00:00Thank you, Chairman Babin. I now recognize the ranking member of the full committee for a statement.
00:04Thank you, Chairman Franklin and ranking member Amo, and I want to thank the witnesses for sharing your expertise and your time with us today.
00:13We, as in both Republicans and Democrats, have consistently worked together to ensure that we did our part in supporting NOAA and the weather enterprise.
00:22We have to continue to support both the research necessary to further understand and predict our environment and the translation of that knowledge into products and services to support communities and the economy.
00:37On July 4th, our country witnessed what a devastating flood can do to a community in Texas and New Mexico.
00:45So, families affected by that catastrophic flooding and their lost loved ones continue to be in our thoughts.
00:53I also want to acknowledge and thank the first responders, the emergency personnel, and other heroes who put their own lives at risk to help people.
01:03This committee has held several hearings to discuss the progress in weather research and forecasting that has been made since the passage of the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017.
01:14We've spoken to many experts in this field to evaluate what kinds of research and resources may be needed to further innovate and strengthen our forecasting capabilities and warning systems.
01:27In the last Congress, I was proud to join former Science Committee Chairman Frank Lucas in putting together a bill that does just that.
01:34The bill was further strengthened by many good amendments for members of this committee on both sides of the aisle.
01:40We reintroduced that bill last month, entitled the Weather Reauthorization Act of 2025.
01:48This collaborative, bipartisan bill modernizes and extends critical weather research programs, improves the communication of weather and climate information,
01:58and authorizes funding for these important programs in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
02:04And I look forward to working with you, Chairman Babin, to advance this important bill.
02:11In the meantime, I have to say this administration is actively undermining the very progress and continued advancement of NOAA's weather research and forecasting capabilities that is the very subject of this hearing.
02:24Despite public statements from this administration denying that they've made any cuts to NOAA or to the weather service,
02:30they have, in fact, cut off some very essential services that this agency provides.
02:36Hundreds of NOAA employees are being fired or bullied into leaving.
02:40It's causing critical services and products to be abruptly discontinued.
02:45And core experience and knowledge is being lost.
02:47They even suspended training and collaborative exercises that weather coordination meteorologists conduct with local emergency managers and public safety officials.
02:58What has been proposed for the NOAA budget by Trump and Secretary Lutnik is really, I think, quite foolish.
03:05The July 4th disaster in central Texas should be a wake-up call for all of us.
03:11More Americans will die needlessly if we let this continue.
03:15Just highlighting a few of the many horrendous proposals in this budget, the administration seeks to decimate environmental research by terminating all of the weather, climate, and ocean laboratories and cooperative institutes.
03:29They intend to eliminate the NOAA research office and slash funding for the U.S. weather research and tornado severe storm research programs.
03:38The proposal will also degrade NOAA's future critical satellite infrastructure.
03:42We just witnessed the outcry when the Defense Department's meteorological satellite program abruptly stopped sharing critical weather data.
03:51Only after an urgent request from NOAA and NASA did DOD extend access to the data, but only until the end of this month.
04:00Satellite data is critical for our weather forecasts, and maintaining NOAA's core satellite programs and continuing to advance such capabilities remains a public good.
04:11The severe weather events we've witnessed this month from Texas, New Mexico, North Carolina, and New York City, underscore the importance of supporting the National Weather Service.
04:22We support them by making sure that all the weather forecasting offices and prediction centers across the nation are fully staffed with access to all of the tools and training required to be successful in their jobs.
04:34And, just as important, we also support the National Weather Service by continuing to improve the lead time and accuracy of forecast modeling and communication services.
04:45That's done through research.
04:47So with that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
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