    [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 38 (Wednesday, February 26, 2025)]
    [Senate]
    [Pages S1363-S1364]
    From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

                NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION

      Mr. REED. Mr. President, my key topic this morning is to speak about
    the tremendous value that NOAA--the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
    Administration--provides the American people.
      Over the past few weeks, we have heard alarming reports that the
    Trump administration wants to make good on its Project 2025 promise to
    ``break up and downsize'' and privatize portions of NOAA, including the
    National Weather Service. Destroying NOAA in this way would be an
    enormous blunder that would hurt our economy, hamper innovation, and
    increase the risks to American lives and property.
      The fact is that NOAA accounts for just one-tenth of 1 percent of the
    Federal budget. Yet it is delivering information and research that are
    absolutely vital to our economic prosperity.
      The reports we see on the local news, on the Weather Channel, and all
    our smart phones are built on forecasts and information generated by
    the National Weather Service and its array of scientists, satellites,
    and equipment.
      NOAA's tornado and hurricane warning systems provide local emergency
    managers critical information to prepare and respond to storms, often
    up to a week in advance.
      NOAA's aviation forecasts help ensure planes can take off and land at
    their destinations safely.
      NOAA's seasonal forecasts help farmers plant and grow our food.
      On the seas, NOAA's nautical charting and mapping services are used
    by everyone, from recreational boaters to international shipping
    companies. Its exploration of uncharted portions of the ocean floor
    give us insight into parts of our planet that are still as mysterious--
    maybe even more mysterious than outer space.

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      NOAA works to protect our fishing industry and bring American seafood
    to kitchen tables around the world, supporting 1.7 million fishing
    jobs, a quarter of a trillion dollars in seafood industry sales, and
    $117 billion in value-added impacts.
      And the list goes on and on and on.
      A study by the American Meteorological Society found that every
    dollar invested in the National Weather Service produces $73 in value
    to the American people.
      NOAA isn't a creature of Washington, DC. It is in Norman, OK, where
    NOAA's Storm Prediction Center tracks severe weather and tornado
    warnings. It is in Florida, where NOAA's National Hurricane Center
    monitors incoming storms to save lives and mitigate property loss. It
    is in Alaska, where scientists at NOAA's Fisheries Science Center work
    to maintain healthy fish populations to support local fishermen.
      It is in my home State of Rhode Island, the Ocean State, where NOAA
    is building Atlantic Marine Operations Center, which will centralize
    its operations and take advantage of the expertise found in Rhode
    Island and our nearby States.
      We have an incredible concentration of oceanographic and marine
    scientists.
      We have the Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Newport. They are
    leaders in research for underseas vessels, issues that are critical to
    our national security. The University of Rhode Island, just across the
    bay, has a nationally recognized School of Oceanography, and they have
    just devoted millions of dollars to upgrade and improve that. They will
    receive a new research vessel shortly.
      We have a partnership with Woods Hole in Massachusetts, just probably
    45 minutes away. This is where the scientific center on oceanography is
    gradually emerging, and so NOAA's arrival will be beneficial. But it
    won't be a result simply of their efforts; it will be the combination
    of what we have already put in place.

      NOAA is, as I said, situated in an area where--the Blue Economy,
    which includes our Graduate School of Oceanography at the University of
    Rhode Island, the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, small shipyards, and
    one of the most important fishing ports on the east coast. They will
    become an integral part of that. So they will be sustained and
    supported at the same time they sustain and support our current
    efforts.
      As we face new and ever-growing challenges, including those driven by
    climate change and extreme weather, NOAA's work is more vital than
    ever.
      The President and Mr. Musk's reckless threats to NOAA's workforce,
    its budget, and its scientific research will make us less prepared and
    cost more money and, indeed, lives.
      Craig McLean, who served as NOAA's top scientist during the first
    Trump administration, said of the threats posed by the President and
    Elon Musk:

           It's dire. . . . The way that this is being handled is with
         ignorance and a sledgehammer rather than the appropriate
         discretion that's necessary.

      Protecting NOAA and its workforce is an investment in our future, an
    investment in our ability to predict and prepare for natural disasters
    and in the resilience of our planet.
      I urge the President and my colleagues to protect NOAA and ensure it
    can continue to carry out its mission and continue to provide valuable
    services to the American people.
      I yield the floor.

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