WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, introduced legislation aiming to “modernize weather radio emergency alerts” following the deadly floods in Texas’ Hill Country.
The bill seeks to upgrade weather radio equipment to improve emergency communications during severe weather, according to Cruz’s office, and bolster access to critical warnings nationwide.
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It comes as Republicans face increasing questions about whether cuts by the Department of Government Efficiency and the recent spending bill impacted the ability to warn residents and respond to the floods.
The legislation was first introduced by Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Washington, and Cruz in 2023. The bill advanced out of the Senate in 2023, but died in the House committee.
According to the bill text provided by Cruz’s office, the bill seeks to:
- Improve methods of communicating risks posed by hazardous weather events to the public
- Improve the communication of hazardous weather warnings and the urgency of such warnings
- Acquire additional transmitters to expand coverage in high-risk areas and communities without internet
- Create the ability to disseminate radio alerts by satellite or through the cloud
- Create more geographically specific warnings
“While the Hill Country flood investigation continues, we do know that some people did not receive the warnings because of a lack of cell phone coverage,” Cruz said.
However, according to the Texas Tribune, the National Weather Service sent out its first alert three hours and 21 minutes before the first flash flooding reports.
Travis County Judge Andy Brown said Thursday during testimony to state lawmakers that the difference between the floods that occurred in July and those in previous years was missing a critical liaison between the National Weather Service and county officials.
“He took early retirement. I don’t know, something with all that was going on in D.C. They did not replace him,” Brown said. “He was the person who would say, ‘Hey, Travis County, I know you get flash flood alerts all the time, but this is a big one. You need to pay attention to it.’”
Brown is referring to the federal government telling the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which oversees the National Weather Service, to cut an estimated 10 percent of its workforce. It resulted in many early retirements.
Brown described it as the “number one” thing the county needed, but did not have during the floods.
Cruz defended the cuts to the Texas Tribune through a spokesperson, saying the unspent funds were not going toward existing operations or forecasting activity, and had sat unobligated for three years because the research projects the money was intended to fund had mostly been completed.
“There are simply more productive ways to be faithful stewards of public money and improve weather forecasts than continuing to overfund every possible NOAA account,” Cruz spokesperson Macarena Martinez said.