Sponsors (4)
The bill strengthens NOAA's S2S forecasting capabilities, workforce, and public access to forecasts—improving preparedness and building scientific capacity—while introducing ongoing federal costs, potential centralization of services, and risks from prematurely adopting unvalidated AI/ML methods.
NOAA's forecasting capacity is substantially bolstered through dedicated funding (~$28.5M/yr for FY2026–FY2027), investments in AI/ML, unmanned systems, and high-performance computing, and strengthened hiring/recruitment authorities—accelerating improvements in subseasonal-to-seasonal (S2S) forecast development and delivery.
Communities, state and local planners, and emergency managers gain publicly accessible S2S forecasts via an Internet clearinghouse, improving regional planning, hazard preparedness, and decision-making (including for rural and underserved areas).
Students and early-career researchers receive scholarships, fellowships, and awards for data assimilation and Earth system modeling, expanding the training pipeline and future workforce for climate and weather science.
Rapid operationalization and heavier reliance on emerging AI/ML and related modeling technologies could create dependence on unproven methods, risking forecast reliability and potentially harming public safety if verification and validation lag.
Centralizing S2S modeling and data dissemination at NOAA (e.g., via a national clearinghouse) may shift funding, attention, or authority away from local or state forecasting programs, reducing locally tailored services.
Taxpayers face additional ongoing federal spending beyond FY2027 because several authorizations use open-ended language ('such sums as may be necessary'), creating fiscal exposure for future budgets.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Expands NOAA S2S forecasting duties, authorizes $28.5M/year for FY2026–FY2027, and creates a workforce program for modeling and data assimilation.
Introduced April 10, 2025 by Edward John Markey · Last progress April 10, 2025
Expands NOAA’s role in subseasonal-to-seasonal (S2S) forecasting by specifying research, observation, modeling, data, and operational priorities, and authorizes funding to support those activities for FY2026–FY2027. Creates a new workforce program to recruit, train, and hire staff for weather and Earth-system modeling and data assimilation, and allows NOAA to make agreements and awards with universities and other institutions to support modeling and operationalization efforts.