119-hr3809

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3809 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 3809

 To waive certain legal requirements to permit the Director of the 
 National Weather Service to expeditiously hire for positions that are 
 critical for public safety, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 June 6, 2025

 Mr. Flood (for himself, Mr. Lucas, Mr. Panetta, Mr. Sorensen, and Mr. 
 Moskowitz) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To waive certain legal requirements to permit the Director of the 
 National Weather Service to expeditiously hire for positions that are 
 critical for public safety, and for other purposes.

 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 ``Weather Workforce Improvement Act''.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

 It is the sense of Congress that--

    (1) accurate and timely weather forecasting is of vital 
 importance;

    (2) employees of the National Weather Service, particularly 
 employees responsible for the regular launching of weather 
 balloons, are critical for public safety; and

    (3) staffing positions relating to the regular launching of 
 weather balloons should be prioritized and categorized as 
 critical for public safety.

SEC. 3. STAFFING FOR POSITIONS OF PUBLIC SAFETY AT THE NATIONAL WEATHER 
 SERVICE.

    (a) Direct Hire Authority.--The Director of the National Weather 
Service may appoint, without regard to the provisions of subchapter I 
of chapter 33 (other than sections 3303, 3307, and 3328 of such 
chapter) of title 5, United States Code, qualified candidates to any of 
the following positions to satisfy critical staffing needs and fill 
vacancies at the Service:

    (1) Employees performing public safety mission functions, 
 including the following:
        (A) Meteorologists (classification series 1340).
        (B) General physical scientists (classification 
 series 1301).
            (C) Hydrologists (classification series 1315).
            (D) Computer specialists (classification series 
 334).
        (E) Electronic technicians (classification series 
 856).

    (2) Other positions for which primary responsibilities 
 include equipment operations, maintenance, and analysis, 
 information technology, or engineering.

    (b) Sunset.--The authority under subsection

    (a) shall expire on the 
earlier of--

    (1) the date that is 2 years after the date of the 
 enactment of this Act; or

    (2) the date on which all positions to satisfy to critical 
 staffing needs and vacancies have been filled.
            (c) National Weather Service Public Safety Designation.--The 
Director of the Office of Personal Management shall designate the 
positions specified in subsection

    (a) as pertaining to public safety.
            (d) National Weather Service Public Safety Priority; Workforce 
Assessment.--

    (1) In general.--Title I of the Weather Research and 
 Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8511 et seq.), is 
 amended--
        (A) in 

section 101 (15 U.S.C. 8511), by adding at 
 the end the following new sentence: ``The Under 
 Secretary shall ensure the National Oceanic and 
 Atmospheric Administration remains focused on providing 
 accurate and timely weather forecasts that protect 
 lives and property and enhance the national economy by 
 disseminating to the public and core partners through 
 nimble, flexible, and mobile methods critical weather 
 information and impact-based decision support 
 services.'';
        (B) by redesignating 

section 110 (15 U.S.C. 8519), 
 as 

section 111; and
            (C) by inserting after 

section 109, the following 
 new section:

``

SEC. 110. NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WORKFORCE ASSESSMENT.

 ``

    (a) Hiring Assessment.--
 ``

    (1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
 the enactment of this section and annually thereafter, the 
 Director of the National Weather Service shall submit to the 
 Under Secretary, the Committee on Science, Space, and 
 Technology of the House of Representatives, and the Committee 
 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate an 
 assessment of the milestones, timelines, and service level 
 expectations required for the hiring and timely on-boarding of 
 employees of the National Weather Service.
 ``

    (2) Elements.--Each assessment under paragraph

    (1) may 
 include determinations of the number of employees of the 
 National Weather Service required at each forecasting office to 
 provide services to protect lives and property and enhance the 
 national economy in the geographic region of responsibility.
 ``

    (b) Health and Morale Assessment.--
 ``

    (1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
 the enactment of this section and annually thereafter, the 
 Director of the National Weather Service shall submit to the 
 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 
 Representatives, and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
 Transportation of the Senate an assessment of medical impacts, 
 including stress and long-term health impacts, on employees of 
 the National Weather Service, including such employees' morale, 
 related to required rotating shift work.
 ``

    (2) Coordination.--The Director of the National Weather 
 Service is authorized to enter into a contract with a private 
 sector entity to conduct the assessment required under 
 paragraph

    (1) .
 ``

    (3) Elements.--Each assessment under paragraph

    (1) may 
 include the following:
 ``
        (A) Options for mitigating the impacts on 
 employees identified in each such assessment.
 ``
        (B) Recommendations for improving benefits 
 related to required rotating shift work.''.

    (2) Clerical amendment.--The table of contents in 

section 1

    (b) of Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 
 is amended by striking the item relating to 

section 110 and 
 inserting the following new items:

``

Sec. 110. National Weather Service workforce assessment.
``

Sec. 111. Authorization of appropriations.''.
 <all>