Sponsors (3)
The bill strengthens tsunami detection, data transparency, tribal inclusion, and community preparedness with dedicated funding and new operational requirements, but it increases federal spending and administrative burdens and could impose unfunded expectations on smaller jurisdictions and private infrastructure operators.
Coastal communities, tribal governments, and emergency planners will get stronger detection and forecasting (GNSS, tidal/water-level gauges, buoys, and other inputs), improving earlier and more accurate tsunami warnings.
Indian Tribes, Tribal organizations, and Native Hawaiian organizations are explicitly included in warnings, outreach, planning, and program eligibility, improving culturally appropriate coordination and direct access to resources.
NOAA must manage, archive, and make tsunami-related data and metadata available (and GAO findings are to be publicly released), increasing transparency and giving researchers, communities, and planners better access to information for mitigation and education.
Taxpayers may face recurring federal spending (authorized $35M/year plus possible additional mitigation grants), increasing federal outlays or requiring trade-offs with other programs.
State, local, Tribal, and rural communities may face new expectations to upgrade plans, infrastructure, or adopt standardized decision-support tools without guaranteed funding, creating unfunded-mandate pressures on smaller jurisdictions.
NOAA and partner agencies will face increased administrative, IT, and implementation burdens (data-sharing, archiving, portals, and expanded outreach), likely requiring new staff, contracts, or reorganization and causing short-term costs or disruption.
Based on analysis of 5 sections of legislative text.
Expands tsunami program definitions and data-sharing, requires NOAA outreach to tribes and rural communities, and directs a GAO assessment/report on major subduction-zone tsunami preparedness.
Official title: Reauthorize the Tsunami Warning and Education Act, and for other purposes.
Introduced February 12, 2026 by Maria E. Cantwell · Last progress February 12, 2026
Updates and expands the federal tsunami warning, research, education, and outreach framework. It broadens statutory definitions to explicitly include Indian Tribes, Tribal organizations, and Native Hawaiian organizations; requires NOAA to incorporate additional detection sources and real-time data access; mandates expanded outreach to tribal and rural communities and to TsunamiReady education; and directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to assess preparedness and produce a public report on major subduction-zone tsunami scenarios, with follow-on NOAA briefings and an implementation strategy.