WASHINGTON, DC — With severe weather season underway, Illinois Congressman Eric Sorensen is co-leading a bipartisan push to strengthen the National Weather Service. The Weather Workforce Improvement Act, introduced last week, would help fully staff NWS offices across the country.
Sorensen, a former TV meteorologist and the only one serving in Congress, says the stakes are high. “Meteorologists are essential to our safety. Understaffed offices increase the chance for deadly mistakes—and that’s unacceptable.”
The legislation follows staffing cuts that left hundreds of positions vacant nationwide. The bill empowers the NWS director to hire directly and provides stronger job protections for meteorologists—placing them in a class with air traffic controllers and FBI agents.
Sorensen says the issue transcends politics. “Severe weather affects every state, red or blue. We have to protect the people who protect us.”
The bill is co-sponsored by lawmakers from Nebraska, Florida, Oklahoma, and California—all representing weather-vulnerable districts.