Today, the House of Representatives passed five Science Committee bills covering a range of environmental and technological issues. Ranking Member Frank Lucas praised their passage and the bipartisan nature of the legislation. 

“The bills passed today do important work to protect Americans – whether from identity theft, severe weather, environmental hazards, or deadly fires,” Lucas said. “In particular, the PRECIP Act will help communities make better decisions about infrastructure needs by giving them access to improved precipitation forecasts. I was proud to cosponsor this bill. I’d also like to thank Rep. Stephanie Bice, the Ranking Member of our Environment Subcommittee, for introducing the NOAA Weather Radio (NWR) Modernization Act. By upgrading and modernizing NWR technology, we can be sure that these lifesaving alerts are always available to the families that rely on them. I look forward to getting all of these bills signed into law.” 

The bills are as follows:

H.R. 847, the Promoting Digital Privacy Technologies Act, supports R&D on privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs) which protect personal data online while ensuring large data sets are still usable.

H.R. 1437, the PRECIP Act, amends the Weather Act to enhance precipitation estimates so communities can better prepare to address extreme weather events.

H.R. 5324, the NOAA Weather Radio Modernization Act, updates and improves the technology behind the NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards system, which broadcasts emergency weather alerts across the country.

S. 66, the South Florida Clean Coastal Waters Act, is a companion to H.R. 565. The legislation will help reduce Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) and hypoxia that are damaging communities and businesses in Florida.

H.R. 7077, the Empowering the U.S. Fire Administration Act, will help us better investigate and prevent deadly fires by giving the U.S. Fire Administration the authority to collaborate with local fire departments.