Witnesses testified on drought monitoring and predictions.They urged Congress to reauthorize the National Integrated Drought Information System. Other recommendations included improving early-warning drought predictions, long-term drought predictions, a national scale water model, and better water-monitoring systems. They also discussed the impact of drought on the economy and businesses, and increased cost of corn and soybean crops.
At the time of the hearing nearly two-thirds of the U.S was experiencing moderate to severe drought conditions.