IV 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 839 
Recognizing the 150th anniversary of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration’s National Weather Service. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 7, 2020 
Ms. SHERRILL (for herself and Mr. MARSHALL) submitted the following reso-
lution; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech-
nology 
RESOLUTION 
Recognizing the 150th anniversary of the National Oceanic 
and Atmospheric Administration’s National Weather Service. 
Whereas, on February 9, 1870, President Ulysses S. Grant 
signed a Joint Resolution of Congress requiring the Sec-
retary of War to ‘‘provide for taking meteorological ob-
servations at the military stations in the interior of the 
continent, and at other points in the States and Terri-
tories . . . and for giving notice on the northern lakes and 
on the seacoast, by magnetic telegraph and marine sig-
nals, of the approach and force of storms’’ thereby cre-
ating the United States Army Signal Service’s Division of 
Telegrams and Reports for the Benefit of Commerce; 
Whereas, on October 1, 1890, President Benjamin Harrison 
signed Senate Bill S. 1454, transferring the meteorolog-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:53 Feb 07, 2020
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR839.IH
HR839
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
•HRES 839 IH 
ical responsibilities of the Signal Service to the Depart-
ment of Agriculture, and is thus known as the Weather 
Service’s first organic Act; 
Whereas the Weather Bureau began operations on July 1, 
1891; 
Whereas in response to the important role the Weather Bu-
reau played in the burgeoning aviation and commercial 
community, President Franklin D. Roosevelt transferred 
the Weather Bureau to the Department of Commerce in 
1940; 
Whereas with the enactment of the National Environmental 
Policy Act, the Weather Bureau was renamed the Na-
tional Weather Service and made a component of the new 
National 
Oceanic 
and 
Atmospheric 
Administration 
(NOAA) on October 5, 1970; 
Whereas with the enactment of the Weather Research and 
Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017, and its partial reau-
thorization in 2019, Congress reaffirmed and emboldened 
the critical mission of NOAA’s National Weather Service, 
including the provision of impact-based decision support 
services to core partners; and 
Whereas, in 2020, the National Weather Service celebrates 
150 years protecting lives and property and enhancing 
the Nation’s economy, an enduring mission it retains to 
this day: Now, therefore be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) recognizes that the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National 
Weather Service and its predecessor agencies have 
been indispensable to the quality of life in the 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:53 Feb 07, 2020
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\HR839.IH
HR839
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
•HRES 839 IH 
United States, from the local to the Federal level, 
for 150 years and continues to build a Weather- 
Ready Nation, where society is ready, responsive, 
and resilient to extreme weather, water, and climate 
events; 
(2) honors the vital role NOAA’s National 
Weather Service has played in the United States 
throughout 150 years of science and service; 
(3) remembers the deep and lasting impact the 
National Weather Service and its predecessor agency 
employees have made protecting lives and property 
throughout its 150-year history in the United 
States; and 
(4) celebrates the continued position of NOAA’s 
National Weather Service as the Nation’s official 
Government source for providing weather, water, 
and climate data, forecasts and warnings for the 
protection of life and property and enhancement of 
the national economy. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:53 Feb 07, 2020
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\HR839.IH
HR839
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS