Cantwell, Wicker, Hickenlooper & Hyde-Smith Introduce Bill to Codify NOAA’s Cooperative Institutes
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), a senior member of the Commerce Committee, John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) have introduced the bipartisan Cooperative Institute Act of 2026 to codify the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) long-standing Cooperative Institute (CI) program in statute, ensuring the agency maintains its nationwide network of academic research partnerships.
Cooperative Institutes conduct research that directly supports NOAA’s operational mission and provides tangible benefits to communities across the country, including improving hurricane forecasts and storm surge prediction, advancing fisheries science that supports commercial and recreational fishing industries, strengthening coastal resilience, enhancing drought and wildfire monitoring through satellite observations and improving atmospheric river and flood forecasting. Based at the University of Washington, the Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean, and Ecosystem Studies (CICOES) exemplifies these partnerships by providing the science that strengthens weather forecasts, fisheries management, and tsunami preparedness for communities across the Pacific Northwest and the nation.
“The Cooperative Institutes are one of the federal government’s greatest scientific success stories – bringing together NOAA scientists and leading universities to improve weather forecasts, strengthen coastal resilience, support our fisheries, and prepare communities for natural disasters,” said Sen. Cantwell. “Here in the State of Washington, the Cooperative Institute at the University of Washington has helped drive breakthroughs that benefit the entire country. This bipartisan legislation protects and strengthens these partnerships to fuel innovation, train the next generation of scientists, and deliver research that supports NOAA’s mission.”
“For coastal states like Mississippi, maritime research is crucial to our economy and security. The findings support our fisheries and mitigate the devastating impacts of perilous hurricanes,” said Sen. Wicker. “This legislation would bolster partnerships between NOAA and outstanding academic institutions, such as Mississippi State and the University of Southern Mississippi. Their collaboration has borne great fruit for the Magnolia State and beyond.”
“If history tells us anything, it’s that America is at our best when we work together to advance science,” said Sen. Hickenlooper. “In Colorado, the over 900 researchers involved in NOAA’s CI programs at CU Boulder and CSU perform critical Earth systems research that advances science in real ways communities can feel. These invaluable partnerships need to be protected.”
“The Cooperative Institute Act will create greater certainty for NOAA and the wonderful universities, like Mississippi State and Southern Miss, in understanding, protecting, and harnessing our natural resources,” said Sen. Hyde-Smith. “We want to ensure that the Northern Gulf Institute and the Cooperative Institute for Fostering Aquaculture Research and Markets, which benefit Coastal Mississippi, can continue to benefit our nation and grow to meet future challenges and opportunities. This bipartisan legislation is national in scope, which should help generate broad support in Congress.”
The legislation would direct NOAA to maintain the CI program to advance collaborative basic and applied research, education, workforce development, and public outreach in areas critical to the agency’s mission. It would establish a permanent framework for CIs, defining eligibility requirements, program goals, and the responsibilities of both NOAA and participating research institutions. In addition, the bill would authorize NOAA to establish new CIs through merit-based competitions, support students and postdoctoral researchers, enhance collaboration through the collocation of NOAA and university personnel, and strengthen scientific capacity at universities and nonprofit research institutions. Codifying the framework NOAA has developed over decades, will provide long-term stability and consistency for CIs while preserving the flexibility NOAA has to manage partnerships, conduct merit-based competitions, and respond to emerging scientific priorities that support the Agency’s mission.
Sen. Cantwell’s 5 Point Plan to bolster U.S. weather readiness calls for investing in cutting-edge research, but the Trump Administration has repeatedly proposed eliminating NOAA’s research arm, including the Cooperative Institutes.
In March, Sen. Cantwell’s Weather Act, which authorizes programs at NOAA that will strengthen weather research and forecasting to save lives and better prepare our nation against dangerous weather disasters, unanimously passed the Commerce Committee. The Weather Act is an important component of Sen. Cantwell’s 5 Point Plan which she outlined in a letter to President Donald Trump in July, 2025. Earlier this year, she introduced legislation to establish the Radar Next Program which will carry out deployment of the nation’s next generation weather radar system. Last August, she introduced legislation to modernize the nation’s weather communication and radio service as the country faces increasingly powerful floods, fires, and hurricanes.
Sen. Cantwell helped secure $3.3 billion in NOAA investments in the Inflation Reduction Act to help communities prepare for and adapt to climate change, boost science needed to understand changing weather and climate patterns, and invest in advanced computer technologies that are critical for extreme weather prediction and emergency response. Her Fire Ready Nation Act, bipartisan legislation to strengthen NOAA’s ability to help forecast, prevent, and fight wildfires, passed the Senate in September of last year.
The bill text is HERE.
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