also thank the 29 bipartisan cosponsors, along with the 63 Members who contributed language found in this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join us in supporting the Weather Act Reauthorization Act, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 6093.

Sadly, this year is expected to set yet another record for global temperatures according to the World Meteorological Organization.

Last year, the U.S. experienced 28 separate extreme weather and climate disasters costing more than $1 billion each, surpassing the previous record set in 2020.

Climate change is causing an increase in the frequency and intensity of severe storms. Just 2 weeks ago, Pittsburgh was inundated by a severe storm that flooded many parts of the area. Daily rainfall records for the Pittsburgh area were shattered, and there were numerous road closures and water rescues across Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, which I represent.

The science is clear. The need to act cannot be ignored. As we adapt to this unfortunate new norm of severe weather events, our forecasting capabilities and preparedness must substantially improve.

H.R. 6093 will build upon the bipartisan 2017 Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act that led to critical research and advancements in weather and climate forecasting. This bill before us today will support the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in continuing to improve research, development, dissemination, and communication of environmental forecasts, warnings, and information. We must ensure that NOAA has access to every tool to improve the accuracy and timeliness of weather and climate information to effectively meet its mission in protecting people, property, and the economy.

Specifically, this bill modifies and extends key weather and climate research programs for hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis, drought, and harmful algal blooms. It also establishes and codifies new forecasting improvement programs for precipitation, atmospheric rivers, and coastal flooding, including storm surges. Additionally, the bill authorizes NOAA to expand its partnership with private industry in gathering more data while solidifying its own role as the driver of the enterprise and leverages the use of artificial intelligence to meet its mission.

Necessary improvements in data assimilation will be made so that our weather models continue to be the gold standard. While the improvement of all severe weather-related research programs is necessary, the communication of the information is also a key element to an effective forecast.

Under-observed, underserved, and highly vulnerable communities are disproportionately affected by severe weather and climate events. To better serve these communities, we must determine how to best communicate important weather and climate information. Understanding how the public receives, interprets, responds to, and values severe weather information is necessary to produce better forecasts and warnings. This bill aims to accomplish this by expanding NOAA's social, behavioral, and economic science research program to simplify and improve the communication of hazardous weather.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Lucas and Ranking Member Lofgren for their diligent work and cooperation

on this important legislation, and also many of my colleagues who made significant contributions to this excellent piece of legislation. I strongly support this sensible, bipartisan bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Frost).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. DelBene).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Jackson).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I want to recognize the Democratic staff who were the driving force behind this bill: Kristi Parrott, Noah Hunt, and Dahlia Sokolov. I thank them for their work on this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 6093, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support the reauthorization of the Weather Act. Since its passage in 2017, the Weather Act has been the driving force behind faster and more precise hurricane and tornado forecasting.

This reauthorization will build upon that research by updating existing projects and adding new project programs focused on coastal flooding, storm surge, and improving weather radar. I am also proud that included in this package is my bipartisan bill, the Fixing Gaps in Hurricane Preparedness Act, co-led by my colleague from Florida, Congressman Daniel Webster.

Congressman Webster and I know that we need to do more to keep our people and most at-risk communities safe during extreme weather events that due to the climate crisis are continuing and happening more often in Florida and across the entire country.

Our bill works to better protect the lives of seniors, folks with disabilities, and non-English speakers during hurricanes. Our bill instructs NOAA to evaluate the level of people's preparedness for hurricane-prone areas; better understand how at-risk populations receive, interpret, and react to emergency notifications, including seniors, people with disabilities, communities with language barriers, and rural, suburban, and urban populations; and, finally, examine the unique risks for areas with large senior populations, like retirement communities, before, during, and after a hurricane.

This bill was inspired by devastating national data and conversations with my own constituents in central Florida who have experienced some of the worst storms that our State has ever seen. Floridians speak to me about living in neighborhoods that quickly flood, confusing messaging from the media on whether they should evacuate or not, and alerts that are usually just in English or Spanish.

