Weather Forecasting Improvement Act of 2014
Latest action. Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Weather Forecasting Improvement Act of 2014 - (Sec. 2) Requires the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere (who is also the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration [NOAA]) to prioritize weather-related activities, including the provision of improved weather data, forecasts, and warnings for the protection of life and property and the enhancement of the national economy, in all relevant line offices.
(Sec. 3) Directs the Assistant Administrator for the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) to conduct a program to develop an improved understanding of forecast capabilities for atmospheric events and their impacts, placing priority on developing more accurate, timely, and effective warnings and forecasts of high impact weather events that endanger life and property.
Requires such program to focus on: (1) improving the fundamental understanding of weather, including boundary layer and other atmospheric processes affecting high impact weather events; (2) improving the understanding of how the public receives, interprets, and responds to warnings and forecasts of high impact weather events that endanger life and property; and (3) research and development (R&D), and the transfer of knowledge, technologies, and applications to the National Weather Service (NWS) and other appropriate agencies and entities; and (4) a technology transfer initiative carried out jointly and in coordination with the Assistant Administrator for NWS, and in cooperation with the American weather industry and academic partners, to ensure continuous development and transition of the latest scientific and technological advances into NWS operations and establish a process to sunset outdated and expensive operational methods and tools to enable cost-effective transfer of new methods and tools into operations.
Requires the Assistant Administrator for the OAR to collaborate with and support the non-federal weather research community by making funds available through competitive grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements.
Expresses the sense of Congress that at least 30% of the funds authorized for R&D at OAR by this Act should be made available for this purpose.
The summary continues for 23 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Passed House amended" stage on April 1, 2014. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on April 2, 2014: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 113th Congress (2013-14), 296 of the 9,091 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.3 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Jim Bridenstine (R-OK) introduced it on June 18, 2013, and 20 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 7 Democrats, 13 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on June 18, 2013, 4832 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 4544 days ago, on April 2, 2014.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 113th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2015 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers