Protect Americans from Climate Disasters Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5002 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5002

  To reinstate all employees and programs at the National Oceanic and 
   Atmospheric Administration that help communities prepare for and 
              mitigate damage from extreme weather events.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            August 19, 2025

Mr. Neguse (for himself, Mr. Casar, Mr. Stanton, Mr. Amo, Ms. Hoyle of 
  Oregon, and Mr. Moskowitz) introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the 
    Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
  of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
                               concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To reinstate all employees and programs at the National Oceanic and 
   Atmospheric Administration that help communities prepare for and 
              mitigate damage from extreme weather events.

    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 ``Protect Americans from Climate 
Disasters Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Fifth United States National Climate Assessment 
        reported that human-caused climate variability such as extended 
        droughts, longer wildfire seasons, heavy rainfall, and sea 
        level rise affects the frequency and intensity of extreme 
        weather events.
            (2) According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
        Administration (NOAA), the number and cost of extreme weather 
        and climate disasters have increased over time and will 
        continue to increase in the United States due to climate 
        change, increased urbanization, and development in weather 
        prone areas.
            (3) According to the National Centers for Environmental 
        Information, from 2020 to 2024 alone, weather and climate 
        disasters cost the United States over $746,700,000,000 and led 
        to 2,520 deaths.
            (4) Americans rely on weather information provided by NOAA 
        every day for emergency disaster alerts, forecasting, data 
        collection, and more.
            (5) Staffing reductions at the National Weather Service and 
        NOAA have resulted in decreased capacity to forecast extreme 
        weather events, the elimination of some products and services, 
        and the deterioration of environmental scientific research, 
        which poses a threat to public safety.
            (6) The 5 former living National Weather Service leaders 
        wrote an open letter expressing their deep concern that the 
        staff and program cuts at NOAA may result in the loss of life.
            (7) NOAA's Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters 
        product has been eliminated, reducing publicly available data 
        that tracked the economic impact of United States weather and 
        climate trends since 1980.

SEC. 3. DEFINITION.

    In this Act, the term ``NOAA'' means the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration.

SEC. 4. NOAA STAFFING AND PERSONNEL.

    Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 
using funds previously appropriated for such purposes, the Secretary of 
Commerce shall--
            (1) take such actions as are necessary to ensure that NOAA, 
        including the National Weather Service, is fully staffed to 
        ensure timely and accurate data, forecasts, weather alerts, and 
        resiliency resources are available to prepare for extreme 
        weather events; and
            (2) reinstate any individuals who--
                    (A) were involuntarily removed or otherwise 
                terminated from employment with NOAA during the period 
                beginning on January 20, 2025, and ending on the date 
                of the enactment of this Act; and
                    (B) elect to be reinstated.

SEC. 5. CONTINUATION OF AUTHORIZED NOAA PROGRAMS.

    (a) Requirements.--The Secretary of Commerce--
            (1) shall continue to carry out any programs for which 
        funds have been appropriated that support State and local 
        efforts to prepare for and respond to extreme weather events; 
        and
            (2) may not make any changes to existing congressionally 
        mandated programs that will reduce access to extreme weather 
        resources.
    (b) Actions Required.--In carrying out subsection (a)--
            (1) the Secretary of Commerce shall immediately reinstate 
        the Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters product and 
        carry out any project for which funds have been made available 
        under such program;
            (2) the Secretary of Commerce shall immediately reinstate 
        the NOAA Marine Environmental Buoy Database and carry out any 
        project for which funds have been made available under such 
        program; and
            (3) the Secretary of Commerce shall immediately reinstate 
        the NOAA Global Ocean Currents Database and carry out any 
        project for which funds have been made available under such 
        program.

SEC. 6. NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION FUNDING.

    There is appropriated to the Department of Commerce, out of any 
money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the fiscal year 
ending on September 30, 2026, $6,756,300,000 for the necessary expenses 
of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
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