Role of the National Weather Service and Selected Legislation in the 114th Congress
Released: 2016-08-08T00:00:00

Background

The National Weather Service (NWS), at the discretion of the Secretary of Commerce, has statutory authority for weather forecasting and for issuing storm warnings (15 U.S.C. §313). The NWS provides weather, water, and climate forecasts and warnings for the United States, its territories, adjacent waters, and ocean areas. The 114 th Congress has expressed its interest in improving forecasts and warnings to protect life and property in the United States from severe weather events through its role in oversight, appropriations, and the authorization of language regarding NWS.

NWS is one of several line offices within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). In 2014, NWS restructured its organization structure, which is reflected in its annual congressional budget justifications since then.

This report includes tables that summarize appropriated funding for NWS, and the programs within NWS that generate forecasts and warnings, and the funding for NWS in its restructured accounts since FY2014. The report also includes a table with a brief summary and analysis of various bills introduced in the 114 th Congress that would have some bearing, directly or indirectly, on NWS operations. To date, none of the bills has been enacted.

Forecasts and Warnings: NWS's Core Mission

NWS's core mission is to provide weather forecasts and warnings for protection of life and property. Apart from the budget for procuring weather satellites, NWS received the most funding of any agency or program within the FY2016 budget for NOAA.

Prior to FY2015, NWS's Local Warnings and Forecasts (LW&F) program received approximately 70% of NWS funding each year (from FY2009 through FY2014, see Table 1 ), suggesting that short-term weather prediction and warning is a high priority for NWS and for NOAA, in accord with NOAA's statutory authority. The 122 NWS weather forecast offices distributed throughout the United States provide the forecasts and warnings familiar to most people (see box below).

Program Restructuring

Starting in FY2015, NWS restructured its programs, spreading out the LW&F activities among five separate subprograms. The restructuring makes it difficult to compare funding for LW&F activities prior to FY2015 with funding for forecast and warning activities after FY2014. According to NOAA, the restructuring was "part of a broader effort to align the NWS budget to function and link to performance." Also, NOAA cited two reports that included recommendations for realigning and restructuring its operations. NOAA stated that its commitment to forecasts and warnings continues: "NWS is dedicated to serving the American public by providing a broad spectrum of weather, climate, and hydrological forecast guidance and decision support services. NWS strives to meet society's need for weather and hydrological forecast information."

Table 2 displays NWS funding in the restructured accounts for FY2014 through the FY2017 proposed budget. It also shows the percentage of total NOAA funding represented by each account within NWS. As stated above, the restructuring makes it difficult to compare LW&F funding prior to FY2015 with the restructured accounting; however, total NWS funding as a percentage of total NOAA funding appears to have dropped by a percentage point or two in the last few years. The proposed budget for NWS in FY2017 is nearly $5 million less than the enacted budget in FY2016, whereas total proposed spending for NOAA in FY2017 represents an increase of slightly more than 1% over the FY2016 enacted figure.

Selected NWS-Related Bills in the 114th Congress

Both the House and the Senate appropriations committees have reported FY2017 appropriations bills that would fund NOAA, including NWS, for FY2017. Reports accompanying each appropriation bill contain language that may influence NWS operations in FY2017 and beyond.

In addition, several bills were introduced in the 114 th Congress that, if enacted, could affect NWS. Some of the bills focus on single topics, such as increasing the number of Doppler radar stations across the country. Other bills would address a broader array of programs within NOAA and NWS. Several bills may affect NWS only indirectly, such as those that would authorize strategies to improve resilience to extreme weather events.

Table 3 lists legislation introduced in the 114 th Congress that may affect NWS and briefly summarizes relevant provisions.

Conclusion

Many different components and programs within NOAA contribute to NWS's mission of providing weather forecasts and warnings. Several of the bills listed in Table 3 indicate congressional interest in some of those components and programs, such as the research programs within the office of Oceans and Atmospheric Research at NOAA, and in the challenge of improving the integration of research results into operational weather forecasting (e.g., H.R. 1561 , S. 1331 ). Several of the bills are more narrowly focused, such as those that would require additional Doppler radars to provide coverage for large population centers or state capitals (e.g., H.R. 3538 , H.R. 5089 , S. 2058 ) or those that would require additional personnel at NWS forecast offices (e.g., S. 1573 ). NOAA weather satellites are also critical components of the NWS's core mission, and Congress has been concerned about possible gaps in coverage and about the future of the weather satellite programs. Congress has expressed concern about the future of the weather satellite program in annual appropriations bills and accompanying reports and will likely continue to do so for the foreseeable future, as the budget for satellite acquisitions continues to be a major component of overall NOAA annual spending. Furthermore, Congress likely will continue to introduce legislation that would shape NWS operations, directly or indirectly, in an overall effort to improve NWS's ability to provide forecasts and warnings for protection of life and property in the United States.