Bill > HR5002

This bill aims to reinstate and fully support the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) after recent staff and program reductions. The bill is motivated by findings that climate change is increasing the frequency and cost of extreme weather events, with disasters from 2020 to 2024 costing over $746.7 billion and causing 2,520 deaths. The legislation requires the Secretary of Commerce to fully staff NOAA within 30 days, including reinstating employees who were involuntarily terminated between January 20, 2025, and the bill's enactment. It mandates the immediate reinstatement of several critical programs, including the Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters product, the NOAA Marine Environmental Buoy Database, and the NOAA Global Ocean Currents Database. The bill prohibits any changes to existing congressionally mandated programs that would reduce access to extreme weather resources and appropriates $6.756 billion to NOAA for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2026. The legislation is driven by concerns from former National Weather Service leaders that staff and program cuts could potentially result in loss of life and compromise public safety by reducing the agency's capacity to forecast and respond to extreme weather events.

Agriculture and Natural Resources

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5002/all-info