Brian Schatz (D-HI)
Improving Flood and Agricultural Forecasts Act of 2025
A Democratic bill with no cosponsors
Last activity — Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
In committee
Introduced and handed to a committee in the chamber it started in.
The committee holds it, and most bills are never heard from again. A hearing or a committee vote would be news; silence is the usual outcome, and it kills the bill without anyone voting against it.
Its path through Congress
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
The Improving Flood and Agricultural Forecasts Act of 2025 directs the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere to maintain the National Mesonet Program. This program focuses on obtaining environmental observations to improve forecasts for atmospheric, drought, fire, and water events. The initiative seeks to increase data density through various networks, including soil moisture and road weather observations. It also provides for financial and technical assistance to State, Tribal, private, and academic entities. Additionally, the Act establishes an advisory committee of experts to guide the program. The Under Secretary is required to provide annual briefings to relevant Congressional committees through 2035.
Yes· 3 of 13
- Scored +6
Would farmers be better off under this?
The act specifically provides soil and moisture data to support operational agricultural forecasting.
- Scored +5
Would people in rural areas be better off under this?
The program prioritizes providing assistance to entities in remote or underrepresented areas.
- Scored +5
Does this put more money into scientific research?
The bill funds the expansion of environmental observation networks and supports research development priorities.
The opposite
No question was scored the opposite.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
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Enhanced Safety and Economic Stability: By increasing the quantity and density of environmental observations, the program supports forecasts, warnings, and hyper-local forecasts. This is intended to protect individuals, businesses, agricultural production, food security, military, and government agencies, allowing them to operate in a safe, efficient, and orderly manner (Section 2(b)(1)(A)).
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Improved Severe Weather Warnings: The program supports the National Weather Service in its goal to reach a 30-minute warning time for severe weather through better predictive model algorithms (Section 2(b)(1)(D)).
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Support for Agriculture and Emergency Management: The acquisition of soil and moisture data supports operational forecasting and local commercial, agricultural, and emergency management needs (Section 2(b)(2)(A)).
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Improved Transportation Safety: The expansion of environmental observational networks in roadway environments provides real-time road weather and surface conditions for surface transportation and related economic sectors (Section 2(b)(2)(C)).
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Assistance for Remote or Underrepresented Areas: The Under Secretary may provide technical and financial assistance for the maintenance of monitoring stations in underrepresented or remote areas where it is financially unfeasible for a single entity to operate them (Section 2(c)(4)(B)).
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Funding for Local Infrastructure: The Under Secretary may award at least 15 percent of the annual appropriation to State, Tribal, private, and academic entities to build, expand, or upgrade their mesonet equipment and capacity (Section 2(c)(1)).
Potential Negative Impacts for People
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Financial Requirements for Recipients: Entities seeking financial assistance must enter into an agreement to provide data to the Program and must demonstrate they can provide sufficient financial support from non-Federal sources (Section 2(c)(3) and 2(c)(6)).
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Long-term Maintenance Burdens: To receive assistance, an entity must be able to fully maintain the quality of the mesonet system and its associated data standards for at least 5 years (Section 2(c)(6)).
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Tap or hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Would farmers be better off under this? — The act specifically provides soil and moisture data to support operational agricultural forecasting. Would people in rural areas be better off under this? — The program prioritizes providing assistance to entities in remote or underrepresented areas. Would business owners be better off under this? — Improved weather and road conditions allow businesses to operate in a more safe and efficient manner. Would Native Americans be better off under this? — The bill provides assistance for monitoring stations in remote or underrepresented areas, which can include tribal lands. Would households on low incomes be better off under this? — Enhanced food security through better agricultural forecasting can benefit low-income households.
- Environment Energy And Infrastructure
- Does this invest in rural communities? — The act prioritizes financial and technical assistance for monitoring stations in remote and underrepresented areas. Does this better protect air, water and wildlife? — The program improves monitoring of drought, fire, and water events to better manage environmental risks.
- Education And Technology
- Does this put more money into scientific research? — The bill funds the expansion of environmental observation networks and supports research development priorities.
- Economy And Finance
- Is this likely to grow the economy? — Improved weather forecasts and road conditions support efficiency in various economic sectors. Is this likely to create jobs? — The program supports agricultural production and economic sectors like surface transportation through better weather data.
- Governance And Ideology
- Does this make what the government does easier for the public to see? — The act requires annual briefings to Congressional committees to ensure oversight of the program.
- National Security And Foreign Policy
- Does this increase the pay, pensions or support veterans receive? — The bill explicitly mentions protecting the military through enhanced weather observations and forecasts.
- Social Issues And Justice
- Is this likely to lift people out of poverty? — Improved agricultural forecasting and food security can help protect low-income stability.
- 2/13/2025
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
- Introduced in Senate
One bill Congress.gov lists as related to this one — companions in the other chamber, earlier versions, and bills this one absorbed or was folded into.