WASHINGTON — A key House Appropriations hearing that would have determined funding for the National Weather Center and research programs in Norman, including those at the University of Oklahoma, has been postponed indefinitely after Speaker Mike Johnson abruptly recessed the House early amid uproar over the release of sealed Jeffrey Epstein documents.

While the House stalled, the Senate’s version of the CJS bill has quietly advanced out of committee and is waiting a floor vote.

The Senate proposal includes $6.1 billion for NOAA, significantly more than Trump’s $4.5 billion request and the House’s proposed $5.8 billion, though still a cut from current levels. It also preserves full operational funding for the National Weather Service and staffing concerns that could threaten service reliability.

U.S. Rep. Jerry Moran (R – Kansas) chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Science and Justice, said, “NOAA, and particularly the National Weather Service, is a hugely important component of what this bill funds, and this bill recognizes that importance.”

He added that the bill “fully funds the National Weather Service” and “eliminates any reduction in the workforce.”

In the House,  Johnson’s move halted not just the politically explosive Epstein vote, but also key committee business.

The move paused all legislative action in the House, including a crucial markup that would decide National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s budget and the future of federal climate and research funding.

NOAA currently provides roughly 20% of OU’s research funding.  At the university’s Norman campus alone, NOAA supports 73 active projects totaling $274 million, with $28 million spent annually. In total, the agency has contributed to over 240 research projects in the past decade  and supports more than 900 jobs in the area.

House Democrats and some Republicans were pushing to bring Epstein-related documents to the floor, threatening to expose powerful figures and divide the GOP. Although Johnson publicly called for “full transparency,” he recessed the House after hitting a deadlock in the Rules Committee, where Democrats were preparing to force votes compelling the Trump administration to release more documents.

Johnson has full control over the House schedule and used that authority to send members home early over what he referred to as “political games.” The decision came in a crucial week, leaving House Republicans with tight deadlines on high-profile legislation when they return in September.

The Commerce, Justice and Science subcommittee markup in the House was expected to debate millions of dollars in proposed cuts to climate research, weather forecasting and university partnerships- including funding for NOAA programs tied to the University of Oklahoma.

The Senate’s version of the bill includes $6.1 billion for NOAA includes $1.6 billion to maintain the cadence of procurement, acquisition and construction, and $4.5 billion for operations, research and facilities.

Beyond NOAA, the Senate’s version of the funding legislation is set to provide $9 billion for the National Science Foundation to maintain U.S. leadership in scientific research and discovery, which could affect research grants. There will also be $1.6 billion in funding for the National Institute of Standards and Technology that will be provided “to help maintain U.S. leadership in cutting-edge fields such as quantum information science and artificial intelligence.”

In the House, Johnson’s plans to block an Epstein vote were upset after the House Oversight Committee’s Federal Law Enforcement subcommittee voted before the House recessed to issue a subpoena for the files. Three Republicans joined with the Democratic minority on the panel to issue the subpoena, which will likely drag the issue into September.

The delay leaves major scientific agencies in limbo, as lawmakers left town without rescheduling the markup.

The hearing has not yet been given a new date. A spokesperson for the House Appropriations Committee said the website will issue a notice when the markup is rescheduled.

Gaylord News is a reporting project of the University of Oklahoma Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication.  For more stories by Gaylord News go to GaylordNews.net.