The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee approved bipartisan legislation Wednesday to bolster wildfire and marine weather forecasting.
One bill would direct NOAA to apply artificial intelligence technologies to wildfire forecasting. Another would enhance coastal fog advisories by expanding National Weather Service marine observation sites and refining models.
The panel also cleared S. 688, the “Fighting Foreign Illegal Seafood Harvests (FISH) Act,” which would crack down on illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing by blacklisting foreign fleets, notably from China and Russia.
That, too, falls under NOAA’s domain, adding pressure to an agency already reeling from deep budget and staff cuts under the Trump administration’s government-downsizing actions.
