Sen. Wicker's Legislative Priorities Pass the Commerce Committee

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., today highlighted the many of his priorities passing out of the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee's markup.

The NASA Authorization Act of 2026 and the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Reauthorization (Weather) Act passed unanimously out of committee. Senator Wicker had many priorities included in these bills. These legislative items support the Stennis Space Center, provide more resources for coastal communities, and improve hazardous weather prediction and communication.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Authorization Act of 2026 will continue to build up the U.S. space program. Below are a few of the provisions that will benefit Mississippi:

• Senator Wicker's legislation, the Engine Testing for Exploration Act, was included in the NASA Authorization. This bill would ensure that the NASA Administrator continues rocket propulsion testing at the Stennis Space Center.
• The legislation supports the continuation of the Artemis program and space launch system (SLS). All engines for Artemis are tested at Stennis Space Center.
• The legislation also supports Cryogenic Valve Testing, which is conducted at the Stennis Space Center.
• The bill enables NASA to modernize its aging infrastructure and continue its work with commercial space industry at NASA centers.

The Weather Act is composed of over 17 bipartisan bills that address the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) research and weather forecasting programs, including hurricane and tornado forecasting, wildfire and landslide preparedness, atmospheric river prediction, drought monitoring, and Weather Radio Modernization. Below are Senator Wicker's priorities in the Weather Act.

The TORNADO Act:

• The Tornado Observation Research Notification and Deployment to Operations (TORNADO) Act would improve the forecasting and understanding of tornadoes and other hazardous weather.
• This legislation would require NOAA to evaluate and improve its communication about hurricanes, winter stor ms, and other hazardous weather events. Additionally, it would also require NOAA to coordinate with appropriate entities when conducting post-storm assessments to optimize data collection, sharing, and integration.

The Illegal Red Snapper Enforcement Act:

• This legislation builds off Senator Wicker's Maritime SAFE Act, to establish a whole-of-government approach to counter illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing.
• Red snapper is one of the most well-managed and profitable fish in the gulf, but illegal fishing by Mexican small boats puts law-abiding U.S. fisherman and seafood producers at a competitive disadvantage.
• Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated fishing activities violate both national and international fishing regulations. Illegal fishing is frequently combined with other illegal activities such as drug smuggling and human trafficking, and the profits from red snapper can support cartels.

Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Amendments Act:

• The bill modifies the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Act to address algal blooms and hypoxia (deficiency of oxygen) in U.S. marine, estuarine, and freshwater systems. Harmful algal blooms are high concentrations of algae that may create nuisance or toxic conditions that are harmful to humans, animals, aquatic ecosystems, and the economy.
• The Integrated Ocean Observation System and Gulf of America Coastal Ocean Observing System play a vital role in protecting lives and livelihoods - from improving hurricane forecasting and harmful algal bloom detection supporting fisheries, shipping, and the large offshore energy industry.

Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) Act:

• The bill reauthorizes the IOOS network that provides marine information used in disaster response, weather forecasting and hurricane prediction, water quality forecasting, detection of harmful algal blooms, and safe maritime operations.