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To exempt certain positions of the National Weather Service that are necessary for public safety from any Federal Government hiring freeze, and for other purposes.
Summary
This bill requires the Secretary of Commerce to exempt certain positions in the National Weather Service from federal government hiring freezes imposed by executive order. The exempt positions include meteorologists (job series 1340), hydrologists (job series 1315), and electronics technicians (job series 856), roles deemed necessary for public safety in issuing weather and flood warnings and maintaining critical observational equipment. The Secretary must implement the exemption within 30 days of enactment and submit annual reports to Congress on staffing levels for these positions. The exemption applies retroactively to restore any job offer rescissions for covered positions issued on or after January 20, 2025.
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)
- Sen. Moran, Jerry [R-KS] (R-KS)
1 cosponsor
- Sen. Peters, Gary C. [D-MI] (D-MI)
Actions (2)
- Jun 4, 2025 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. · senate
- Jun 4, 2025 Introduced in Senate
Similar bills (6)
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Full text
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 4, 2025
Mr. Moran (for himself and Mr. Peters) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
A BILL
To exempt certain positions of the National Weather Service that are necessary for public safety from any Federal Government hiring freeze, 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 “Federal Operational Resilience in Emergency Conditions And Storm Tracking Act” or the “FORECAST Act”.
SEC. 2. EXEMPTION OF CERTAIN POSITIONS WITHIN THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FROM FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HIRING FREEZES.
(a) In General.—The Secretary shall exempt covered positions within the National Weather Service from any Executive order or memorandum imposing a hiring freeze for employees of the Federal Government due to the role of those positions as necessary for public safety in issuing weather and flood warnings, maintaining critical observational equipment, and protecting life and property from weather- related hazards.
(b) Implementation.—The Secretary shall implement the requirement under subsection (a) by not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(c) Report.—Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on staffing levels at the National Weather Service for covered positions.
(d) Retroactive Application.—The requirement under subsection (a) shall negate any job offer rescinded on or after January 20, 2025, for a covered position.
(e) Definitions.—In this section:
(1) Covered position.—The term “covered position” means a position of the National Weather Service in job series 1340 (meteorology), 1315 (hydrology), or 856 (electronics technician), or any successor job series number.
(2) Secretary.—The term “Secretary” means the Secretary of Commerce. <all>
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