{
  "id": "R44583",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "R44583",
  "active": true,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 454884,
      "date": "2016-08-08",
      "retrieved": "2016-11-28T21:48:16.112479",
      "title": "Role of the National Weather Service and Selected Legislation in the 114th Congress",
      "summary": "The mission of the National Weather Service (NWS) is to provide weather forecasts and warnings for the protection of life and property. Apart from the budget for procuring weather satellites, NWS received the most funding (about $1.1 billion) of any office or program within the FY2016 budget for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The largest fraction of the NWS budget has been devoted to local forecasts and warnings, suggesting that short-term weather prediction and warning is a high priority for NWS and for NOAA, in accord with NOAA\u2019s statutory authority. \nStarting in FY2015, NWS restructured its programs, spreading out the local warning and forecast activities among five separate subprograms. The restructuring makes it difficult to compare funding for local warning and forecast activities prior to FY2015 with funding for forecast and warning activities after FY2014. According to NOAA, the restructuring was \u201cpart of a broader effort to align the NWS budget to function and link to performance.\u201d\nSeveral bills introduced in the 114th Congress would directly or indirectly affect NWS if enacted. Some of the bills focus on single topics, such as increasing the number of NWS-operated Doppler radar stations across the country (e.g., H.R. 3538, H.R. 5089, S. 2058). Other bills would address a broader array of programs within NOAA and NWS (e.g., H.R. 1561, S. 1331, S. 1573). Several bills may affect NWS only indirectly, such as those that would authorize strategies to improve resilience to extreme weather events (e.g., H.R., 2227, H.R. 2804, H.R. 3190). Other bills relate to NOAA weather satellites, which are critical components of NWS\u2019s mission to provide weather forecasts and warnings (e.g., S. 1331). Congress has been concerned about possible gaps in coverage and the future of the weather satellite programs. \nThe 114th 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. To date, none of the bills introduced in the 114th Congress has been enacted. However, Congress likely will continue to introduce legislation in the future that would shape NWS operations, directly or indirectly, in an effort to improve forecasts and warnings.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": true,
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      "topics": []
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  ],
  "topics": [
    "Appropriations",
    "Energy Policy",
    "Science and Technology Policy"
  ]
}