[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 207 (Tuesday, December 9, 2025)]
[House]
[Pages H5077-H5078]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SNOW WATER SUPPLY FORECASTING REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2025
Mr. HURD of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
pass the bill (H.R. 3857) to amend the Snow Water Supply Forecasting
Program Authorization Act, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
[[Page H5078]]
H.R. 3857
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 ``Snow Water Supply
Forecasting Reauthorization Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. SNOW WATER SUPPLY FORECASTING PROGRAM.
The Snow Water Supply Forecasting Program Authorization Act
(43 U.S.C. 1477) is amended--
(1) in subsection (c)(2)--
(A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``culminating in the
report required under subsection (d)(3)'' and inserting
``with an emphasis on deployment of technologies that provide
integration of snowpack measuring and modeling''; and
(B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``after submitting the
report required by subsection (d)(3),'';
(2) in subsection (d)--
(A) in paragraph (1)--
(i) in the heading, by adding ``with integrated modeling''
after ``data'';
(ii) by striking ``emerging technologies for snowpack
measurement, such as'' and inserting ``technologies that
provide complete integration of accurate, timely, and
spatially complete snowpack measurements and models,
including the integration of''; and
(iii) by striking subparagraphs (A) through (C) and
inserting the following:
``(A) airborne laser altimetry;
``(B) imaging spectroscopy;
``(C) integrated physics-based snowpack and hydrologic
modeling; and
``(D) other technologies that the Secretary determines are
likely to provide more accurate or timely snowpack
measurement data commensurate with operational water
management needs.'';
(B) in paragraph (2) by inserting ``, including the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the
Natural Resources Conservation Service,'' after ``other
Federal agencies''; and
(C) by striking paragraph (3);
(3) in subsection (e)--
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``After submitting the
report required under subsection (d)(3), the'' and inserting
``The''; and
(B) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following:
``(2) Focus.--The program shall focus on activities that
will maintain, establish, expand, or advance snowpack
measurement and integrated modeling, with an emphasis on--
``(A) enhancing activities to achieve improved snow and
water supply forecasting results that are more responsive to
changing weather and watershed conditions;
``(B) real-time integration of activities described in this
section with water supply forecasts;
``(C) activities in river basins where activities described
in this section can produce snow and water supply data to
inform water management decisions, including interstate water
management decisions; and
``(D) building program partners' capacity to implement and
adapt to the new measurement and forecast capabilities
enabled under this program.'';
(4) in subsection (f)--
(A) by striking ``of this Act'' and inserting ``of the Snow
Water Supply Forecasting Reauthorization Act of 2025'';
(B) in paragraph (1)--
(i) by striking ``and sub-basins'';
(ii) by striking ``technologies'' and inserting ``and
integrated modeling technologies''; and
(iii) by striking ``technology used'' and inserting
``application, outcome, and data resources used''; and
(C) in paragraph (2), by striking ``or sub-basin''; and
(5) in subsection (g), by striking ``$15,000,000, in the
aggregate, for fiscal years 2022 through 2026'' and inserting
``$3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2031''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Colorado (Mr. Hurd) and the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. Randall)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Colorado.
General Leave
Mr. HURD of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their
remarks and to include extraneous material on H.R. 3857, the bill now
under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Colorado?
There was no objection.
Mr. HURD of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3857, the Snow Water Supply
Forecasting Reauthorization Act.
In Colorado and in the West, we don't measure water by what comes out
of a faucet. We measure it by what falls on our mountains. Snowpack is
our reservoir, our lifeline, and our future, but water managers are
still forced to make major decisions with incomplete data and outdated
tools.
This bill reauthorizes the Snow Water Supply Forecasting Program so
that we can use modern technology, lidar, satellite imagery, and other
remote-sensing tools to build accurate 3D models of snowpack across
entire watersheds. Better data means better reservoir planning, better
support for agriculture, better protection for our cities and towns,
and better management across every industry that depends upon water in
the West.
We cannot manage what we can't measure. H.R. 3857 gives Western
communities what they need to plan ahead and protect the water
resources that sustain our way of life.
Mr. Speaker, I urge support for this legislation, and I reserve the
balance of my time.
Ms. RANDALL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I rise in enthusiastic support of H.R. 3857, the Snow Water Supply
Forecasting Reauthorization Act, brought forward by my colleague and
fellow freshman, Jeff Hurd.
This legislation, as he described, would extend the Bureau of
Reclamation's Snow Water Supply Forecasting Program through 2031,
ensuring that communities have accurate water supply forecasting.
This program plays a critical role in advancing new technologies,
expanding snow monitoring areas, and improving the accuracy of water
supply forecasts.
This work is extremely vital to supporting Western communities facing
growing challenges of climate change, persistent drought, and growing
demands from communities that are growing in our States.
Across the West, communities are experiencing changing precipitation
patterns, diminished snowpack, earlier runoff, and changing water
availability. I certainly look to the mountains, the Olympics and the
Cascades, every time I drive around my district, using a very
nontechnological approach to assessing the snowpack on the mountains.
{time} 1530
Mr. Speaker, there are definitely scientists using much better tools,
but this legislation authorizes even better tools to allow us to plan
for our communities' safety and our access to clean water, agriculture,
and a thriving economy.
Paired with the growing demand for water, these changes we have seen
create uncertainty for water managers and users who rely on accurate
data for planning.
By reauthorizing the Snow Water Supply Forecasting program, we ensure
water managers and users have the information that they need to make
informed decisions and support the continued collaboration between
agencies and expanding snowpack data collection and forecasting
capabilities.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this bill, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. HURD of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, this bill reauthorizes a vital
program that helps water managers promptly and effectively plan for and
respond to drought.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield
back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Hurd) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, H.R. 3857, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. HURD of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground
that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum
is not present.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this question will be postponed.
The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.
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