APCIA has welcomed a bipartisan bill to reauthorize federal weather research programs, throwing the insurance industry's weight behind an effort to shore up forecasting capabilities at a time when deep cuts to NOAA have unsettled insurers who depend on the agency's data.
The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation unanimously passed the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Reauthorization Act of 2026 (S. 3923) on March 4, a package of 17 bills aimed at strengthening NOAA's forecasting, warning, and hazard communication systems.
The legislation builds on the original Weather Act signed into law in April 2017, which the American Institute of Physics said had advanced hurricane tracking predictions by over 10% and improved tornado warning lead times by more than 10 minutes. The new bill goes further.
Chairman Ted Cruz said it would modernize radars and satellites, leverage commercial data, and integrate artificial intelligence into NOAA programming. Specific provisions create a fire weather services program, establish an atmospheric river forecast improvement initiative, and modernize hazardous weather alerts.
Ranking Member Maria Cantwell said the act also "strengthens landslide preparedness and helps rural farmers plan for drought."
The bill recommends $100 million annually through 2030 for NOAA's commercial data program and between $160 million and $170 million each year for the agency's weather research office, the American Institute of Physics noted.
The legislation arrives against a backdrop of significant federal pullbacks at NOAA. The agency has lost about 20% of its roughly 12,000-strong workforce since early 2025, with the Congressional Research Service noting that the National Weather Service alone shed more than 550 staff.
In May 2025, it was reported that 30 NWS offices were without a lead meteorologist, and at least one office had stopped operating around the clock.
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The Trump administration's fiscal year 2026 budget proposal sought to eliminate all funding for NOAA's climate, weather, and ocean laboratories.
The Council on Foreign Relations estimated the proposed cuts would shrink the agency's overall funding by more than $1.5 billion, or about 25%. Congressional appropriators have since rejected those cuts, though Science magazine reported that the administration continued terminating contracts for weather instruments regardless.
APCIA's Sam Whitfield, senior vice president of federal government relations, called the bill "a critical bipartisan step" that would help communities, businesses, and insurers better anticipate risk and reduce costly losses, adding that APCIA would continue working with lawmakers as the measure advances.
A House companion bill, H.R. 5089, cleared the House Science Committee last September but has not yet reached the floor. Both chambers now have committee-approved versions that would need to be reconciled before heading to the president.
The strong bipartisan support in both committees suggests a credible path, though floor scheduling remains a hurdle. The original Weather Act took a similar route, passing both chambers before being signed into law in April 2017.
