Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Reauthorization Act of 2023

Floor Speech

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Mr. FROST. 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.

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