House OKs weather forecasting, carbon capture bills

By Samantha Latson, Manuel Quiñones | 05/01/2024 06:27 AM EDT

Bipartisan legislation seeks to improve NOAA’s storm detection capabillities and work with the private sector.

Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.).

Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.) during House floor debate Monday. House Television

The House on Tuesday approved the first major reauthorization of NOAA weather programs since 2017, along with bills on carbon capture and abandoned oil wells.

Lawmakers approved the “Weather Act Reauthorization Act of 2023,” H.R. 6093, from House Science Chair Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) and ranking member Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), by a vote of 394-19.

The legislation seeks to improve hurricane and tornado detection, expand the government’s work with the private sector on forecasting and improve communication with the public.

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“This bill was inspired by devastating national data and conversations with my own constituents in Central Florida who have experienced some of the worst storms that our state has ever seen,” Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.), a member of the Science Committee, said Monday.

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