00:00Well, thank you, Chairman Franklin, for convening today's hearing on how innovative technologies can strengthen weather forecasting and protect communities across the country.
00:12I also want to thank our witnesses for joining us, especially given the rescheduling of this hearing.
00:17As we all know, this hearing comes at a devastating time.
00:21Just last week, catastrophic flooding struck Texas, New Mexico, and North Carolina.
00:26Texas lost at least 134 lives, 37 of whom were children, and at least 101 people remain missing.
00:36In New Mexico, a man and two children, ages seven and four, were killed.
00:41Tropical Storm Chantel, with at least two tornadoes, hit North Carolina with one woman confirmed dead.
00:50Entire families were lost.
00:52Livelihoods destroyed.
00:54Communities shattered.
00:56To families grieving this unimaginable loss, and to the first responders still working through the wreckage, our hearts are with you.
01:05Unfortunately, this won't be the last disaster we face.
01:08Climate change is accelerating extreme weather, and we must do more to prepare our communities.
01:13We need to confront a hard truth.
01:15The United States cannot lead in weather prediction, cannot harness innovation, and cannot protect lives and property without people.
01:24Meteorologists who issue forecasts and warnings.
01:27Hydrologists who model flood risks.
01:29Climate scientists who analyze long-term trends.
01:32Data analysts and modelers who improve forecast accuracy.
01:36Emergency managers who translate forecasts into action.
01:40Dedicated public servants, many represented here today, who work around the clock, ensuring our communities are warned and protected in real time.
01:49These experts are the backbone of America's weather enterprise.
01:53But this administration, the Trump administration, is taking a sledgehammer to that backbone.
01:57On May 2nd, five former directors of the National Weather Service wrote to President Trump with a stark warning.
02:04Our worst nightmare is that forecast offices will be so understaffed that there will be needless loss of life.
02:13This administration has already haphazardly gutted 15% of the National Weather Service's workforce.
02:19These were career public servants.
02:22Scientists and forecasters.
02:23People who devoted their lives to keeping Americans safe.
02:27Now the remaining staff are asked to do the impossible.
02:30Operate at full capacity with reduced numbers in an above average Atlantic hurricane season.
02:37It's unacceptable.
02:38We're flying blind into the eye of the storm.
02:41Quite literally.
02:42We're already seeing the consequences.
02:45And while it's too early to draw final conclusions about the tragic flooding in Texas, early reporting suggests that staff shortages in local weather forecasting offices may have impaired coordination with local officials.
02:59In the San Angelo forecasting offices, critical positions were vacant, including the meteorologist in charge, senior hydrologist, and a staff forecaster.
03:09Nearby, San Antonio's forecasting offices lacked a warning coordination meteorologist and science officer.
03:16These are not optional roles.
03:19These are life-saving roles.
03:22We need a fully staffed and well-resourced National Weather Service.
03:25Full stop.
03:26Not just to help predict storms, but to help communities prepare, coordinate emergency response, and warn Americans when mere minutes matter.
03:36And yet, in the face of growing disaster, Trump's proposed 2026 budget would eliminate funding for NOAA's Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, including climate, weather, and ocean labs and cooperative institutes,
03:51such as those serving on our witness panel today, slash NOAA's workforce by an additional 17%, and extract over $1.8 billion from its current budget, weakening the core services that Americans rely on.
04:04Thankfully, it seems like congressional appropriators care more about protecting Americans from extreme weather than we've seen from the Trump administration.
04:13This is playing out real-time back home in my home state of Rhode Island.
04:17Last year, we celebrated the groundbreaking of the new Marine Operations Center, a nearly $150 million investment in NOAA's research fleet and Rhode Island's blue economy.
04:28But, with the hiring freeze still in place, there's no guarantee that it will be staffed when it opens.
04:34That's not efficiency.
04:35In fact, it is waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayers' dollars.
04:39That's why, last week, Ranking Member Loftrin and I demanded that Secretary Lutnik testify before this very committee.
04:47Come and give answers.
04:49We need answers.
04:50The staffing crisis at the National Weather Service is a public safety threat.
04:54We need answers, and more importantly, we need a plan.
04:57Not concepts of a plan.
04:58We need a plan.
04:59So, today, let's not talk about innovation in the abstract.
05:02Let's talk about what it takes to make that innovation real.
05:05Investment in data and commitment to people and trust in science.
05:09Let's protect lives and property, not just in name.
05:12Let's protect in practice.
05:14So thank you, and I yield back, Mr. Chairman.
05:15Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
05:16Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
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