119th Congress Science, Technology, Communications
S. 258: TORNADO Act
Reported
- Introduced (completed)
- Passed Senate (not reached)
- Passed House (not reached)
- To the President (not reached)
- Became law (not reached)
Summary
This bill requires the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to evaluate and improve its communications about hurricanes, tornadoes, winter storms, and other hazardous weather events.
Specifically, NOAA must establish a Risk Communication Office to evaluate the effectiveness of NOAA's communications and to identify ways to provide simpler and clearer information to the public about hazardous weather events. NOAA must also (1) establish a research program to modernize its communication systems, and (2) establish a pilot program to implement the research with respect to communications about tornadoes.
Additionally, the bill requires NOAA to develop a strategic plan for implementing the Warn-on-Forecast System, which aims to provide more advanced warnings of thunderstorm-related events (e.g., tornadoes). The bill also requires NOAA to evaluate its tornado rating system and to conduct post-storm assessments of significant events.
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The bill also provides statutory authority for NOAA's Verification of the Origins of Rotation in Tornadoes Experiment (known as VORTEX-USA), a collaborative project between meteorologists and social scientists to study the conditions that contribute to dangerous tornadoes in the Southeast and the best ways to communicate these events to the public.
Finally, the Government Accountability Office must report on the National Weather Service's communication technology, particularly with respect to timely notices of hazardous weather events.
Written by the Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress.
Roll calls
No roll call votes have been held on this bill.
Amendments
No amendments were offered to this bill.
Cosponsors
- Ted Cruz R-TXOriginal
- Charles Grassley R-IAOriginal
- Cindy Hyde-Smith R-MSOriginal
- Jerry Moran R-KSOriginal
- Gary Peters D-MIOriginal
- Tim Sheehy R-MTOriginal
- Raphael Warnock D-GAOriginal
- Todd Young R-INOriginal
- Marsha Blackburn R-TN
Who scored on this bill
- 1Roger Wicker SponsorDrew cross-party cosponsors, introduced, reported3 events+26
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Introductions and cosponsorships count toward weekly caps and show no points.
Other bills by Roger Wicker
- S. 3791: Regional Ocean Partnerships Reauthorization Act
- S. 3266: USMMA Athletics Act of 2026
- S. 4784: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027
- S. 323: PLAN for Broadband Act
- S. 2126: Integrated Ocean Observation System Reauthorization Act of 2025
- S. 4164: To make technical corrections to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026
History
- Introduced in the Senate by Roger Wicker.
Show the full action history (5 actions)
- Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Cruz with amendments. With written report No. 119-26.
- Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 88.
- Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported with amendments favorably.
- Introduced in Senate
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.