H.R. 2296
119th CONGRESS 1st Session
To upgrade the communications service used by the National Weather Service, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES · March 24, 2025 · Sponsor: Mr. Feenstra · Committee: Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
Table of contents
SEC. 1. Short title
- This Act may be cited as the National Weather Service Communications Improvement Act.
SEC. 2. National Weather Service communications
- (a) System upgrade
- The Director of the National Weather Service shall improve the instant messaging service used by personnel of the National Weather Service by implementing, not later than October 1, 2027, a commercial off-the-shelf communications solution that replaces the instant messaging service commonly referred to as .
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- The Director of the National Weather Service shall improve the instant messaging service used by personnel of the National Weather Service by implementing, not later than October 1, 2027, a commercial off-the-shelf communications solution that replaces the instant messaging service commonly referred to as .
- (b) Requirements
- The communications solution implemented under subsection (a) shall—
- be hosted on the public cloud; and
- satisfy requirements set forth by the Director of the National Weather Service to ensure such solution—
- best accommodates future growth;
- performs successfully with increased numbers of users;
- is easy to use for the majority of users; and
- is similar to systems already in commercial use.
- The communications solution implemented under subsection (a) shall—
- (c) Funding
- From amounts made available for Operations, Research, and Facilities, the Director of the National Weather Service shall allocate up to $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2029 to carry out subsection (a).
- (d) Limitation on funding
- Amounts made available to carry out subsection (a) shall be derived from amounts appropriated or otherwise made available to the National Weather Service.