Weather Forecasting Improvement Act of 2014

Floor Speech

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Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2413, the Weather Forecasting Improvement Act of 2014, will greatly improve our severe weather forecasting capabilities. I thank the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Bridenstine) for his work on this bill.

Severe weather routinely affects large portions of the United States. This past year has been no different. The United States needs a world-class weather prediction system that helps protect American lives and property.

Our leadership has slipped in severe weather forecasting. European weather models routinely predict America's weather better than we can. We need to make up for lost ground. H.R. 2413 improves weather observation systems and advances computing and next generation modeling capabilities. The enhanced prediction of major storms is of great importance to protecting the public from injury and loss of property.

This legislation is the result of multiple hearings, a subcommittee markup, and Member negotiations. Again, I thank the gentleman from Oklahoma for taking the lead on this issue. I also want to thank the former chairman of the Environment Subcommittee, the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Stewart), and the Environment Subcommittee ranking member, the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Bonamici), for their contributions to this bipartisan bill.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Bridenstine), Ms. Bonamici, and David Schweikert for their hard work on this bill. I appreciate all of the effort they have put into it. It is a wonderful product. It is going to save lives. It is going to save property, and it is going to benefit many, many Americans.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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