S1958-119

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Federal Operational Resilience in Emergency Conditions And Storm Tracking Act or the FORECAST Act.

2. Exemption of certain positions within the National Weather Service from Federal Government hiring freezes The Secretary shall exempt covered positions within the National Weather Service from any Executive order or memorandum imposing a hiring freeze for employees of the Federal Government due to the role of those positions as necessary for public safety in issuing weather and flood warnings, maintaining critical observational equipment, and protecting life and property from weather-related hazards. The Secretary shall implement the requirement under subsection (a) by not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on staffing levels at the National Weather Service for covered positions. The requirement under subsection (a) shall negate any job offer rescinded on or after January 20, 2025, for a covered position. In this section: The term covered position means a position of the National Weather Service in job series 1340 (meteorology), 1315 (hydrology), or 856 (electronics technician), or any successor job series number. The term Secretary means the Secretary of Commerce.