{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.thune.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/op-eds?ContentRecord_id=B268F218-0282-40FA-BFD1-51359C319871", "ICYMI: Washington Posts Capital Weather Gang on Senate Passage of major bill to improve weather forecasting", "2016-12-02", "2016", "2016-12", "Republican", "House", "SD", "John Thune", "T000250", "www.thune.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington Post: Senate passes major bill to improve weather forecasting \r\nBy Jason Samenow, Capital Weather Gang   December 2 at 11:30 AM\r\nSweeping bipartisan legislation to support weather research and predictions has passed the Senate.\r\nIf approved by the House of Representatives and signed by the president, it will become the first major piece of weather legislation adopted since the early 1990s.\r\nThe bill, Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2016, H.R. 1561, was approved unanimously in the Senate late Thursday.\r\nThe bill\u2019s stated purpose is \u201cto improve the National Oceanic And Atmospheric Administration\u2019s weather research\u201d through investments in observations, computing and modeling, as well as to expand commercial opportunities for providing weather data.\r\nIt is specifically aimed to support advances\u00a0in:\r\n \r\nForecasting dangerous storms, including tornadoes and hurricanes.\r\nLong-range forecasts for time periods between two weeks and two years\r\nForecast communication\r\nTsunami warnings\r\n \r\n\u201cFrom long-term forecasting that can prevent costly agricultural losses to more actionable information about severe weather, this legislation will help save lives and reduce avoidable property loss,\u201d said Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee Chairman John Thune (R-S.D.), who championed the bill.\r\nThe legislation also reforms NOAA\u2019s weather satellite programs, requiring the agency to consider ways to reduce costs\u00a0and stay on schedule after years of cost overruns and delays. It further calls on NOAA to enter into a pilot program contract to evaluate the private sector\u2019s capabilities in providing space-based weather data.\r\nThe legislation combines provisions of four separate weather-related bills sponsored\u00a0by Thune, Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and House Science, Space and Technology Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Tex.). It also includes an amendment from Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) supporting tsunami forecasting.\r\n\u201cThe bill strengthens the science to forecast severe heat and cold, storms, tornadoes, tsunamis, droughts, floods and hurricanes so that our warnings are more timely and accurate,\u201d Schatz said. \u201cThe bill also improves how the government communicates these threats to the public so that families and businesses can stay safe and be prepared so that they can recover quicker. We cannot stop a tsunami or a hurricane, but better forecasts and better warnings will save lives and livelihoods.\u201d\r\nMore information\r\nSenate approves bicameral weather forecasting reforms\r\nSenate passes Rubio\u2019s legislation to improve hurricane forecasting\r\nCapital Weather Gang\u2019s series on the importance of weather legislation:\r\nHow Congress could help weather forecasters reach more people and save lives\r\nSatellites are the backbone of weather forecasts. Congress must vote to support them.\r\nSenate weather bill that supports forecast improvement can benefit all Americans\r\nIf Congress invests in seasonal weather forecast research, everyone wins\r\n\u00a0\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.thune.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/op-eds?ContentRecord_id=B268F218-0282-40FA-BFD1-51359C319871"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4788531698286533, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}