Weather Forecasting Improvement Act of 2014

Floor Speech

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2413, the Weather Forecasting Improvement Act. This bill is a bipartisan agreement by members of the Science, Space, and Technology Committee.

I am pleased to join my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, the bill's sponsor, Mr. Bridenstine, Subcommittee Chair SCHWEIKERT, former subcommittee chair, Mr. Stewart, and Chairman Smith in support of this bill. I want to thank them, as well as Ranking Member Johnson, for their work on this important bill. Members on both sides of the aisle can be assured that this bill represents a truly bipartisan effort and is built on extensive discussions with and advice from the weather community.

After devastating tornadoes in his district, Mr. Bridenstine introduced a well-intentioned bill that went a long way toward improving the tools available to NOAA for evaluating emerging forecast technologies. His emphasis on tornado research was appropriate and helpful. At the subcommittee markup, Mr. Grayson added a valuable amendment for a focused hurricane research program.

Representative Stewart, then the chairman of the Environment Subcommittee, worked with my staff and me on a manager's amendment to add to the tools and programs in the original bill. We drew on expert advice from the weather enterprise and from extensive reports from the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Public Administration.

Experts told us that, to improve weather forecasting, the research at the Office of Oceans and Atmospheric Research, or OAR, and the forecasting at the National Weather Service had to be better coordinated. This legislation contains important provisions to improve that coordination. This bill encourages NOAA to integrate research and operations in a way that models the successful innovation structure used by the Department of Defense.

The bill we are considering today also creates numerous opportunities for the broader weather community to provide input to NOAA, and their insights as well. At every opportunity, we charge the agency to consult with the American weather industry and researchers as they develop research plans and undertake new initiatives. We also press NOAA to get serious about exploring private sector solutions to their data needs.

The bill makes clear that we expect the historical support for extramural research to continue. The engine of weather forecasting innovation has not always been found within NOAA, but is often found in the external research community and labs that work with NOAA. That collaboration must continue and will continue under this legislation.

In addition, the bill includes an explicit focus on tapping the expertise of social scientists on how to best communicate risks and warnings to the public. Witnesses who came before the Science Committee emphasized the importance of this work. The best forecasting skill and technology in the world won't be as effective unless the messages to the public result in the right safety response.

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.

I can assure Members on both sides of the aisle that weather research is strengthened in this bill but not at the expense of other important work at NOAA.

During the committee process, we heard from witness after witness who stressed that weather forecasting involves many different scientific disciplines. This integrated multidisciplinary approach reflects an understanding that we cannot choose to strengthen one area of research at OAR without endangering the progress in the other areas because they are all interconnected. Physical and chemical laws do not respect OAR's budgetary boundaries of climate, weather, and oceans, and this bill only addresses organizational issues in weather at NOAA.

Thank you, again, to Chairman Smith and Ranking Member Johnson for giving us the support to work out a compromise. I want to reiterate my thanks to Mr. Bridenstine for his willingness to work with us and accept changes to the original bill. I particularly want to thank Representative Chris Stewart, the former chair of the Environment Subcommittee, whose attitude throughout the process was collaborative and constructive, allowing us to arrive at the bipartisan bill we have before us today. Chairman SCHWEIKERT, who took on the chairmanship of the subcommittee when Mr. Stewart went to the Committee on Appropriations, has brought with him that same collaborative spirit. Finally, I want to thank the very hardworking staff on both sides of the aisle.

Mr. Speaker, weather is not a partisan issue. The American public needs and deserves the best weather forecasting service we can provide. This bill has broad support in the weather community among research institutions, established businesses, and emerging companies. Supporters include the American Commercial Space Weather Association, University Consortium for Atmospheric Research, GeoOptics, PlanetiQ, and the Weather Coalition.

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Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleagues on the committee. I really appreciate working with them.

I want to make clear that when we worked on this--this is a reprioritization of how the Office of Oceanic and Atmosphere Research lays out its own weather research efforts. The key reprioritization is to put in place a clear process that ties the needs of forecasters at the National Weather Service to the research initiatives at OAR.

I am glad that my colleagues have worked on this important bill. This legislation will make real and measurable improvements in weather research and weather forecasting, and I urge my colleagues to support this effort.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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