Prez plan to gut weather agency hit by Schumer
As Florence continues to dump heavy rain on the Carolinas, the Trump administration has proposed a 20% cut to the federal agency that monitors weather data.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s budget is facing a steep $1.36 billion reduction this upcoming year, federal records show.
“A storm is brewing at the federal level when it comes to our ability to robustly track the paths of severe weather events and deliver early-warning forecasts to the public,” Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a statement Sunday.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration provides critical weather research and data collection.
The agency’s mission is “to understand and predict changes in climate, weather, oceans and coasts, and to share that knowledge and information with others, and to conserve and manage coastal and marine ecosystems and resources.”
The agency also is in charge of weather satellites, storm tracking and scientific modeling.
If the cuts are enacted, funding for lifesaving tsunami warnings that tip off coastal areas would be in peril.
The initiatives under threat also include the Sea Grant program, which was established in 1966 “to create and maintain a healthy coastal environment and economy.”
The National Weather Service would also be slashed by 8% under the budget plan. That would eliminate funding for 248 weather forecasting positions.
Schumer (inset) called that proposal a “nonstarter . . . in middle of hurricane season.”