[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 839 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 839

     Recognizing the 150th anniversary of the National Oceanic and 
         Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service.


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                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 7, 2020

  Ms. Sherrill (for herself and Mr. Marshall) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and 
                               Technology

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                               RESOLUTION


 
     Recognizing the 150th anniversary of the National Oceanic and 
         Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service.

Whereas, on February 9, 1870, President Ulysses S. Grant signed a Joint 
        Resolution of Congress requiring the Secretary of War to ``provide for 
        taking meteorological observations at the military stations in the 
        interior of the continent, and at other points in the States and 
        Territories . . . and for giving notice on the northern lakes and on the 
        seacoast, by magnetic telegraph and marine signals, of the approach and 
        force of storms'' thereby creating the United States Army Signal 
        Service's Division of Telegrams and Reports for the Benefit of Commerce;
Whereas, on October 1, 1890, President Benjamin Harrison signed Senate Bill S. 
        1454, transferring the meteorological responsibilities of the Signal 
        Service to the Department of Agriculture, and is thus known as the 
        Weather Service's first organic Act;
Whereas the Weather Bureau began operations on July 1, 1891;
Whereas in response to the important role the Weather Bureau played in the 
        burgeoning aviation and commercial community, President Franklin D. 
        Roosevelt transferred the Weather Bureau to the Department of Commerce 
        in 1940;
Whereas with the enactment of the National Environmental Policy Act, the Weather 
        Bureau was renamed the National Weather Service and made a component of 
        the new National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on 
        October 5, 1970;
Whereas with the enactment of the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation 
        Act of 2017, and its partial reauthorization in 2019, Congress 
        reaffirmed and emboldened the critical mission of NOAA's National 
        Weather Service, including the provision of impact-based decision 
        support services to core partners; and
Whereas, in 2020, the National Weather Service celebrates 150 years protecting 
        lives and property and enhancing the Nation's economy, an enduring 
        mission it retains to this day: Now, therefore be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) recognizes that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
        Administration's (NOAA) National Weather Service and its 
        predecessor agencies have been indispensable to the quality of 
        life in the United States, from the local to the Federal level, 
        for 150 years and continues to build a Weather-Ready Nation, 
        where society is ready, responsive, and resilient to extreme 
        weather, water, and climate events;
            (2) honors the vital role NOAA's National Weather Service 
        has played in the United States throughout 150 years of science 
        and service;
            (3) remembers the deep and lasting impact the National 
        Weather Service and its predecessor agency employees have made 
        protecting lives and property throughout its 150-year history 
        in the United States; and
            (4) celebrates the continued position of NOAA's National 
        Weather Service as the Nation's official Government source for 
        providing weather, water, and climate data, forecasts and 
        warnings for the protection of life and property and 
        enhancement of the national economy.
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