National Weather Service Duties Act of 2005
Encyclopedia
The National Weather Service Duties Act of 2005 was a legislative proposal forwarded in April 2005 by now former United States Senator Rick Santorum
(R
-PA
) to curtail perceived government competition with commercial weather services from the National Weather Service
. Though the wording of the bill was generally considered unclear, the general consensus among observers was that its effect would be to eliminate public dissemination of National Weather Service data and forecasts except in case of severe weather alerts. The bill attracted no cosponsors in the Senate and eventually died in committee http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:SN00786:, and was roundly criticized by the general public for threatening to force taxpayer-funded data currently made available for free through commercial, for-profit channels (i.e. behind a pay wall
) instead. The bill had very few supporters outside the commercial weather industry.
In the wake of the bill's introduction, Santorum was accused of political impropriety and influence peddling because Joel Myers
, the head of Pennsylvania-based AccuWeather
and one of Santorum's constituents, was also a Santorum campaign contributor.
In September 2005, while the bill was still in committee, Santorum criticized the National Weather Service's forecasting of Hurricane Katrina
, claiming that more lives could have been saved if the NWS's operation focused on severe weather. However, both public and professional opinion held that the NWS's forecasting had in fact been substantially better than most other sources, and Santorum's comment was largely ignored.
Rick Santorum
Richard John "Rick" Santorum is a lawyer and a former United States Senator from the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Santorum was the chairman of the Senate Republican Conference -making him the third-ranking Senate Republican from 2001 until his leave in 2007. Santorum is considered both a social...
(R
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
-PA
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
) to curtail perceived government competition with commercial weather services from the National Weather Service
National Weather Service
The National Weather Service , once known as the Weather Bureau, is one of the six scientific agencies that make up the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States government...
. Though the wording of the bill was generally considered unclear, the general consensus among observers was that its effect would be to eliminate public dissemination of National Weather Service data and forecasts except in case of severe weather alerts. The bill attracted no cosponsors in the Senate and eventually died in committee http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:SN00786:, and was roundly criticized by the general public for threatening to force taxpayer-funded data currently made available for free through commercial, for-profit channels (i.e. behind a pay wall
Pay wall
A paywall is an online device which bars internet users from accessing webpage content without paid subscription. There are both "hard" and "soft" paywalls in use. "Hard" paywalls allow minimal to no access of content without subscription, while "soft" paywalls allow more flexibility of what...
) instead. The bill had very few supporters outside the commercial weather industry.
In the wake of the bill's introduction, Santorum was accused of political impropriety and influence peddling because Joel Myers
Joel N. Myers
Joel N. Myers is founder, president and chairman of the board of AccuWeather, Inc., an American commercial weather service. AccuWeather provides forecasts and data to over 175,000 clients around the world and serves millions more through its free website, AccuWeather.com...
, the head of Pennsylvania-based AccuWeather
AccuWeather
AccuWeather is an American media company that provides for-profit weather forecasting services worldwide.AccuWeather was founded in 1962 by Joel N. Myers, then a Penn State graduate student working on degrees in meteorology. His first customer was a gas company in Pennsylvania. While running the...
and one of Santorum's constituents, was also a Santorum campaign contributor.
In September 2005, while the bill was still in committee, Santorum criticized the National Weather Service's forecasting of Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
, claiming that more lives could have been saved if the NWS's operation focused on severe weather. However, both public and professional opinion held that the NWS's forecasting had in fact been substantially better than most other sources, and Santorum's comment was largely ignored.