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National Weather Service Communications Improvement Act
To upgrade the communications service used by the National Weather Service, and for other purposes.
Summary
This bill directs the Director of the National Weather Service to upgrade the instant messaging service used by National Weather Service personnel by implementing a commercial off-the-shelf communications solution that replaces the current "NWSChat" system. The new communications solution must be hosted on the public cloud and meet requirements including accommodating future growth, performing well with increased users, being easy to use, and being similar to systems already in commercial use. The bill requires the upgrade to be completed by October 1, 2027, and allocates up to $3 million per fiscal year from 2026 through 2029 for the upgrade, funded from existing National Weather Service appropriations.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
22 cosponsors
- Del. Moylan, James C. [R-GU-At Large] (R-GU)
- Del. Radewagen, Aumua Amata Coleman [R-AS-At Large] (R-AS)
- Rep. Carbajal, Salud O. [D-CA-24] (D-CA)
- Rep. Craig, Angie [D-MN-2] (D-MN)
- Rep. Crawford, Eric A. "Rick" [R-AR-1] (R-AR)
- Rep. Crenshaw, Dan [R-TX-2] (R-TX)
- Rep. Fitzpatrick, Brian K. [R-PA-1] (R-PA)
- Rep. Gillen, Laura [D-NY-4] (D-NY)
- Rep. Gottheimer, Josh [D-NJ-5] (D-NJ)
- Rep. Graves, Sam [R-MO-6] (R-MO)
- Rep. Haridopolos, Mike [R-FL-8] (R-FL)
- Rep. Hinson, Ashley [R-IA-2] (R-IA)
- Rep. LaLota, Nick [R-NY-1] (R-NY)
- Rep. McBride, Sarah [D-DE-At Large] (D-DE)
- Rep. McClain Delaney, April [D-MD-6] (D-MD)
- Rep. Miller-Meeks, Mariannette [R-IA-1] (R-IA)
- Rep. Moskowitz, Jared [D-FL-23] (D-FL)
- Rep. Pettersen, Brittany [D-CO-7] (D-CO)
- Rep. Ross, Deborah K. [D-NC-2] (D-NC)
- Rep. Sorensen, Eric [D-IL-17] (D-IL)
- Rep. Suozzi, Thomas R. [D-NY-3] (D-NY)
- Rep. Vindman, Eugene Simon [D-VA-7] (D-VA)
Money behind the sponsor
Top reported contributors to Randy Feenstra’s campaign committee (2024 cycle) — who funds the bill’s sponsor, not a claim about this bill. Data from FEC.
- NULL $38,384
- MARQUIS MANAGEMENT INC. $21,800
- BGR GROUP $15,800
- DOLL DISTRIBUTING $13,700
- FRONTIER BANK $13,450
Organizations whose employees gave the most — itemized individual contributions grouped by the donor’s reported employer (FEC Schedule A). Full finance for Randy Feenstra → · Outside spending →
Actions (2)
- Mar 24, 2025 Referred to the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. · house
- Mar 24, 2025 Introduced in House
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Text versions (1)
Bills are re-published as they move (Introduced → Reported → Engrossed → Enrolled …). Each stage below is a separate text; pick two to see what changed. Data from Congress.gov.
Full text
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 24, 2025
Mr. Feenstra (for himself, Mrs. Hinson, Mr. Sorensen, Mr. Graves, Mr. Haridopolos, Mr. Crenshaw, Ms. Craig, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Ms. McBride, Ms. Ross, Mrs. Radewagen, Mrs. Miller-Meeks, Mr. Moylan, Mr. Carbajal, Mrs. McClain Delaney, and Mr. Moskowitz) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
A BILL
To upgrade the communications service used by the National Weather Service, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “National Weather Service Communications Improvement Act”.
SEC. 2. NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COMMUNICATIONS.
(a) System Upgrade.—The Director of the National Weather Service shall improve the instant messaging service used by personnel of the National Weather Service by implementing, not later than October 1, 2027, a commercial off-the-shelf communications solution that replaces the instant messaging service commonly referred to as “NWSChat”.
(b) Requirements.—The communications solution implemented under subsection (a) shall—
(1) be hosted on the public cloud; and
(2) satisfy requirements set forth by the Director of the National Weather Service to ensure such solution—
(A) best accommodates future growth;
(B) performs successfully with increased numbers of users;
(C) is easy to use for the majority of users; and
(D) is similar to systems already in commercial use.
(c) Funding.—From amounts made available for Operations, Research, and Facilities, the Director of the National Weather Service shall allocate up to $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2029 to carry out subsection (a).
(d) Limitation on Funding.—Amounts made available to carry out subsection (a) shall be derived from amounts appropriated or otherwise made available to the National Weather Service. <all>
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