Calls decision a win for transparency, scientific integrity, and congressional oversight
Washington, D.C. – Today, House Science, Space, and Technology Committee Chairman Brian Babin released the following statement after the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) notified the Investigations and Oversight (I&O) Subcommittee of its intent to cancel the Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters (BDD) dataset.
The decision comes just days before a scheduled I&O Subcommittee hearing titled “Forecasting Disaster: NOAA’s Transparency, Trust, and Scientific Integrity in Crisis,” which has now been postponed in light of this major development.
“This is a clear victory for transparency, scientific integrity, and the power of congressional oversight,” Chairman Babin said. “For months, the Investigations and Oversight Subcommittee has scrutinized NOAA’s use of the Billion-Dollar Disasters dataset — a dataset increasingly relied upon by policymakers but riddled with scientific and methodological flaws. I applaud the Trump Administration for recognizing those flaws and taking decisive action. The American people deserve data they can trust, not political narratives dressed up as science.”
Background:
The I&O Subcommittee launched its investigation into the BDD dataset following growing concern over its influence on federal and private sector decisions — including emergency management, insurance markets, and climate policy — despite questionable methodological rigor.
Originally developed in the early 1990s through informal data collection, NOAA only designated the BDD dataset as “influential scientific information” (ISI) in August 2024, subjecting it for the first time to its own Information Quality Guidelines. These guidelines require that data used to shape public policy meet standards for utility, objectivity, and integrity.
In September 2024, the Investigations and Oversight Subcommittee sent a letter to the NOAA Administrator raising concerns about the dataset’s scientific validity, transparency, and compliance with agency standards. The letter laid the groundwork for the Subcommittee’s subsequent oversight efforts.
Researchers have criticized the dataset for its lack of transparency, traceability, and scientific rigor. In response to these concerns, NOAA acknowledged the dataset's ISI designation and committed to improving methodological disclosure, instituting peer review, and publishing robustness checks.
The Subcommittee’s hearing was scheduled to explore NOAA’s compliance with its Information Quality Guidelines and the dataset’s impact on national policy.
NOAA’s decision to cancel the BDD dataset marks a significant step forward in restoring scientific standards and oversight to the agency’s public data offerings. The Committee will continue to monitor this issue and work to ensure NOAA adheres to best practices in scientific transparency and accountability.