U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, a Republican representing Mississippi, announced that several of his legislative priorities have advanced in the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee. Among the bills approved were the NASA Authorization Act of 2026 and the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Reauthorization (Weather) Act, both passed unanimously.
The NASA Authorization Act includes provisions aimed at strengthening the U.S. space program and supporting operations at the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. One component is Senator Wicker’s Engine Testing for Exploration Act, which requires continued rocket propulsion testing at Stennis. The act also supports ongoing Artemis program activities and space launch system engine tests at the center, as well as cryogenic valve testing. The bill allows NASA to update its infrastructure and maintain partnerships with commercial space companies at its facilities.
The Weather Act brings together more than 17 bipartisan measures to enhance research and forecasting efforts by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). These measures address hurricane and tornado prediction, wildfire preparedness, drought monitoring, atmospheric river forecasting, landslide readiness, and modernization of weather radio systems.
Senator Wicker highlighted several key elements included in these acts:
– The Tornado Observation Research Notification and Deployment to Operations (TORNADO) Act aims to improve tornado forecasting and hazardous weather understanding. “This legislation would require NOAA to evaluate and improve its communication about hurricanes, winter storms, 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,” according to Wicker’s office.
– The Illegal Red Snapper Enforcement Act seeks a government-wide approach against illegal fishing practices that affect red snapper stocks in the Gulf of Mexico. “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,” according to Wicker’s statement. He added that such activities often coincide with other illegal operations like drug smuggling.
– Amendments to the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Act are intended to address algal blooms that harm marine environments, wildlife, human health, fisheries, shipping operations, offshore energy industries, and local economies.
– The Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) Act reauthorizes a network providing critical marine information used for disaster response—including hurricane prediction—water quality monitoring, harmful algal bloom detection, maritime safety operations.
Wicker has been recognized for his policy work by organizations such as the National Association of Manufacturers (official website). He serves as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee (official website) and sits on the Congressional Board of Visitors for the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (official website). In addition to his work on science-related legislation like authoring the SHIPS Act (official website), he co-founded a caucus focused on global health initiatives such as malaria prevention (official website).
Senator Wicker continues to represent Mississippi in Congress (official website).