While inspired by the needs of our constituents, this bill will help folks far beyond just the State of Florida. When these storms come, people with disabilities must undergo evacuations at far greater rates than others, yet folks have told me that they feel like an afterthought when it comes down to the accommodations.

Folks with disabilities and seniors oftentimes get stuck without electricity. As a result, seniors are most likely to die during a hurricane, making up two-thirds of the deaths from Hurricane Katrina, Florence, and Ian.

As part of the Weather Act, the Fixing Gaps in Hurricane Preparedness Act will save lives, reduce fear, and help Floridians and Americans. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this critical legislative package.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Lucas for introducing the reauthorization of the Weather Act, which includes my bill, the Improving Atmospheric River Forecasting Act.

In my home State of California, we can experience devastating flooding, wildfires, and droughts all in the same year, if not in the same season. Needless to say, we have learned the value of being well prepared. These past two winters, we have experienced a new threat called atmospheric rivers. This past winter, 51 atmospheric rivers hit California, dumping trillions of gallons of water on us, causing flooding and damage to homes and businesses.

It is clear that we need to do more to improve our predictive capabilities to give emergency coordinators as much of a heads-up as possible. We also need to make sure that we are taking advantage of this free water as much as possible. The problem in California isn't that we don't have enough water, it is that we don't retain enough of it. We don't have enough storage, we don't have enough capacity, and we don't plan appropriately based on the predictions.

The L.A. Times recently reported that nearly 95 percent of the water from the atmospheric rivers this last year flowed back into the ocean. That is trillions of gallons of free water that could have been stored for dry seasons. It is clear that Sacramento isn't going to build more storage any time soon, so we need to be investing in infrastructure we already have and improve the efficiency of our reservoirs.

That is why my bill increases research into what is called Forecast Informed Reservoir Operations. If we can give water managers a heads-up that these storms are coming, they can prepare reservoirs to capture the water, helping us fight off droughts when the dry seasons come.

We got lucky this last time; we got so much water that even California's terrible water policies weren't enough to keep us in a prolonged drought. We can't keep relying on luck, and we can't wait around for Sacramento to get its act together. If there was a zombie apocalypse in Sacramento, Mr. Speaker, even the zombies would die because there are not enough brains in our State's capital right now when it comes to water policies, and this goes a long way in helping them. We need improved prediction of atmospheric rivers moving forward, and that is what this bill does.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 6093, the Weather Act Reauthorization Act of 2023. The Weather Act Reauthorization Act is sensible legislation that will strengthen the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecasting capabilities and elevate the U.S. Weather Enterprise, greatly benefiting communities across the country.

As a former helicopter pilot in the Marine Corps, I know firsthand the consideration you must give to the weather before taking to the skies. Fog, high winds, turbulence, thunderstorms, ice, and snow are all routine weather occurrences that can impact commercial and recreational flights, as well as ground crew operations and maintenance tasks.

Additionally, I think every Member of Congress here and many of our constituents have experienced some type of flight delay or turbulence in the last 6 months, as weather volatility is a consistent threat to travel plans.

That is why I introduced H.R. 3915, the Aviation Weather Improvement Act, which has been included in this larger legislative package.

This bill will improve all aspects of aviation weather forecasting and prediction by authorizing the National Weather Service to acquire readily available commercial data and partner with the U.S. weather enterprise to deploy critical atmospheric sensors.

In addition to authorizing this public-private partnership on weather data, H.R. 3915 also has an explicit focus on improving turbulence forecasting and modeling.

The Aviation Weather Improvement Act codifies the inclusion of turbulence events or phenomena in the operation forecasting capabilities of the Aviation Weather Center. This will ensure that recreational and commercial pilots have a definitive and accurate source for turbulence information that can inform route-specific flight planning.

Put simply, my bill will lower the over 5,000 flights per year that encounter severe turbulence, as well as make a dent in the 30 percent of annual delays caused by weather.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Lucas, Ranking Member Lofgren, and my colleagues on the Science, Space, and Technology Committee for supporting the efforts of all the Members who contributed to this important Weather Act Reauthorization Act.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill.