Rep. Crawford Speaks on Importance of Upgrading Emergency Weather Service Communications

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Sara Robertson (Sara.Robertson2@mail.house.gov)

Rep. Crawford Speaks on Importance of Upgrading Emergency Weather Service Communications

March 29, 2023 

Washington – Today, Representative Rick Crawford (AR-01) spoke in support of H.R. 1496, the National Weather Service (NWS) Communications Improvement Act. The legislation was marked-up and passed with bipartisan support in the Science, Space, and Technology Committee.

NWS Chat is a messaging system used to distribute time-sensitive weather information to broadcasters, emergency managers, and the general public. Unfortunately, the system is outdated and is not able to accommodate the thousands of users who utilize it. H.R. 1496 will upgrade the messaging service used by NWS personnel by directing the NWS Director to select a commercial alternative for the current system.

Last week, supercell weather systems led to an EF-4 tornado in rural Mississippi that claimed the lives of at least 26 people while destroying entire communities.

To watch Rep. Crawford’s full remarks, please click HERE. 

Topline Quotes:

• “It’s an unfortunate reality that extreme weather events can pop up and take the life of a citizen in just minutes. And these events won’t stop in the future. But it is our responsibility as legislators in Congress to ensure federal agencies like NOAA and NWS are equipped to save lives and property to the best of their ability when they do happen.”
• “Although NOAA and NWS tend to quickly identify issues with the [NWS Chat] platform during failures and get full functionality back in a matter of minutes, it’s a fact that every second matters during these deadly storms. Any period of communication outage can equal lives lost.”
• “Simply put, [H.R. 1496] authorizes a commonsense upgrade that would allow the federal government to utilize established technology, rather than try to create its own.”

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