Sponsors (5)
The bill would boost NOAA's forecasting power, scientific capacity, and workforce development through advanced computing and partnerships, but it raises substantial cost, budgetary, cybersecurity, and mission-shifting risks unless matched by funding and strong safeguards.
Local and state communities (including rural areas) would receive more accurate, high-resolution probabilistic forecasts for severe weather and water hazards, improving warnings and public safety.
NOAA scientists and researchers nationwide will gain access to AI/ML, high-performance and advanced computing tools to improve weather and ocean forecasts and modeling capabilities.
Publishing a 10-year strategic plan and encouraging partnerships increases transparency and coordination, helping universities, state and local governments, and other stakeholders plan collaborations and investments.
Federal taxpayers could face increased costs from implementing multi-year HPC/cloud contracts and building new centers, potentially diverting funds from other priorities.
Focusing NOAA computing resources on high-resolution forecasting without additional funding risks shifting staff and funding away from other NOAA missions (e.g., fisheries management and ecological forecasting), harming those beneficiaries.
Greater reliance on advanced computing, cloud services, and public–private partnerships could increase cybersecurity and data-access risks for state and local governments and academic partners if safeguards are insufficient.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Directs NOAA to adopt AI/ML and advanced computing, create centers of excellence, use multi‑year contracts for HPC/cloud/quantum partnerships, and produce planning and reports on computing and forecast needs.
Introduced June 25, 2025 by Max Miller · Last progress June 25, 2025
Directs NOAA to accelerate use of AI/ML, high‑performance computing (HPC), cloud, and exploratory quantum partnerships to improve weather and water forecasting. It authorizes the creation or expansion of centers of excellence, allows multi‑year contracts to support HPC/cloud operations and R&D, and requires a series of planning and reporting products on computing, visualization, and forecast capability needs. Requires a two‑year report, developed with the Department of Energy, assessing the value of high‑resolution probabilistic forecasts for hazardous weather/water events and identifying computing, visualization, dissemination, and collaboration needs; and a publicly available 10‑year NOAA HPC and data management plan due within one year and updated every five years through 2035.