II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5490 

To require the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere 

to maintain a communications program to communicate with the general 

public about patterns and trends with respect to changing weather and 

climate, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 11, 2024 

Mr. WELCH (for himself and Mr. WARNOCK) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 

Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To require the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans 

and Atmosphere to maintain a communications program 

to communicate with the general public about patterns 

and trends with respect to changing weather and climate, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Natural Disaster Edu5 cation and Outreach Act of 2024’’. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
2 

•S 5490 IS

1 SEC. 2. COMMUNICATION PROGRAM REGARDING PAT2 TERNS AND TRENDS WITH RESPECT TO 

3 CHANGING WEATHER AND CLIMATE. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary of Com5 merce for Oceans and Atmosphere (in this section referred 

6 to as the ‘‘Under Secretary’’) shall establish a communica7 tions program to communicate with the general public 

8 about patterns and trends with respect to changing weath9 er and climate with the goal of— 

10 (1) providing communities and local govern11 ments in the United States operational climate prod12 ucts and services to base key decisions about allo13 cating resources and preparedness measures before 

14 actual weather events occur; and 

15 (2) informing the general public about changing 

16 weather patterns caused by a changing climate. 

17 (b) COMMUNICATION REGARDING CLIMATE ASSESS18 MENTS.—In carrying out the communications program re19 quired under subsection (a), the Under Secretary shall in20 clude communication regarding the climate assessments 

21 conducted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad22 ministration and may consider including communication 

23 regarding other government climate assessments required 

24 by the Global Change Research Act of 1990 (15 U.S.C. 

25 2921 et seq.), such as the National Climate Assessment. 

26 (c) WORKING GROUP.— 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
3 

•S 5490 IS

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the commu2 nications program required under subsection (a), the 

3 Under Secretary shall maintain a working group for 

4 the purpose of identifying the most effective ways to 

5 disseminate information about changing weather 

6 patterns and risks associated with such changes, in7 cluding public campaigns, educational resources for 

8 community and local leaders, and outreach to key 

9 decision makers and educators in local government 

10 and community organizations. 

11 (2) MAKEUP AND ORGANIZATION.—The Under 

12 Secretary shall determine the makeup and organiza13 tion of the working group required under paragraph 

14 (1). 

15 (3) SUPPORT SERVICES.—The working group 

16 required under paragraph (1) shall coordinate with 

17 existing programs engaged in weather and climate 

18 communication and the provision of operational cli19 mate services, including the impact-based decision 

20 support services of the National Weather Service. 

21 (d) FUNDING.—There are authorized to be appro22 priated to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis23 tration $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 

24 2028 to carry out this section. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB