NOAA Weather Radio Modernization Act
Sponsored By: Representative Babin
In Committee
Summary
Modernize and expand NOAA Weather Radio. This bill would create a nationwide, resilient NOAA Weather Radio network that broadcasts 24/7 and improves how emergency weather and geological hazard alerts reach the public. It would also set national warning standards and change staffing and hiring for forecast and warning operations.
Show full summary
- Families and households: Better alerts where broadband, local systems, or satellite coverage are weak. The bill prioritizes added transmitters and coverage in high-risk, rapid-onset areas and on federal lands like National Parks.
- Emergency managers and local officials: Gives tools to amplify non-weather emergency messages into the national alert system, enables partial-county notifications, and pushes improvements to risk communication and warning urgency.
- NOAA workers and operations: Requires a 120-day assessment of staffing, a five-year staffing plan for forecasting and warnings, classifies certain positions as protective service, and authorizes direct-hire for key technical and public-safety roles to fill gaps faster.
*Authorizes $20 million per year for operations for fiscal years 2026–2031 and $100 million for modernization in 2026, totaling $220 million in authorized funding, which increases federal spending.*
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Speed hiring for weather staff
This bill would require NOAA to report critical staffing needs within 120 days and to send a five-year staffing plan to Congress within 180 days. It would give the Weather Service direct-hire authority for key safety and operations jobs until identified vacancies are filled. NOAA would also coordinate with OMB within 30 days to label certain job series as protective service, and some staffing changes would need a 30-day congressional review period.
Standards for flash flood alerts
This bill would allow the standards agency to support development of national standards for flash flood emergency alert systems covering a 100-year floodplain. Any supported standards would have to meet the needs of communities without broadband, local warning systems, or satellite coverage. If standards are supported, the agency would report on them to Congress within two years of enactment.
Upgrade and expand NOAA radio
This bill would require NOAA to run and modernize a 24/7 NOAA Weather Radio network that broadcasts weather and other hazards. It would fund a modernization initiative and buy more transmitters to reach high-risk and underserved places, including some federal lands. The bill would add satellite and internet delivery, require continuity backups and maintenance, and require an access assessment within one year. It would authorize $20 million per year for operations for FY2026–FY2031 and $100 million for FY2026, available until spent.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Babin
TX • R
Cosponsors
Flood
NE • R
Sponsored 3/5/2026
Sorensen
IL • D
Sponsored 3/5/2026
Bice
OK • R
Sponsored 3/5/2026
Amo
RI • D
Sponsored 3/5/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
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