National Weather Service Communications Improvement Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. FEENSTRA. Madam Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Lucas for yielding and for his leadership on the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.

Madam Speaker, H.R. 7361, the National Weather Service Communications Improvement Act, is a bill that was born from a tragedy in my home State of Iowa.

On March 5, a tornado outbreak in central and southwest Iowa killed seven people. It was the deadliest storm in our State since 2008.

During this storm, an issue at the National Weather Service caused up to a 7-minute delay from when meteorologists issued warnings to when the public was alerted. In Iowa, we know that even the smallest delays can be a matter of life and death.

Then, just a month later, in April, eight tornadoes were confirmed during a storm. Luckily, this time around, there were no deaths. Despite that, we had 135-mile-an-hour winds and severe building damage. But that didn't stop some National Weather Service websites and NWS Chat, NWS' outdated emergency communications network, from crashing because of increased traffic.

The bottom line is, NWS must have a functional and reliable emergency communications system that can keep people informed and out of harm's way during severe weather crises.

H.R. 7361 specifically authorizes an internal messaging service upgrade by giving NOAA the authority to transition from NWS Chat to a commercial, off-the-shelf solution. This type of commercial solution will allow nearly unlimited users, so future growth and increased traffic will not be a problem. It also allows NWS Chat to take advantage of new technologies as they emerge.

In fact, earlier this month, NWS signed a contract to use Slack as the basis for the next generation of the NWS Chat service. While this is a step in the right direction, the legislation is still needed to ensure the upgrade is fully supported and completed. The sooner this quick and easy solution is implemented, the faster local emergency managers can alert the public to severe weather that will save lives.

I thank my Iowa colleagues, Representatives Axne, Miller-Meeks, and Hinson, for working with me to put this legislation forward.

I also thank my Committee on Science, Space, and Technology colleagues for helping me cosponsor this bill as well. I look forward to its passage and encourage all of my colleagues to support it.

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