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Tsunami Warning and Education Act

Public Law 109-424 · H.R. 1674 · 109th Congress · began in the House

Signed by George W. Bush (R) on Dec 20, 2006 · Emergency Management

Sponsor: Rep. Sherry Boehlert (R-NY-24)

Cosponsors (25): Rep. Jay Inslee,

Passage votes

  • HouseVoice vote
  • SenateUnanimous consent
Data notes

The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.

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Summary

The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.

Tsunami Warning and Education Act - (Sec. 4) Directs the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), through the National Weather Service (NWS) and in consultation with other NOAA offices, to operate a tsunami detection, forecasting, and warning program for the Pacific and Arctic Ocean regions and for the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico region.

Requires the program to operate a Pacific tsunami warning system and an Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico system to forecast and provide adequate warnings.

Directs the Administrator to maintain or establish a Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii, a West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center in Alaska, and additional centers determined to be necessary by NWS. Includes among the centers' responsibilities data monitoring, earthquake evaluation, and data dissemination to researchers.

Directs NWS to develop forecasting equipment requirements and a plan to transfer technology developed from research under this Act.

Requires reports to Congress on: (1) integration of the tsunami forecast system with other observation systems; (2) equipment certifications and system failures; and (3) evaluation of tsunami detection systems. Directs the Administrator to enter into an arrangement with the National Academy of Sciences to assess modernization and coverage needs and operational reliability issues.

(Sec. 5) Directs the Administrator to establish: (1) a tsunami hazard mitigation program to improve tsunami preparedness of at-risk areas in the United States and its territories; and (2) a research program to develop detection, forecast, communication, and mitigation science and technology for tracking and numerical forecast modeling.

(Sec. 7) Directs the Administrator, in coordination with other members of the U.S. Interagency Committee of the National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program, to provide technical assistance and training to specified international entities to develop a fully functional global tsunami forecast and warning system comprising regional warning networks.

Directs the Administrator, in cooperation with the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, to operate an International Tsunami Information Center to improve preparedness for all Pacific Ocean nations participating in the International Tsunami Warning System of the Pacific, as well as provide assistance to other nations participating in a global warning system established through the Commission.

(Sec. 8) Authorizes appropriations for FY2008-FY2012.

Committees

The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.

Data notes

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Related bills

2 bills the Library of Congress relates to this one.

  • H.R. 5946 · became Public Law 109-479Related bill

    Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006

  • S. 50Related bill

    Tsunami Preparedness Act

Data notes

Related bills are identified by the Congressional Research Service, the House and the Senate: companion and identical bills, bills with similar text, bills that were folded into this law, and rules that brought it to the floor. A bill that is itself a public law in this site’s data links here; the others link to Congress.gov.

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Timeline

From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 21 actions.

  1. Dec 20, 2006Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 109-424.
  2. Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
  3. Dec 11, 2006FloorFloor · Presented to President.
  4. Dec 8, 2006FloorFloor · Message on Senate action sent to the House.
  5. FloorFloor · Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent.
  6. Dec 6, 2006FloorFloor · Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  7. FloorFloor · On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.
  8. FloorFloor · DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 1674.
  9. FloorFloor · Considered under suspension of the rules.
  10. FloorFloor · Mr. Ehlers moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
  11. CommitteeCommittee · Received in the Senate, read twice.
  12. Sep 28, 2006CalendarCalendar · Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 422.
  13. CommitteeCommittee · Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Science. H. Rept. 109-698.
  14. May 4, 2005CommitteeCommittee · Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by Voice Vote.
  15. CommitteeCommittee · Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
  16. Apr 20, 2005CommitteeCommittee · Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee (Amended) by Voice Vote.
  17. CommitteeCommittee · Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
  18. Apr 19, 2005CommitteeCommittee · Referred to the Subcommittee on Environment, Technology, and Standards.
  19. Apr 18, 2005CommitteeCommittee · Referred to the House Committee on Science.
  20. CommitteeCommittee · Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E675)
  21. IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in House
Data notes

Every action the Library of Congress lists for the bill, from introduction to signing, plus the dated committee hearings. The source lists many steps twice (the chamber’s own entry and the Library of Congress copy, or a presidential and a became-law entry with the same words); those are shown once. Amendments are listed in their own section.

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Amendments

No amendments to this bill are on record.

Data notes

Amendments offered to this bill in either chamber, as the Library of Congress records them: each with a status read from its last recorded step: agreed to, rejected, withdrawn, ruled out of order, fell with another amendment, or offered with no vote recorded (most Senate amendments are only ever offered). The wording of each amendment is the source’s. Amendments to amendments and amendments to other bills are not listed.

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Official record

The bill’s full text is on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.