S. 558 · 117th Congress

FLOODS Act

Introduced on Mar 3, 2021 by Roger F. Wicker (R-MS). 3 cosponsors, 2 of them from another party. Became Public Law 117-316.

Stage
Became law
Public Law 117-316
Introduced
Mar 3, 2021
Cosponsors
3
2 from the other party
Policy area
Public Lands and Natural Resources
Open in the Congress explorerCongress.govAlert me

Progress

The furthest stage the measure reached. Simple and concurrent resolutions do not go to the President.

  1. Introduced
  2. Reported by committee
  3. Passed one chamber
  4. Passed both chambers
  5. Sent to the President
  6. Became law

Official title

A bill to establish a national integrated flood information system within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and for other purposes.

Subjects

  • Atmospheric science and weather
  • Congressional oversight
  • Department of Commerce
  • Emergency planning and evacuation
  • Environmental assessment, monitoring, research
  • Executive agency funding and structure
  • Floods and storm protection
  • Government information and archives
  • Government studies and investigations
  • Higher education
  • Hydrology and hydrography
  • Lakes and rivers
  • Marine and coastal resources, fisheries
  • Marine and inland water transportation
  • Natural disasters
  • Research administration and funding
  • Student aid and college costs
  • Water quality
  • Water storage
  • Water use and supply

Summary

By the Congressional Research Service (Public Law, Dec 27, 2022). Public domain.

Flood Level Observation, Operations, and Decision Support Act or the FLOODS Act

This act addresses forecasting and the communication of flood, tornado, and hurricane events by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

For example, the act directs NOAA to establish a National Integrated Flood Information System to inform and provide for timely decisions to reduce flood-related effects and costs.

NOAA must also establish partnerships with institutions of higher education and federal agencies to improve total water predictions. In addition, NOAA must (1) evaluate and improve flash flood watches and warnings, (2) estimate and communicate the frequency of precipitation, and (3) identify gaps in the availability of snow-related data to assess and predict floods and flood impacts.

Further, NOAA must ensure that the tornado warning improvement and extension program periodically examines the value of incorporating innovative observations, such as acoustic or infrasonic measurements, observations from phased array radars, and observations from mesonets (i.e., a network of certain weather observing stations).

In addition, the National Weather Service must designate a service coordination hydrologist at each of its River Forecast Centers to increase impact-based decision support services at the state and local level.

Finally, the act establishes an Interagency Committee on Water Management and Infrastructure to ensure that federal agencies that engage in water-related matters work together where such agencies have joint or overlapping responsibilities.

Sponsor and cosponsors

Cosponsors by party as of the day they signed on. Original cosponsors signed on the day of introduction.

Roger F. WickerR-MSSponsor

Democrats · 2

Republicans · 1

Roll calls

Recorded votes on the measure. Most measures move by voice vote or unanimous consent, which record no individual positions.

No recorded roll call on this measure: it moved by voice vote or unanimous consent, or has not reached the floor.

History

Every action as published, oldest first. Roll calls link to how each member voted.

  1. Mar 3, 2021Introduced in Senate
  2. Mar 3, 2021 · SenateRead twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
  3. Apr 28, 2021 · SenateCommittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
  4. Sep 30, 2021Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation discharged by Unanimous Consent.
  5. Sep 30, 2021 · SenateSenate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation discharged by Unanimous Consent.
  6. Sep 30, 2021 · SenateMeasure laid before Senate by unanimous consent. (consideration: CR S6856-6860)
  7. Sep 30, 2021Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent.(text: CR S6857-6860)
  8. Sep 30, 2021 · SenatePassed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent. (text: CR S6857-6860)
  9. Oct 1, 2021 · SenateMessage on Senate action sent to the House.
  10. Oct 1, 2021 · HouseReceived in the House.
  11. Oct 1, 2021 · HouseHeld at the desk.
  12. Dec 12, 2022 · HouseMr. Beyer moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill.
  13. Dec 12, 2022 · HouseConsidered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H9653, H9656-9658; text: CR H9653-9656)
  14. Dec 12, 2022 · HouseDEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on S. 558.
  15. Dec 12, 2022 · HouseAt the conclusion of debate, the Yeas and Nays were demanded and ordered. Pursuant to the provisions of clause 8, rule XX, the Chair announced that further proceedings on the motion would be postponed.
  16. Dec 14, 2022 · HousePursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 1518, proceedings on S. 558 are considered vacated.
  17. Dec 14, 2022Passed/agreed to in House: Pursuant to section 5 of H. Res. 1518, and the motion offered by Mr. Hoyer, the following bills passed under suspension of the rules: H.R. 1082, as amended; H.R. 5349; H.R. 6218; H.R. 6220; H.R. 6221; H.R. 6611, as amended; H.R. 6630; H.R. 6725; H.R. 7077, agreed to Senate amendment; H.R. 7832; H.R. 8665; S. 558; and S. 789. S. 558; and S. 789.
  18. Dec 14, 2022 · HousePursuant to section 5 of H. Res. 1518, and the motion offered by Mr. Hoyer, the following bills passed under suspension of the rules: H.R. 1082, as amended; H.R. 5349; H.R. 6218; H.R. 6220; H.R. 6221; H.R. 6611, as amended; H.R. 6630; H.R. 6725; H.R. 7077, agreed to Senate amendment; H.R. 7832; H.R. 8665; S. 558; and S. 789. S. 558; and S. 789. (consideration: CR H9803-9810; text: CR H9805-9809)
  19. Dec 23, 2022Presented to President.
  20. Dec 23, 2022 · HousePresented to President.
  21. Dec 27, 2022Signed by President.
  22. Dec 27, 2022Signed by President.
  23. Dec 27, 2022Became Public Law No: 117-316.
  24. Dec 27, 2022Became Public Law No: 117-316.

Committees

Committees and subcommittees the measure was referred to.

Agencies in its committees' jurisdiction

Analisa's mapping of committee jurisdiction to federal agencies; the bill may touch others, or none of these.

Sources and method

Every figure on this page traces to these records.

  • Bill status: bills and resolutions, sponsors, actions, subjects and CRS summaries (U.S. Government Publishing Office (GovInfo), from Congress.gov (Library of Congress))GovInfo Bill Status bulk data (Congress.gov; summaries by the Congressional Research Service) · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Members of Congress, their terms, committees and identifiers (The @unitedstates project (from the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, the House and the Senate))unitedstates/congress-legislators: legislators, committees and current committee membership · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication)
  • House roll-call votes (Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, roll-call vote records · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Senate roll-call votes and DW-NOMINATE scores (Voteview (UCLA Department of Political Science))Lewis, Jeffrey B., Keith Poole, Howard Rosenthal, Adam Boche, Aaron Rudkin, and Luke Sonnet (2026). Voteview: Congressional Roll-Call Votes Database. https://voteview.com/ · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Free to use with the required citation
  • Lobbying disclosures (LD-1 registrations, LD-2 quarterly reports, LD-203 contribution reports) (Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives)Clerk of the House, Lobbying Disclosure Act filings (organizations only; lobbyists' names are not loaded) · data current to Oct 5, 2026 · loaded Oct 5, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Positions are shown only where a roll call recorded them; voice votes and unanimous consent record none.