Representative Mike Flood introduces bill to mark National Weather Service employees as critical

HASTINGS, Neb. (KSNB) - U.S. Representative Mike Flood along with four other U.S. representatives introduced a bill on Friday to reclassify National Weather Service (NWS) employees as public safety mission function workers.

If passed, it would put NWS employees in the same category as FBI agents and air traffic controllers. With this classification, they would not be eligible for the buyouts offered by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

The bill — known as the Weather Workforce Improvement Act — would also grant NWS temporary direct hiring authority for Meteorologists, general physical scientists, hydrologists, computer specialists, and electronic technicians to ensure that previous and future workforce shortages can be addressed quickly, so that staffing shortages are minim