Lamar Smith: “I want to thank the former chairman of the Science, Space, and Technology Committee for yielding me time. H.R. 2431, the…”

“I want to thank the former chairman of the Science, Space, and Technology Committee for yielding me time. H.R. 2431, the National Integrated Drought Information System Reauthorization Act of 2013, makes minor improvements to the NIDIS program and helps establish better drought forecasting and coordination. I am glad that the Science, Space, and Technology Committee's chairman emeritus, Congressman Ralph Hall of Texas, is the lead sponsor of this bill and the original author of the NIDIS authorization in 2006. I thank the gentleman for his persistent leadership over the years on this issue. Recent droughts in Texas and around the country have been severe. The NIDIS program has helped State and local governments, farmers, ranchers, and others both monitor and predict drought conditions. More than one-third of the United States is currently experiencing moderate to severe drought conditions. By some estimates, the historic drought in 2012 cost our national economy as much as $70 billion. NIDIS is a good program that has a history of bipartisan support. It represents the kind of interagency and intergovernmental cooperation that we need to reauthorize in this difficult fiscal environment. As a success story, the NIDIS program currently operates the U.S. Drought Portal, a Web site that features a range of services related to drought.…”