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H.R. 1427: To require the Secretary of Commerce to study the coverage gaps of the Next Generation Weather Radar of the National Weather Service and to develop a plan for improving radar coverage and hazardous weather detection and forecasting.

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H.R. 1427: To require the Secretary of Commerce to study the coverage gaps of the Next Generation Weather Radar of the National Weather Service and to develop a plan for improving radar coverage and hazardous weather detection and forecasting.

115th Congress · introduced 2017-03-08 · Science, Technology, Communications · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on Environment.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2017-03-08 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Rep. Pittenger, Robert [R-NC-9] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
  4. Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee on Environment. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
  5. If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

To require the Secretary of Commerce to study the coverage gaps of the Next Generation Weather Radar of the National Weather Service and to develop a plan for improving radar coverage and hazardous weather detection and forecasting.

Plain summary

This bill directs the Department of Commerce to complete a study on gaps in the coverage of the Next Generation Weather Radar of the National Weather Service (NEXRAD). Commerce shall identify areas in the United States with limited or no NEXRAD coverage below 6,000 feet above ground level of the surrounding terrain. For those areas identified, Commerce shall also: identify the key weather effects for which prediction would improve with improved radar detection; identify additional sources of observations for high impact weather available and operational for such areas, including Terminal Doppler Weather Radar, air surveillance radars of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and cooperative network observers; and assess the feasibility and advisability of efforts to integrate and upgrade federal radar capabilities in such areas that are not owned or controlled by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, including radar capabilities of the FAA and the Department of Defense. In addition, under such study Commerce shall: assess the feasibility and advisability of incorporating state-operated and other nonfederal radars into the operations of the National Weather Service (NWS); and identify options to improve radar coverage in all of the areas identified as having limited or no NEXRAD coverage. After completing the study, Commerce shall submit a plan for improving radar coverage in the identified areas by integrating and upgrading additional observation solutions to improve hazardous weather detection and forecasting. Commerce shall seek third-party reviews on scientific methodology related to, and the feasibility and advisability of, implementing the plan to improve radar coverage, including the extent to which warning and forecast services of the NWS would be improved by additional NEXRAD coverage.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

To require the Secretary of Commerce to study the coverage gaps of the Next Generation Weather Radar of the National Weather Service and to develop a plan for improving radar coverage and hazardous weather detection and forecasting.

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Pittenger, Robert [R-NC-9] · 0 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (1)
Bill
A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Record fed-us-cong115-hr1427 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong115 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong115