H.R. 5855: Measuring the Cost of Disasters Act of 2025
Sponsor
Joe Neguse
Democrat · CO-2
Bill Progress
Latest Action · Oct 28, 2025
Referred to the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.
NOAA's disaster cost tracker went dark — this bill restores it
Why it matters
For 45 years, NOAA put a price tag on every U.S. storm, flood, and wildfire that cost $1 billion or more — then the public webpage stopped updating on May 9, 2025. H.R. 5855 would order NOAA to rebuild the tracker with the same maps and graphs, refresh it at least twice a year, and preserve the full 1980–2024 archive for researchers.
NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information ran a public tracker of billion-dollar disasters — every storm or severe weather event that caused $1 billion or more in combined direct and market costs. The webpage covered 1980 through 2024 and stayed online until May 9, 2025.
H.R. 5855 directs NOAA to rebuild and maintain that database. Every qualifying disaster gets an entry listing its estimated cost, type, location, and dates. The site must include visual graphs and mapping features the bill says should be "similar, if not identical" to the originals, and NOAA must update everything at least twice a year.
The bill also protects the historical record. NOAA must keep the 1980–2024 archive available for research, and the agency can add disasters that fall short of the $1 billion mark when it decides they belong. To do the work, NOAA can lean on the same federal and non-federal partners it used while the original tracker was running.
H.R. 5855 Bill Summary
What H.R. 5855 actually does.
The billion-dollar disaster tracker comes back
NOAA must establish and maintain a public database and webpage covering each billion-dollar disaster that occurs in the United States each year. A qualifying disaster is a storm or severe weather event causing $1 billion or more in combined direct and market costs, as determined by the National Centers for Environmental Information.
Every entry shows the cost, type, location, and dates
Each disaster in the database must list its estimated cost, the type of disaster, where it happened, and the date or dates it occurred — plus any other information NOAA considers appropriate.
Maps and graphs must match the originals
The rebuilt site must include visual graphs and mapping features showing disaster trends over time and the distribution of disaster types across the country — similar, if not identical, to the NCEI tools produced from 1980 through 2024 and available online until May 9, 2025.
Updates at least twice a year
NOAA must refresh the database and webpage not less frequently than biannually as new information becomes available, replacing ad hoc publication with a required minimum schedule.
The 1980–2024 archive stays available
NOAA must maintain and update the previously existing disaster database on the NCEI webpage for archiving and research purposes, preserving 45 years of historical records.
Smaller disasters can make the list
The NOAA Administrator may include disasters below the $1 billion threshold when the agency determines inclusion is appropriate, and may collaborate with the federal and non-federal partners NOAA worked with while the original database was active.
Who benefits from H.R. 5855?
Researchers and climate scientists
The 1980–2024 record is one of the longest consistent disaster-cost datasets the federal government has published. The bill keeps that archive intact and adds new years to it on a required schedule instead of leaving the series frozen in 2024.
State and local emergency planners
Updates at least twice a year, with cost and location detail for every qualifying disaster, give planners a national benchmark for comparing their region's exposure when they budget for storms, floods, and wildfires.
Homeowners, insurers, and anyone pricing risk
A free public record of what major disasters actually cost — by type, place, and date — is a reference point for insurance decisions, lending, and where to build.
Journalists and the general public
After a major storm, one NOAA webpage would again show what it cost and how it compares to 45 years of disasters before it, instead of leaving the public to piece together scattered estimates.
Who is affected by H.R. 5855?
NOAA and the National Centers for Environmental Information
NOAA must rebuild the public database and webpage, keep a twice-a-year minimum update schedule, and archive the old records. NCEI's cost determinations decide which disasters cross the $1 billion line and qualify.
Federal and non-federal data partners
The bill lets NOAA collaborate with outside partners to build and update the database — including the partners that supported the original tracker during its 1980–2024 run.
Communities hit by major storms and severe weather
Disasters costing $1 billion or more would be publicly cataloged with location, dates, and estimated cost. Smaller disasters could be included too if NOAA decides it is appropriate.
HR5855 Legislative Journey
House: Committee Action
Oct 28, 2025
Referred to the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.
About the Sponsor
Joe Neguse
Democrat, Colorado's 2nd congressional district · 7 years in Congress
Committees: Natural Resources, Rules, the Judiciary
View full profile →
Cosponsors (3)
All 3 cosponsors are Democrats. Cosponsors represent 3 states: California, Maryland, Oregon.
Committee Sponsors
Science, Space, and Technology Committee
1 of 39 committee members cosponsored
17 Democrats across this committee haven't cosponsored yet. Mobilize their constituents
H.R. 5855 Quick Facts
- Committee
- Science, Space, and Technology
- Chamber
- House
- Policy
- Public Lands and Natural Resources
- Introduced
- Oct 28, 2025
Referred to the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.
Oct 28, 2025
Official Sources
Official bill page with full text, cosponsors, committee referral, and legislative actions for the Measuring the Cost of Disasters Act of 2025.
The NCEI database and webpage the bill cites verbatim — the 1980–2024 archive with the cost maps, time series, and event listings the bill orders NOAA to rebuild and maintain.
NOAA's official May 2025 notice retiring the billion-dollar disasters product with no updates beyond 2024 — the discontinuation this bill responds to.
Official printed bill text from the U.S. Government Publishing Office in PDF, text, and XML formats.
H.R. 5855 Common Questions
What happened to NOAA's billion-dollar disaster database?
The NCEI tracker covering 1980 through 2024 stopped being available online on May 9, 2025. H.R. 5855 would require NOAA to rebuild it with the same maps and graphs and keep the historical archive available for research.
What counts as a billion-dollar disaster under H.R. 5855?
A storm or severe weather event that causes $1 billion or more in combined direct and market costs, as determined by NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information.
How often would NOAA have to update the disaster database?
At least twice a year. The bill sets that as a floor, not a ceiling — NOAA updates as new disaster cost information becomes available.
What information would the database show for each disaster?
Each entry must list the estimated cost, the type of disaster, where it happened, and when — plus visual graphs and maps showing disaster trends over time and across the country.
Would the old 1980–2024 disaster records be preserved?
Yes. NOAA must maintain and update the previously existing NCEI database for archiving and research purposes, keeping all 45 years of records available.
Can disasters that cost less than $1 billion be included?
Yes. The NOAA Administrator can add a smaller disaster whenever the agency decides inclusion is appropriate — $1 billion is the threshold for required entries, not a limit on what the database can hold.
Who pays for rebuilding the disaster database?
The bill doesn't include new funding. NOAA would use data it already has and can work with the same federal and non-federal partners that supported the original tracker — the cost would come out of existing budgets.
Based on H.R. 5855 bill text
H.R. 5855 Bill Text
“To require the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to establish and maintain a database and webpage that is available to the public and contains information on the billion-dollar disasters that occur each year in the United States, and for other purposes.”
Source: U.S. Government Publishing Office
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