S. 613 would authorize appropriations totaling $304 million over the 2025-2029 period for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to maintain and expand the National Mesonet Program. That program is a network of automated weather stations in locations prone to severe weather that collect data about temperature, humidity, and atmospheric pressure. The agency would be responsible for integrating into the network the moisture content of soil and vegetation, satellite data, and data from existing environmental monitoring stations to improve the warning system for severe weather. In 2024, NOAA allocated $30 million for the program.
The bill also would require NOAA to allocate 15 percent of the authorized amounts to assist local governments and private and academic entities to expand local monitoring stations and integrate the data they capture into the network. Finally, NOAA would be required to maintain an advisory committee to identify opportunities for collaborating with local experts and identifying appropriate data to improve the forecasting capability of the program.
CBO estimates that the bill will be enacted in 2025 and that the authorized amounts will be provided in each year. On that basis and using historical spending patterns, CBO estimates that implementing the bill would cost $288 million over the 2025-2030 period and $13 million after 2030.
The costs of the legislation, detailed in Table 1, fall within budget function 300 (natural resources and environment).
Table 1. Estimated Increases in Spending Subject to Appropriation Under S. 613 | |||||||
By Fiscal Year, Millions of Dollars | |||||||
2025 | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | 2030 | 2025-2030 | |
Authorization | 50 | 55 | 61 | 68 | 70 | 0 | 304 |
Estimated Outlays | 15 | 48 | 64 | 67 | 67 | 27 | 288 |
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Aurora Swanson. The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.
Phillip L. Swagel
Director, Congressional Budget Office