The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday advanced a $79.7 billion Commerce-Justice-Science spending bill that rejects deep cuts for NOAA and the National Weather Service.
The Senate is working on fiscal 2026 bill on a bipartisan basis, but Democrats voted against the Commerce plan because of concerns about the location of FBI headquarters. The spat delayed a final committee vote on the bill by a week.
The legislation would provide $6.1 billion for NOAA, a small drop from current levels, but much higher than the president’s $4.5 billion request. The House would fund NOAA at $5.8 billion.
The bill report expressed concern about staffing at NWS. Democrats have said worker cuts could have affected the agency’s work ahead of deadly flooding in Texas, a claim the White House has rejected.
