Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Reauthorization Act of 2023

Floor Speech

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Mrs. BICE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Weather Act Reauthorization Act.

Over the weekend, we saw the terrible effects that weather can have on our communities and States. Throughout the heartland, there were more than 50 confirmed tornadoes, which left many injured and, sadly, took the lives of four Oklahomans. This is why the Weather Act Reauthorization Act is so important.

We must ensure that Americans have the resources they need when critical weather events strike. This includes having access to accurate weather forecasting and other necessary resources to protect life and property.

I was pleased to see that my legislation, the NOAA Weather Radio Modernization Act, the National Mesonet Authorization Act, and the WING Act were included in this package.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Weather Radio Modernization Act will help save lives by updating our emergency alert system. Specifically, it paves the way for future development and provides fail-safe options so that the national weather radio is never down for an extended period and that outages will be less frequent. Over the weekend, there were issues with receiving and transmitting alerts from the national weather radio. My bill will help address the aging infrastructure in these systems and prevent outages like these from occurring in the future.

The National Mesonet Authorization Act will work to increase the overall coverage and accuracy of the National Mesonet Program, which provides reliable, real-time data and observations for weather prediction, severe weather warnings, and emergency response.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Lucas for his leadership on this legislation and for his focus on protecting Oklahomans. I urge my colleagues to support the legislation.

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