National Weather Service Communications Improvement Act

Floor Speech

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

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 7361, the National Weather Service Communications Improvement Act. Right now, the National Weather Service is years behind when it comes to the internal communications system known as NWSChat.

This instant messaging system is how forecasters and local emergency managers communicate with each other before, during, and after a severe weather event unfolds. This instantaneous communication is critical to their ability to warn and prepare communities for dangerous storms quickly and accurately.

It was developed decades ago out of necessity by employees within the National Weather Service, not by a company that specializes in application development. Therefore, NWSChat has had its fair share of hiccups, especially when a large number of users try to access it at once.

Surprisingly, the heaviest user traffic is usually during a large, destructive weather event when officials are trying to anticipate what is coming toward their communities.

H.R. 7361 will help solve this problem by authorizing the National Weather Service to upgrade their instant messaging service to a commercial, off-the-shelf solution. These services can handle a large number of users and easily adapt to technology upgrades, giving our forecasters a flexible and modern messaging service.

Living in Tornado Alley, I am very familiar with how quickly storms can form and change direction, so I can tell you that if a small upgrade like this makes storm warnings even a few seconds faster, that time can absolutely be the difference between life and death.

Madam Speaker, I thank my Committee on Science, Space, and Technology colleague, Mr. Feenstra, for introducing this bill. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. LUCAS. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Feenstra).

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Mr. LUCAS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time for closing.

Madam Speaker, as my colleagues have made clear in their support of this bill today, every second matters when it comes to reacting to extreme weather events.

NWS Chat is yet another tool in our toolbox to make sure that communities have the earliest possible warning of what is heading their way. We need a fast and reliable messaging service that doesn't glitch when we need it most.

That is why H.R. 7361 is a simple but necessary bill. By upgrading the National Weather Service's communications, we can give our most vulnerable communities the information they need to protect lives and property.

I again thank my colleague, Mr. Feenstra, for bringing together the entire Iowa House delegation to support this bill after witnessing the destructive power of a tornado outbreak in their State.

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

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