Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016

Floor Speech

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Mr. BRIDENSTINE. Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank Chairman Smith for his leadership on this important amendment as well as Chairman Culberson. I thank them for working with us on this amendment. I know we have been working very hard to make sure that this is adequately funded and from the right sources.

By fully funding the weather research and technology transfer that was authorized by my bill, H.R. 1561, this appropriations bill now reflects the House's will that NOAA prioritize activities that save lives and property. The funding will go to support critical work to increase the lead times that we receive for tornadoes. A lot of this critical work is being done at the University of Oklahoma. I have heard already that we were looking for more funding for some Cooperative Institutes, and that is what this is.

This is of extreme importance to my State, as I have already lost constituents this year from tornadoes. It is my sincere belief that this appropriations bill now ensures that programs are funded that will eventually move us to a day where no one is killed in a tornado or other severe storm event.

Again, I thank Chairman Culberson and Chairman Smith for their leadership on this issue. We need to adopt this amendment so that we can save lives and property, especially as it relates to my constituents in Oklahoma.

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Mr. BRIDENSTINE. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Chairman, my amendment designates $9 million within NOAA's Procurement, Acquisition, and Construction account for the purposes of funding a pilot program for space-based commercial weather data as authorized by H.R. 1561, the House-passed Lucas-Bridenstine Weather Research and Forecasting Act of 2015.

Although I intend to withdraw my amendment, I intend to use this time to enter into a colloquy with the gentleman from Texas.

Mr. Chairman, the commercial satellite industry has revolutionized everyday life. From telecommunications to imaging to navigation, we reap the benefits of private sector innovation. I truly believe we have that opportunity when it comes to weather satellites as well. By introducing newer, more innovative, more resilient and additional forms of data into our numerical weather models, we can improve our ability to forecast weather and save the lives of our constituents.

By providing NOAA with the funds to purchase commercial data, it sends a clear signal to the burgeoning, nascent weather satellite industry: NOAA is interested in commercial data from the private sector. This pilot program has the potential to shift paradigms within our weather enterprise and serve as the first step toward moving to a day where the government does not have a monopoly on weather satellites.

NOAA operates huge, monolithic, billion-dollar satellite programs that have experienced cost overruns and launch delays. These programs are important to ensuring we have robust weather data, but we need a mitigation strategy when problems arise, a role that commercial sources can play. In addition, they can augment our programs of record, and for a fraction of the cost. In fact, to fully fund this program, NOAA would only need to find the equivalent of one dime out of a $20 bill.

Mr. Chairman, I believe, in the long run, purchasing data from the private sector will lead to lower costs for the taxpayers, as well as better data, more data, and more innovation. However, I understand the constraints that the gentleman from Texas is under when crafting this appropriations bill, and I appreciate his willingness to work with me on this issue. The question I pose to him is: Does the chairman intend to have NOAA provide $9 million from within its Procurement, Acquisition, and Construction appropriation for NESDIS Systems Acquisition to carry out this pilot program in fiscal year 2016 as is authorized in H.R. 1561?

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Mr. BRIDENSTINE. I thank the chairman. I look forward to working together with you and with NOAA to ensure that congressional intent is clear and to make this critically important pilot program a reality. I appreciate your leadership and assistance on this issue.

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