National Climate Service Bill Passes House Committee

The House Committee on Science and Technology yesterday passed H.R. 2407, the National Climate Service Act of 2009, by a vote of 24 to 12. A bipartisan amendment by Rep. Brian Baird (D-WA) and Rep. Bob Inglis (R-SC) postpones the creation of a new organization by first setting up a "Climate Service Program" within NOAA. A 3-year process is then defined to develop a "collaborative, interagency research and operational program" and evaluate alternatives for implementation. The evaluation process, to be carried out through the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources (CENR) of the National Science and Technology Council, is required to report its results to Congress within 2 years along with a plan for establishing the National Climate Service.

Rep. Baird stated:

In a climate that is changing, it is imperative that we have reliable information to help us adapt and respond to these changes. My amendment puts in place a mechanism that will allow the best minds from every relevant federal agency to share information, and ultimately decide on the best structure, and organizational home for the National Climate Service. By doing this, we will ensure that when the National Climate Service is created, it will be better able to identify the problems created by global overheating, and armed with this information, better able to find solutions.