Great Lakes and National Weather Service Funding Protection Act

This bill protects money set aside for the National Weather Service and NOAA work in the Great Lakes. It says those funds cannot be frozen, moved, or repurposed unless Congress later passes a new law that clearly allows it. The goal is to keep weather services and Great Lakes programs running without surprise budget shifts that could disrupt safety, research, and local planning.

It also requires NOAA’s leader to confirm, within 30 days and then every year, that the agency is following these rules, and to send that confirmation to specific committees in Congress.

• Who is affected: NOAA, including the National Weather Service; communities around the Great Lakes that rely on weather and water programs.
• What changes: These funds can’t be frozen or shifted without a future, specific law; NOAA must certify yearly that it is complying.
• When: The rules take effect after the bill becomes law, with the first certification due within 30 days, then annually.